[Harp-L] Harp L - Jason Ricci

[Paul Routledge <kingley@xxxxxxx>]

I have been reading all the comments about Jason with great interest.  
I have to say it has made me laugh a lot.

The reality is that whether you like his music or not Jason is  
technically one of the best harmonica players in the world. Does it  
matter whether or not it fits into the box that you allocate to "blues"?

To me there are and always have been only two types of music, good and  
bad. Jason definitely falls into the "good" category in my opinion.

I can honestly imagine lots of people at the time ranting about Paul  
Butterfield or Little Walter and complaining that it wasn't "blues".  
But yet most of the people on this list today cite Paul Butterfield  
and Little Walter as benchmarks in the "blues" genre when talking  
about harmonica. Imagine the reaction when some guy first  played a  
harmonica "inside out" to people and used the "blue" notes.

How many people complain when Dennis Gruenling plays a Little Walter  
song and adds some of his own licks to it? Surely he should be playing  
it note for note, otherwise how can it possibly be "real blues"?

How many people complain when Adam Gussow plays "Watermelon Man"  that  
it's not "real blues"?

Little Walter, John Lee Williamson, Stevie Ray Vaughan, Paul  
Butterfield, Mark Ford and a whole lot more walked their own path and  
took the music to another level.

It's is a thing called progress. That to my ears is what Jason is  
doing. Along with players like Carlos Del Junco and Adam Gussow. Jason  
is taking the instrument to new levels within the genre, and he is  
turning a whole new generation onto the instrument and onto "blues".

Unfortunately those kids in 20 years will be complaining about some  
new talent not being true to the music and will no doubt moan that  
they aren't playing "real blues"!