Re: [Harp-L] Take Five on Diatonic - a Eureka moment!

["Rob Paparozzi" <chromboy@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>]

NICE KEN!!!! I'm proud of you that is a tuff one and you figured it out!!!!
Have a ball with it....

Back in november Madcat came thru my town in NJ with Brubeck and TP....they
said they would call me up on a blues at the end of the show.......I get up
there and they break into to an uptempo 'Blue Rondo ala Turk' ....I thought
YIKES now what do I do? Madcat looked over and smiled, played the head and
then they broke into the blues part of the tune and I said whew!!!!,-))))0

best
Rob Paparozzi
----- Original Message ----- 
From: "Mojo Red" <harplicks@xxxxxxxxx>
To: "Harp-L" <harp-l@xxxxxxxxxx>
Sent: Wednesday, February 24, 2010 10:04 PM
Subject: [Harp-L] Take Five on Diatonic - a Eureka moment!


So I've been trying to play Take Five convincingly on diatonic for a number 
of years and never quite got it right...

Then I heard Madcat and Chris Brubeck perform the tune live when he was 
touring through Colorado last year with his Triple Play combo. Awesome 
stuff! I bought myself a copy of their CD, and when I played it back I 
figured out that on this version, Madcat was playing in Am using a G harp in 
3rd position. Very, very Kewl!

I played the CD for Jimmy Seville, my guitar player, to show him that, yes, 
it can be done. Big mistake! Now he wants me to play it with this new jazz 
combo band we're working up. Me and my big mouth!

Okay, I've got a great custom harp in G, and am very comfortable in 3rd, and 
I had the first part of the down head pretty good. But I just struggled and 
struggled with the second bit... It's supposed to sound all light and 
bouyant, but when I play it, it's all weak and wheezy, and I quickly fall 
out of time. Oh man, it's ALL bends ...it moves from bend to bend, uses 
bends within bends on ~top~ of bends; and I thought "Man, this is phreakin' 
IMPOSSIBLE!."

Well, okay... maybe not impossible for Madcat, who is such and amazing 
player. But then, Madcat I ain't.... ~sigh~

Then I struck on an idea. Practice this deep and hard on a ~stock~ G harp 
(an old Hering Vintage I keep in the car). I just drilled on the second part 
of the head with that harp until got it as good as I was going to get it. I 
found that if I hit the emphasis points a little harder, it didn't quite 
sound so muddy... Okay, more, more more practice... ~almost~ there... timing 
better, but still a little weak...

THEN after a week of this agony and some success, I tried it again on my 
beautiful Joe Spiers custom harp and BAM!! There it was! Very nearly clean 
as Madcat and MUCH better than any of my earlier attempts. Beating my head 
with that stock harp, and conquering it as best I could, and THEN playing it 
with the much easier playing custom made it happen. Eureka!

Now, bring on that so-called jazz combo! Let's whip out Take Five.

Harpin in Colorado,
--Ken M.
TeraBlu Band on My Space
http://www.myspace.com/terablu