Re: Subject: Re: [Harp-L] Subject: The inimitable Toots Thielemans

[Joseph Leone <3N037@xxxxxxxxxxx>]

On Feb 22, 2012, at 6:21 PM, EGS1217@xxxxxxx wrote:

> Geez, Smokey ... thanks! - although entirely unnecessary,lol.
>  
> I did wonder a bit in passing where 'egli and esse' came from (thought maybe 'olde' Italian or even German or Latin)? but since you know so many more languages than I do it was just a passing thought. No worries though, and it certainly didn't remotely rise to the level of necessitating such an apology from you.

Yes it did. Turns out that another of my dear friends wrote to tell me that the tune was actually in FRENCH.  Meo Bado. lolol
>  
> ...then again - I thought perhaps you might be making words up in another language as you are sometimes wont to do in English <G> since it wasn't the rudimentary French I know:

Ha ha ha, Here I thought that because the singer had an Itralian name that he was singing IN Itralian. It turns out that it's been so many years since I lived over there, and I have so many words running through my mind, that even 'I' (the Great Jozinni) get confused. Funny story. I worked a cruise a couple years ago and during a visit to Ciudad Trujillo, I happened to go on one of those Gilligan '3 hour tours'. Well, there was this man who had an older car/cab and wasn't getting any business. It turned out that he spoke NO English. So I felt sorry for him and in an effort to help him feed his family, I and a few friends jumped in his jalopy. 

During the tour, I was interpreter and we used a combination of Italian/Spanish/French. all mixed up ...TOGETHER. Somehow we got along fairly well and the whole trip was delightful.  
>  
>  
> il (masc.) he, it; elle (feminine) she, it; les (plural/genderless) they, them - en francais.  :)
>  
>  
> Yeah, I agree that the writer of the song could be taking poetic license with the use of 'elle' in the song (my reason for inserting a question mark).
>  
>  
>  
> As to the 'weaving in and around the singer' - I love the way Toots does it here. It's just so good! As an old pro he knows exactly when not to intrude/overstep.

I did it tonight with ONE female chanteuse.  
>  
>  I'm one of those people who very much enjoys 'ensemble' playing - or at least dueting with another person (you know that much anyway since we played some songs together to good effect at a couple of conventions). It not only gives me a higher level of comfort onstage and off, but the sound is so much richer overall to my ears, and helps the lead player get a breather and boost here and there when a great player like you comes in with skilled 'filler'. It's probably my favourite way to play chromatic harmonica, in fact. :)

Yes, and you don't GET confused when some one else is playing the same type instrument. You are ready to let er rip. 

We had someone call: "Don't let me be misunderstood" tonight. A fine guitar player. Sooo, we wanted to give him some exposure. There was NO way that I was going to handle Bbminor on my C chromatic. Even with a chart, I don't think I could have done it. So I took a G chromatic and if I played it in Dm, that would give me Am. Then I proceeded to play with the button IN (for Ebm) , and this gave me Bbminor. So see, even after all these years, I STILL don't know what I'm doing.... lolol 
>  
>  
> Elizabeth
>  
> "Message: 11
> Date: Wed, 22 Feb 2012 15:00:57 -0500
> From: Joseph Leone <3n037@xxxxxxxxxxx>
> Subject: Re: [Harp-L] Subject: The inimitable Toots Thielemans
> To: Joseph Leone <3N037@xxxxxxxxxxx>
> Cc: harp-l harp-l@xxxxxxxxxx
> 
> I was advised that an apology is in order. A very good friend advised me that my post may have seemed as if I were correcting someone. Not so. I was just trying to help with the conjugations. 
> Conjugations play an important part in Italian language, as they use the same words for different things depending on the context of what is being discussed. That's why their dictionary is 3.4 times thinner than the English dictionary. lolol. 
> 
> I thought the query had to do with what the word 'elle' meant..in THIS context. Was it 'Life, how she passes', or 'Life, how it passes'? To be honest, I don't know what the composer meant, but it isn't inconceivable that it could go either way. 
> 
> Egli ha (he has), Esse ha (she has), Elle ha (it has), Egli hano (he had), Esse hano (she had), Elle hano (it had). And so on. (spcl note: the G in egli is ROLLED, pronounce it 'EL-YI'.). So, depending on how your pronunciation goes, the words Egli and Elle 'could' sound the same. Just accentuate the YI for egli and you're good to go. 
> 
> As for weaving your playing amongst the singers voice. We do it all the time BUT you need to be careful. First of all, I am not that great but the singers we have are used to my style and actually prefer me to do it. They know that I won't 'Bury' them. Whereas most singers would prefer you not to. And then there are those whom get disoriented. Hearing someone else's notes while they are singing their notes throws them off. Especially their timing (or 'milking') of their notes. I know a few harmonica players who have a tough time playing while others are playing. AND they get annoyed. Soooo, it's all adjustable. This is what being a side man is all about. You gotta use your head...and discretion. :)
> 
> Sooo, My deepest apology to Elizabeth of Scotland. I meant no harm. 
> 
> Jo-Zeppi 
> 
> 
> On Feb 22, 2012, at 11:44 AM, Joseph Leone wrote:
> 
> > It's it. The conjugations go: Egli (he) Esse (she) Elle (thing) 
> > 
> > 
> > On Feb 21, 2012, at 6:35 PM, EGS1217@xxxxxxx wrote:
> > 
> >> Well said, John. What struck me is how this is a true duet between the 
> >> vocalist and the harmonica 'voice'. Toots keeps playing throughout - doesn't 
> >> stop and allow the vocalist to be totally dominant (the way so many seem to 
> >> insist it's 'supposed' to be when playing accompaniment). He weaves his 
> >> chromatic around and through the singer's voice - adding so much to the song - 
> >> which, incidentally, I find especially poignant at this stage of his life 
> >> since I believe the English translation to be: 'Life, how she(or it) 
> >> passes'.
> >> 
> >> Elizabeth
> >> 
> >> PS: really dig Salvatore Adamo's voice. I didn't know of him before.
> >> 
> >> Message: 7
> >> Date: Tue, 21 Feb 2012 11:36:13 -0500
> >> From: John Kerkhoven <solo_danswer@xxxxxxxxxxxx>
> >> Subject: Re: [Harp-L] Subject: The inimitable Toots Thielemans
> >> To: EGS1217@xxxxxxx
> >> Cc: harp-l@xxxxxxxxxx
> >> 
> >> Great stuff... saw him & Kenny Werner just last week. He's a gentleman and 
> >> his playing is constantly surprising. I don't know how he chooses his 
> >> notes. He is no slave to melody but plays with the greatest respect for the 
> >> melody. Also what really struck me is the liberty with which he and Werner 
> >> play -- both individually and together. 
> >> 
> >> John
> >> 
> >>> No one like Toots, here with Salvatore Adamo - dueting on:
> >>> 
> >>> 'La Vie Comme Elle Passe'
> >>> 
> >>> 
> >>> _http://www.youtube.com/watchv=qbQ41zcjfK4&feature=related_ 
> >>> (_http://www.youtube.com/watchv=qbQ41zcjfK4&feature=related_ 
> >> (http://www.youtube.com/watchv=qbQ41zcjfK4&feature=related) ) 
> >> 
> >>> SO beautiful...
> >> 
> >>> Elizabeth