Tuesday, June 19, 2012

What Did You Miss This Week? (Week 272 #315)


She Moves Me!!!

There's nothing much more moving than Muddy Waters and Little Walter on this tune, that's for sure!

She Moves Me was recorded July 11, 1951 and is the first released recording of Little Walter blowing amplified harp. You can hear evidence that it is both homage to Sonny Boy I while at the same time it is Walter taking blues harp playing in new directions. For an example of the former, see bars 7 and 8 of the first chorus which is solid Sonny Boy. Want proof that this is also the inventive and jazz influenced Little Walter? Among other things, check out his five and six draw headshakes which introduce a ninth chord feel.

Other cool things happening are:
  • Walter's solid ability to stick to one repeating riff at the front of the first and second verse. Resisting the urge to play constant new stuff (also known as wheedle-deedling!) is masterful and serves the music.
  • Walter and Muddy are a tight duo, feeding off each other and driving the vocals and harp playing forward. Listen carefully to the strength of their call and response - this is accompaniment playing at its best!
Joe recommends you also listen to two other songs from the same recording session, Country Boy and My Fault.

Highway RickEy in the Press!!!

Pat Missin reviews the Highway RickEy tuning table in the current issue of Harmonica World Magazine. Full text is not online, but here's an excerpt:
"I had the pleasure of meeting the multi-talented Einstein (Rick Trankle) in Chicago last year and whilst his invention is not going to revolutionise the world in the same way as Albert Einstein's work, the Tuning Table could make life much easier for people wanting to tune a diatonic harmonica with less fuss and/or less swearing!"
Big Jim, who likes swearing, will not be interested, but the rest of you may. Order today or catch RickEy at his booth at SPAH in August to see the tuning table in action.

Shoji Naito and the Chicago Blue Aces!!!

Not too many of you missed Sunday, that's for sure! Huge thanks to all of our B1 friends who turned out for the killer Muddy Waters set Shoji organized Sunday at Old Town. Shoji did a brilliant job putting together a solid set showcasing the various playing styles and playing partners Muddy worked with over the years - which opened the door for powerful vocals and lots of harp playing, even on a show meant to feature guitar!

The band was: Shoji Naito, guitar; Highway RickEy, drums, vocals and harp; Corporate Kirk Manley, vocals, harp; Joe Filisko, harp; Grant Kessler, vocals, harp and second guitar; and Gavin Tun, bass.

If you missed Sunday, here's video for you to enjoy: Standing Around Crying.

Class Notes
  • Last class of this session was yesterday - re-up!
  • The talented Adam Gussow is in B1 in two weeks!
Tall Paul on CD!!!

Our buddy Tall Paul Sabel hit the studio recently with Azul de Noce and is on a half dozen tracks on their new CD: Alistando El Viaje

Congrats Paul!

Grant Kessler, B1Blues Crew