Tuesday, November 26, 2013

What Did You Miss This Week? (Week 336 #380)

The Jimmy Reed Shuffle!!!

You can't talk about song grooves in a blues harmonica class without hitting the Jimmy Reed shuffle! So what is that exactly? Well, it is built on triplets, only the middle note in the triplet is not played. The bass drum plays quarter notes; the snare hits on 2 and 4; and most importantly, the guitar plays a two note rhythm that is root/fifth then root/sixth with the occasional move to the root/flat seventh. As Shoji and Joe both pointed out, the Jimmy Reed shuffle relies largely on this guitar figure and although we call it the Jimmy Reed shuffle, it was Eddie Taylor playing it behind Reed.

Joe also points out that whereas some grooves are defined by riffs and others by rhythm, this is defined by rhythm but has some loose reliance on the riff, as evidenced by the use of the two note phrases described above. Joe's handout outlines how you might imitate that riff on harp to get a band off on the right foot.

Listening notes - check out the Jimmy Reed catalog of course, but for solid examples, try Baby What You Want Me To Do, Honest I Do from Reed, Mellow Chick Swing from Sonny Boy Williamson and Sweet Home Chicago from Robert Johnson.

Al Taylor!!!

We were pretty excited to see our long-lost friend Al Taylor stop by for a visit last night. His collar bone is still in a sling, but he's looking good otherwise and we know he'll be back blowing harp and thumping that bass as soon as he can!

And this from the man himself:

"Big thanks to all my B1 Buddies for the nice card and care package.  I really appreciate it."

Class Notes
  • Joe announced the prizes for his end of year contest. Get your CD in by end of December (only 4 more Mondays!) that shows what you are capable of and you could win! Third Prize, one high performance Marine Band Deluxe; Second Prize, two high performance Crossover harps; First Prize, three high performance Crossover harps!
  • Happy Thanksgivukkuh!

For Sale!!!

We've gotten word of a good deal on a Shure Green Bullet microphone from Richard Neuhaus:

"...brand new, never been used, still in the box, Shure "Green Bullet" harmonica mic"

Listed most places at $119, Richard will take $100 for it and you can connect with him to save the shipping if you're in the Chicago area. Shoot him an email if you're interested.

email Richard Neuhaus

- Grant Kessler, B1 Blues Crew