Harper, an Australian-American Blues musician (harmonica and didgeridoo) performing his song “Down To The Rhythm” from his 2005 album of the same name at Knuckleheads Saloon in Kansas City, MO.
The fourth and final installment of a mini-series on Ray Charles as a vinyl influence on one developing harp player. Here, Adam Gussow of Satan and Adam puts down his harp and picks up his guitar to help you make sense of the bluesy (but not blues) changes of “Hallelujah I Love Her So.” Don’t forget to check out the new Satan and Adam album, WORD ON THE STREET: HARLEM RECORDINGS, 1989. The rawest, funkiest street blues you’ve ever heard: www.tradebit.com If you’re interested in learning the blues harmonica from the ground up, starting with the basics, you might want to check out my website. I’ve got jam tracks plus a skill-graded series of video tutorials and tab sheets focused on classic blues harp repertoire: www.modernbluesharmonica.com
An investigation and a challenge: Gussow discusses first position, overblow-charged playing on the high-key harps–unexplored territory, he claims. He invites you to prove him wrong. If you’d like to get a copy of the jam tracks album he’s working with here, you can find it as a download at: www.tradebit.com One harp player who remains unmentioned and who may, in fact, have explored first position, overblown, high-key harp stuff is Carlos DelJunco. Check him out: www.carlosdeljunco.com If you’re interested in exploring other dimensions of contemporary and traditional blues harmonica, please visit www.modernbluesharmonica.com
Paul Butterfield’s “Too Many Drivers.” With Adam Gussow. www.modernbluesharmonica.com
Final thoughts and some spirited playing from Satan and Adam harpist. For a series of skill-graded video tutorials and tabs focusing on classic blues harmonica repertoire by Sonny Terry, Little Walter, Paul Butterfield, and others, please visit: www.modernbluesharmonica.com
Harpist Gussow shows you how to copy a fast, tricky line from Sugar Blue’s new album, CODE BLUE, by breaking it down, note by note, lick by lick. Gussow is using a D harp. Sugar Blues’s website is: www.sugar-blue.com For a series of skill-graded video tutorials and tab sheets, plus lots of other cool harmonica stuff, please visit www.modernbluesharmonica.com
Gussow finally takes on Sonny Boy and the Yarbirds w/Eric Clapton, and offers a startling theory about who is playing harmonica on the opening sequence. (Hint: not Sonny Boy.) For more harp stuff, including several lessons focused on Sonny Boy, visit: www.modernbluesharmonica.com
Second in an extended series of conversations about the blues, jazz, and soul LPs that helped one harmonica player on his creative journey. Referenced in this video: Sonny Terry and Brownie McGhee, “Key to the Highway,” from THE GREAT BLUESMEN, and Houston Person, “Goodness,” from THE BLUES TENOR SAX. www.modernbluesharmonica.com
Here’s some of the swingingest blues you’ve never heard: pianist/singer Gary Erwin (Shrimp City Slim) and harmonica player Chuck “the Cat” Morris, from the Charleson, South Carolina scene. For more about these guys, visit: www.shrimpcityslim.com To purchase “Highway 17 Blues” (the CD), visit cdbaby.com …or just visit iTunes and download it there. For a whole lot of harmonica lessons, Gussow’s YouTube videos as mp3s, etc., please visit: www.modernbluesharmonica.com
The concluding installment of a two-part lesson on the archetypal foundations of deep blues harmonica by Satan & Adam harpist Adam Gussow. Not just a warrior, you’re also a lover and a painter. If you’d like to purchase a copy of my new solo album, KICK AND STOMP (2010), please hit the following link. Only for 14 tracks of harp-powered one-man band music, all for instant download. Liner notes included!: www.modernbluesharmonica.com For a series of skill-graded video tutorials and tabs focusing on classic blues harmonica repertoire by Sonny Terry, Little Walter, Paul Butterfield, and others, please visit: www.modernbluesharmonica.com
