MLT Club Member Jürgen
MLT Club MemberForum Replies Created
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The „Italo-Wild West Movie“ without a harmonica? Unthinkable 😀
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Hi Jung,
letting go is often difficult in life. Especially from places we loved and with which we associate beautiful memories. “Life is a long, calm river”. That’s the title of a movie by the French director Étienne Chatiliez. It’s an allusion to the fact that our life appears calm, leisurely, and slow on the surface, but is actually seething beneath the surface. And I think that’s how life has been for many of us: Unexpected, full of surprises and sudden turns that we didn’t expect. Often beautiful, unfortunately also far too often sad. I can still visit my parents’ house after my mother’s death, but it is no longer the house of my childhood. Whenever I enter the house, my memories are already waiting there for me. They wander around, make me see things that are no longer there, think of things I thought I’d already forgotten. And then I realize that it’s also good to just let go. The house of my childhood: beautiful and ephemeral. My memories: interwoven with me and my life forever. New experiences await us. To be lived. To accompany us. To become memories again. To remind us that we are alive.
And yet it is important that there are such places: where we can reminisce.
Music is such a place to come back to. A constant in my life that can give me strength and patience when life presses too hard again.
„There are places I remember
All my life, though some have changed
Some forever not for better
Some have gone and some remain“These lines have always particularly touched me; all my life.
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And also a legend on the harmonica: Howard Levy, an American harmonica player and pianist who was born on July 31, 1951 in Brooklyn NY.
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Speaking of the blues here’s a classic one that probably shaped the harmonica blues: John Lee “Sonny Boy” Williamson I. was an American blues musician and harmonica player. Williamson established the harmonica as a melody instrument in the blues and is considered the “father of the modern blues harp”. His style has influenced many blues musicians including Billy Boy Arnold, Sonny Terry and Muddy Waters. In the 1940s he was so popular that blues musician Aleck “Rice” Miller called himself Sonny Boy Williamson II (wiki)
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Hi Tom,
I read that the term mouthorgan is also used in the english language, but I wasn’t sure if this is common, thanks now I know. I’m not that familiar with The Lovin’ Spoonful either (except the known hits), but sure they played the blues with the harmonica.
Here is another title that is said to be one of the masterpieces on the harmonica: J. Geils Band was an American blues rock/rhythm and blues group formed in Worcester, Massachusetts in 1967. They thrived in the 1970s with their R&B sound before embracing a more pop-oriented sound after joining EMI America Records in 1978 (wiki)
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Female Musicans and the Harmonica
I was hoping to find female musicians, who were playing harmonica with beat and rock bands in the early 50s or 60s, similar to drums or electric guitar, but somehow I hardly found any material. Was the harmonica a classic male instrument? Why? Do you know any female musicians from the beginning of the beat and rock era? In modern times this has already changed. Here are some very talented female harmonica players of the present time:
In the first place of course, Mona (here in the tradition of the eternal songwriter poet Robert Allen Zimmerman 😃 ):
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Originating from Curitiba, Brazil native Indiara Sfair quickly won the hearts of music fans all over the world with her unique, sensitive harmonica sound. Part of Brazilian blues band “Milk’n’Blues”, she is both player and accomplished composer.
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Rachel Plas is a singer and songwriter from France:
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Amanda Ventura, a young Brazilian harmonica player, quickly gained attention for her soulful blues music:
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Vikki Thorn founded the Australian folk band „The Waifs“ together with her sister. She plays the harmonica in a very powerful and dynamic way:
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Shakira has also tried her hand at the harmonica. Not bad at all, isn’t it?
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Annie Raines, an American harmonica and piano player, along with a legend:
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…and „I got to find my Baby“ a song originally written by Chuck Berry…
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… and Larry Adler in a guest role alongside Kate Bush…
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Hi JP, thanks for mentioning „Roger Waters: The Pros And Cons Of Hitch Hiking“. I listened in there. The vocals and style reminds me a bit of The Wall. It sounds very interesting, musical impressive and captivating but also partly dark. Definitely very complex. Is this another autobiographical work by Roger Waters? The LP is currently not available, but the CD version is.
Winnie the Pooh, you mean the cuddly little fellow who lives in the 160 acre forest with his honey pot and his best mate Tigger? The story is rather unknown to my generation here, but I heard a little bit about it.
