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'99
Harmonica Masterclass Workshop
Article by Participant Michael Handler
Photos by Mark Fenichel
Harmonica players from all over the world converged on San Jose one recent late Spring weekend for an intense and rewarding series of workshops and concerts. Between Friday June 11 and that Sunday afternoon, more heavy-duty harp players that is almost legal assembled for David Barrett’s Fifth Harmonica Masterclass Workshop. As a harmonica student and jammer, I attended to learn some great licks, get in on some harp lore and history, meet some of the greatest living harp players and musicians, and write some words about the experience. (I went in undercover as myself…Harmonica Mike). What I found out when I got there was an interesting and well balanced mix of a harmonica-centric trade show, mini-convention, and lecture/demonstrations that each took on it’s own personality and musical direction.
For the first few hours I took a random sample of
asking where the participants were from, and I got some unusual, or at least
unexpected answers. Like the couple from Guam, or the French and Japanese and
Canadian visitors. It was the 9 year old Japanese boy, in fact, who stole the
show, so to speak- but more about him later. There were literally people from
all over the country who flew in for this unique event, as well as members of
the local and Internet harmonica community. The important thing that everyone
seems to have hit a nice groove early on, or in street terms, nobody was
trippin’. Getting a bunch of harp players together in a club might be a little
tricky, but at the workshop and jams everyone was very supportive and friendly.
I got the feeling that these were men and women—and a few boys- that I’d
like to hang out with. This feeling just strengthened over the long weekend.
As early as Thursday evening, harmonica players
started assembling at the Hilton for the Friday workshops which covered tube
amps and harmonica repair and maintenance. These specific technical and focus
workshop were being offered for the first time, and seemed to go over very well.
It gave some of the students a full three days of instruction. If you’ve ever
wondered how to fix or re-tune that harp, or how to chose the right amp for your
sound, these early workshop, although costing a bit extra, could be worth the
trip out to California alone. Plus some folks got to jam with Lee Oskar before
unpacking their underwear, so everything that followed was just gravy.
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As a player myself, I was filled with a mixture of being a bit anxious of how I’d fit in with dozens of other harp players, and how we’d all get enough jam and playing time. As soon as I entered the lobby where the sales area was housed I had to fight a new fear: how to keep my wallet in my pocket with such a tempting array of vintage microphones, tube amps, books and tapes on display and for sale. I could tell it was going to be a long- but productive - weekend. (Note…my wallet did come out, but these were great mail-order prices on most goods. I am glad to now have a new friend in my harp collection—the Darth Vader of chromatic harps- the Hohner CX-12. I even sound good on it.) |
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The Jam
After the Friday sessions, participants got their only chance to really play for their peers. A small combo of guitar and bass backed up the players, who all got two choruses to blow. It was interesting to see three harp players at a time waiting their turn to play on the same tune, and the different styles and levels of ability displayed. It was also very revealing to see who was a harp hog and who was cool…no names, however. It was a great icebreaker. The real highlight of the first night came in the form of a small boy from Japan, Taro Senga, who came up with his guitar-playing father and showed us all that age and size have nothing to do with playing good, tasty harmonica. He had it all…wonderful tone and vibrato, good note selection and very respectable turnaround licks. It was truly amazing, and he continued to drop in and play in the hallways all weekend. The family does not speak English, so he was really there to make the scene and make us all feel bad. But hearing Taro and his Dad play and sing Little Red Rooster in Japanese was a real howl, (pun intended.) After the jam, the bar area at the Hilton looked more like the inside of a nightclub during a harmonica blowout. Through it all, the staff of the hotel was very accommodating, even if some of us kept it up until the wee hours. |
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The Sessions
The instructors this year included Jerry Portnoy, Lee Oskar, Howard Levy, a rare appearance by Magic Dick, Gary Primich, Gary Smith, Andy Santana, and of course David Barrett… Each cat had one hour to present their material to the entire group; there were no concurrent classes, which made it much easier to decide where to go and who to see. What also became apparent was that every "teacher" got to blow a little or a lot with John Garcia on guitar. These tunes were really an extra special treat, and well appreciated by the knowing audience. While most of the tunes were played to highlight a technique to illustrate an example, they were very cool in themselves and were high points of every class.
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Jerry Portnoy, a true veteran from the Chicago scene, really captivated everyone with his insights and wisdom. His time was announced as a session about tongue blocking, but he really opened up to general questions and covered a lot of ground. His message, echoed through the weekend one was or the other, is that technique is a means to an end, and fancy chops does not a complete player make. "Music is not sports", he told everyone, and "it’s about communicating. Playing the blues should be like talking—like having a conversation." He went on to talk about dynamics and, yes, tongue blocking. He also mentioned that although he was a smoker, he made efficient use of his energy and breath, holding notes and trills as long as necessary. Jerry also answered questions about vibrato, lip blocking, and how to move people through good sound rather than just playing loud or with a lot of chops. It was just a great experience to hear these gems of harp wisdom from the Chicago veteran who currently backs up Eric Clapton. But there was much more to come. |
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The next hour was devoted to a bit of theory and practice from the man himself, David Barrett. As a professional instructor, music store manager, and workshop director, David brings solid teaching methods to the class. The topics he covered were soloing vs. playing with a band; basic blues structure; textures and chords; building a solo and working in creative turnarounds, and phrasing. My favorite expression I heard him say was finding the "groove spot" in the tune and in your playing. |
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Then it was Show Time. Lee Oskar, who has been a Masterclass regular since its inception, and always has something new to add every year. As founder of his own harmonica company and line of harps that bears his name, he brings the perspective of an innovator, entrepreneur and great player. He also still has that twinkle in his eyes, and looks in great shape after all the years. But even with all the electronics and petal effects he was about to show was central to his presentation, his first and foremost message was; "People make music…tools do not make music." He then went on to show us some very cool tools, (octave doublers, harmonizers and the like…) as well as harps in altered tunings that he has developed. Through it all, he kept a clean sound, and encouraged the class to experiment to find what’s right for them. It should be added that Lee spent many hours making himself available in the lobby, tuning harps, signing autographs (on Lee Oskar harps themselves, no less), and answering questions. He’s also the guy who brought us Taro. |
| Then came the man many of us had been waiting for- the unbelievable Howard Levy. Although he’s also from Chicago, he bears little resemblance to his blues hound peers, but has instead forged new territory in diatonic playing that has most of us scratching our heads in wonder. Through the technique of over-blowing on a slightly altered 10-hole harp, he can literally play any note in any key. As he demonstrated later that night in the concert, he actually played a blues in all 12 keys on one diatonic harp! Even his backup band was amazed. And it swung and had a groove and flow to it that was undeniable. In the class, he told the story of how he "discovered" this technique through ignorance, and continued to show us what a well-rounded musician he is. During his time with the Flectones, it wasn’t unusual to see him playing piano and harp simultaneously, each playing different figures. I wish I could play you some of the tapes I made during this class, but there are many CDs and videos available for that purpose. What was interesting was how he drew the relationship between blowing (harp) and bowing (violin, which he also plays). If you think about it, the act of breathing and the action of bowing are very similar. Howard, as well as the other instructors, stressed that good harmonica players know how to control their airflow. Everything comes from this, along with a few modulations of the lips, tongue, and throat. Then he demonstrated some amazing playing; fast, accurate, and all over the place in terms of notes and even keys. As one of the only jazz and classical players in the instructor corps, his music was the most varied and inspired. His version of Monk’s Round Midnight was really gorgeous. |
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Then it was time
for Magic Dick, who when was asked his real name, quickly said "Mr.
Magic Dick". (I happened to see the hotel register later and sure
enough; his room was assigned to one Mr. Magic Dick.) For someone who
really liked the J. Giles Band and had never heard Mr. Dick speak, it was
quite a revelation to see him in action (without his harp…he didn’t
play until that evening’s concert). His humor and intelligence, along
with that tiny bit of swagger that the really good harmonica players are
allowed to have, went a long way to win over an audience that mainly
wanted to hear about the Magic Harmonica. And why they didn’t have
theirs yet. It was, in fact, the first question, and the topic nearly
consumed half of his time on stage. This article is not the place to go
into the whole Magic Harp story, since most players are pretty familiar
with the situation. But hearing his new invention played not by key,
but by chord, was really something, like open tunings on a guitar,
where even open chords are musical. As an additional bonus, all the draw
notes are bendable. He will eventually introduce 5 new models, down from
the original 9, with names like Big Band, R&B/Soul, and Bebop.
"These non-traditional approaches will propel harps into the new
millennium," Dick stated, adding that he hopes to have them on the
street by the fall. He then went on the talk about tonality, tongue
blocking vs. pucker playing (he uses both), and our old friend air flow.
To that end, he told us that he’s taking singing lessons, and the same
exercises he uses to sing have been helpful with his harp playing. Magic
Dick is a student of many forms of music, including classical and jazz.
His constant references to jazz in the class makes sense in light of this
quote from his interview in Kim Field’s great book "Harmonicas,
Harps, and Heavy Breathers": … "I think of myself as a jazz
guy. I really think of myself as a horn player rather than as a harmonica
player." That’s a pretty interesting statement coming from the man
who almost single-handedly defined rock n’ roll harmonica for the
Seventies. But later that night, his playing at the concert proved that
Magic Dick is indeed rooted in the blues, and plays with an obvious
reverence to the past masters. And yes, he did play Whammer Jammer. It was a full day. |
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The Concert
The concert that followed was in some ways
a continuation of the day’s sessions. It was also a stand-alone event,
and filled the Montgomery Theater with blues lovers and the curious.
Nobody left disappointed. As this event is not part of the workshop per
se, I won’t be covering it in depth. However, I was very interested to
see how the instructors who were on stage were using the techniques they
had just showed us in the classes. For example, Lee Oskar played with many
of the pedal effects he demonstrated in the workshop; I’m sure all the
participants felt a certain "in" knowing how Lee made those
particular sounds. Lee also brought out little Taro, who played two
numbers and wowed the entire audience. The other knockout came from Mr.
Howard Levy, who showed just how much range our little instrument of
choice really has. Sonny, Jr. also came out and did a really nice tribute
to Sonny Terry. The ending jam took us to the midnight hour, and many of
us were inspired enough to keep the party (and jam) going until the Hilton
bar closed for the night. Now it really was a full day. |
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Back to the Last Day The first Sunday session was led by Gary Primich, that nice guy from Texas. As a working musician, he told us how versatility is important for getting gigs. That might mean playing rock, country, even recording commercials, so you have to know how to play in different keys and positions. But his real message was about playing with other musicians, in both a back up role and as a soloist. Yes, he hit the nail on the head when he said, "the harmonica can be used for good or evil…". He went on to show us how to"comp" and fit in with a singer without getting in the way, but still offering a supportive sound. He mentioned that he listens to jazz, which by definition is a collective playing experience, and often finds soloists taking turns and comping in the background. In harp terms he called this padding and filling. He then went on to show the difference between his approach to playing acoustic (through a house mic or PA) vs. through an amp or bullet mic. I really liked his humor and the fact he told us about performance issues, rather than just theory or technique. It’s a big step from playing with records in your living room to getting up on a stage with a living, breathing band that expects you to either sing or name a tune and key and tempo. As Gary said, you got be ready for it. Another tip he mentioned was using your eyes to see what’s going on and to get cues as to when it’s your turn to solo, etc. (And personal note….make sure you have at least 5 to 7 keys with you when you sit in…don’t expect the band to play a tune in that one harp key you happen to have!) Gary also played and showed us that nice fat tone he’s so famous for. |
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The next session was a very cool discussion by Jerry Portnoy about Sonny Boy (John Lee) Williamson I. Jerry is a true fan of SBW the First, and only the First. I don’t think he even mentioned the name of Rice Miller once. OK, that’s not entirely true, since he used SBW II, along with Little Walter, Howlin’ Wolf, etc., as comparison to SBW’s sound and style. He went on to assert that Sonny Boy "invented" the cross harp style and is the bedrock of all modern harp tunes. Again, he answered questions and gave us insights from his years of playing with the greats. |
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another informative session by Mr. Barrett about blocks and slaps
(harmonica playing as hockey…?) and keeping the groove going, we were
addressed by Santa Cruz resident Andy Santana (of the West Coast
Playboys). Andy is a favorite amongst musicians for his ability to fit in,
back up vocalists (like the wonderful Angela Shrelhi), and keep up the
groove. He covered a lot of topics in what he said was one of his first
workshop experiences, but he proved to be one of the favorites. He talked
about note selection and phrasing; versatility and knowing different
instruments and music types; comping; and tips about being respectful of
other musicians and sitting in. Again, Andy, like Gary before him, offered
real-world, get down advice that I’m sure younger or less experienced
players took to heart; "Listen to what’s going on around you and be
prepared." He also talked about the value of vocal lessons (he’s a
great singer) and then proceeded to give us a mini-concert that was one of
the hits of the day. With John Garcia on guitar, the two dove into some
very tasty blues right up until his time was up. |
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South Bay favorite Gary Smith finished the workshop sessions with a loving look back at Paul Butterfield and his lasting influence and the blues and music scene. Through recorded examples and playing in the class, Gary demonstrated some of the reasons Paul was so important, his trademark licks, and, of course, his great bands. I agree with Gary that Butterfield had an enormous effect on young white players in the 60’s, including myself. Most of us knew the old school guys from Chicago or the South, as well as artists into folk music in the New York scene (like John Sebastian of the Lovin’ Spoonful and Bob Dylan), but Butterfield was the first white guy to come out and really make a statement using Chicago blues. In addition, Paul played "from the heart" and had great instincts. I know it gave license to lots of kids like Gary and myself to more fully explore this blues thing and go beyond whatever musical limits we had imposed on ourselves. Of course, it didn’t hurt to have Michael Bloomfield and Elvin Bishop in the band, either. Gary had planned to show some video clips to the class, but HMW was not able to set that up. Hopefully, that will happen next year; video proved to be very popular and helpful during the mini-workshop held in January. However, Gary did a great job in relating, in very personal terms, the importance of Paul’s music in context with the times. I think it was useful for the younger students to hear about Paul first-hand, and it was very nostalgic for me and the other 40+ year olds, I’m sure. |
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