This is my new friend, Indiara Sfair, from Brazil. Check out her band and her harmonica playing. I love this version of "Mustang Sally" that they do.
There are also some other videos on Facebook, but I believe you have to be connected to her to see them. There's a great, upbeat version of "Summertime" as well.
Last Edited by on Mar 23, 2012 9:59 AM
That's good. I've heard that when Bends Harmonica Co. first started, they found every good lookin gal in Brazil that could play the harmonica and flooded the country with them, apparently with some success. ---------- Wisdom does not always come with old age. Sometimes old age arrives alone.
Superb! Thanks for posting it Todd. I can't see them struggling to find gigs. With Leggy Brazilian beauties, a good harp player and a left handed guitar player with a good strong voice. They'd pretty much appeal to a wide range of audiences. They certainly have it going on.
I'm sorry but that's just not fair. Really good playing, clever arrangements,(Loved the seque from I Want You Back to My Babe and back again. Who would have thunk it?)at least three lead vocals, nice harmonies, 1/2 the band are cute chicks. Enough already. They should all have been stifled at birth:)
BTW, what's up with Brazil? Seems like there's a lot of blues, harp players, and music beyond sambas going on down there. Friend of mine Tom "Bluesman" Hunter did a week down there a few months ago and got held over for 2nd week. He had a great time. ---------- LSC
I checked out Indiara and the band's stuff on YouTube and Facebook. Some really good music being played by this bunch. Really infectious stuff. I like it a lot.
LSC - Yes there certainly does seem to be a lot of musical talent in Brazil.
"Parallel streams of German immigration to the US and to southern Brazil then yielded similar consequences - the local popularization of the harmonica, adapted to new musical styles like the blues and choro, the ragtime-like music practiced with fierce devotion by many Brazilians."
Off your topic, but another great quote from the same article:
"José Staneck of Rio de Janeiro, for example, switched from a 12-hole chromatic to the Stan Harper as soon as it became available. In his estimation, “This instrument is amazing. I barely did anything to it.” Meaning all he did was: take apart the harmonica and, using a curved jeweler’s awl, carefully bend each reed to the exact height suited to his playing style. Then he cut 14 holes in a piece of scotch tape, exactly matching the outline of the mouthpiece, and inserted it between the mouthpiece and the reedplates, in pursuit of perfect air-tightness. Then he nestled a slim cone of aluminum around the spring, to prevent it from bruising the wooden body during trills."
edit: Great videos. I especially like the tone at the start of the third one.
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Last Edited by on Mar 23, 2012 2:39 PM
Nice, thanks Todd. It's great to see the growing number of good female harp players around the world. It always struck me as odd that the blues harp was so male-dominated, probably more than most instruments you can think of. There is nothing intrinsic about it that should make it less attractive to women, and there are lots of female chromatic, tremolo, bass & chord players in Asia.
But cross harp bending style on the diatonic seemed an exception, glad it's changing!
Whoa. This is great! Thanks for sharing it (3 years ago!) Todd, and thanks for bringing it back to our attention Johnnieharp.
I think what actually strikes me the most about these guys/gals, is that in every video that I've watched so far, they look like they are having so much FUN. It's infectious.
---------- Be humble for you are made of earth. Be noble for you are made of stars.
I really like this. Obviously she's a really good player. But what I particularly enjoy is that these are not harmonica centric performances. An excellent example of the harmonica being just another instrument in the band but making a powerful musical contribution and never getting in the way of what is being played. Cool stuff!
Wella wella I'm impressed with this Gal I heard Her song Improvisation in C minor https://soundcloud.com/stomatoloq/indiara-sfair-improvisation-in-cm I was Blown away by her talent Voicing's and tone. Being a Player since 1963 tells me that years don't mean squat. It's about talent tone and desire for perfection.Practice,yes that works for some but some folks come out of the chute strong and Indiara is just one of those kind of players. rick BeauSoleil
