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Dirty-South Blues Harp forum: wail on! >
Little Walter's inheritors
Little Walter's inheritors
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kudzurunner
5007 posts
Oct 01, 2014
12:11 PM
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When I think about contemporary harp players who have clearly been influenced by Little Walter--the influence being audible in their playing--but who have expanded on his sound, rather than merely parroting or conserving his sound, the first recording that comes to mind is "Stoop Down #39" by the J. Geils Band. The opening harp cadenza, more than a minute long, strikes me as the perfect example of expanding on an inheritance. You can't imagine Magic Dick's solo without LW back behind him (and he's been open about his debt to LW), but neither does he leave Walter's music untouched. I've never heard another player, in fact, do as many things with as few basic licks as he does on this solo. I rarely use the word "genius," but I'd almost go so far as to call it a work of genius. Once you've heard these 60 seconds, you're almost impelled to pick up a harp, plug in a mic, crank up an amp, and see what he's doing. And it's not easy to replicate what he's doing. But if it's hard to replicate, imagine being the guy who thought it up? Dick plays sax, too, and what he's doing here clearly draws on that instrument, too.
Please post clips that address the topic.
Here's another of LW's inheritors:
Last Edited by kudzurunner on Oct 01, 2014 12:13 PM
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atty1chgo
1164 posts
Oct 01, 2014
1:10 PM
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Damn, I am going to request this song on the cruise! I hope MD is gracious enough to play it.
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As an aside, Moses Rutues Jr, Billy Branch's drummer, really brings it in this video. This video was taken a few years ago when Mo was just shy of 70 years old.
Before being in Billy's band, Mo was with Major Lance, McKinley Mitchell, Joe Tex, and was also in Wilson Pickett's touring band, as well as with Carey Bell in European tours with the SOB's.
Last Edited by atty1chgo on Oct 01, 2014 1:16 PM
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barbequebob
2724 posts
Oct 01, 2014
1:13 PM
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What Dick is doing in Stoop Down #39 is along the lines of LW's influences that came from jump blues/swing jazz horns and on this, there's clearly an influence from the Red Prysock sax instrumental classic Hand Clappin' much more than the LW influence.
Give the Red Prysock classic a listen and then go back to what Dick's doing:
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Sincerely,
Barbeque Bob Maglinte
Boston, MA
http://www.barbequebob.com
CD available at http://www.cdbaby.com/cd/bbmaglinte
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Pistolcat
700 posts
Oct 01, 2014
1:28 PM
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Well this is my favourite Little Walter song and my favourite version of it...
Maybe not exactly what was asked for in the OP, I know, but I have wanted to post it for a while so...
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Pistolkatt - Pistolkatts youtube
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groyster1
2682 posts
Oct 02, 2014
9:55 AM
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mark hummell played well on a recent tribute to LW CD I have.....a friend of mine,wallace coleman,plays LW a lot on stage.......hes old school but makes it his own as billy branch does above
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