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Great Harmonica Players from Europe
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BluesBrother
5 posts
Oct 09, 2014
5:25 AM
Hey all,

nearly all harmonica players frequently mentioned in this forum all come from the United States. Are there any great European harmonica players out there???

Here are a few names I can think about:
Steve Baker, Konstantin Reinfeld, Dieter Kropp, Perry Letsch, Klaus Gehrmann, Martin Rost...

...any more?
Goldbrick
717 posts
Oct 09, 2014
5:35 AM
Toots Thielemans


Rhartt1234
147 posts
Oct 09, 2014
6:01 AM
Knockout Greg
Sven Zetterberg
Paul Lamb
Steve "West" Weston
Michael Arlt
Peter Nande
NathanLWBC
3 posts
Oct 09, 2014
6:24 AM
I'm a huge fan of Konstantin Kolesnichenko, who is in Ukraine. He has heavy jazz influences, which I really dig.

http://youtu.be/NjCNXMyZGVk
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--Nathan Heck
Lead Technician, Lone Wolf Blues Co.
customerservice@lonewolfblues.com
KingoBad
1547 posts
Oct 09, 2014
6:40 AM
Filip Jers.

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Danny
Pistolcat
712 posts
Oct 09, 2014
6:59 AM
Yeah! I was going to say Filip Jers, too. I actually just bought a Suzuki scx 48 of Filip that he has set up some. I hope I will catch som talentbug of the mouthpiece :).

Both Filip, Konstantin renfield and Konstantin kolsnichenko are members here. The latter is the most active by the handle wheel.

Boris, too. Of course.

Mikael Fall is a great harpist and won last world championship in Trossingen.

http://youtu.be/x0pISNUQino
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Pistolkatt - Pistolkatts youtube

Last Edited by Pistolcat on Oct 09, 2014 7:03 AM
wheel
315 posts
Oct 09, 2014
7:33 AM
Wow! NathanLWBC , thank you so much for mention me! I'm really impressed!
I can continue the list with these names: Greg Zlap, JJ Milteau, Egidio Juke Ingala, Helge Tallqvist, Matyas Pribojszki, David Herzhaft, Steve Baker, Alfred Hirsch, Lee Sankey, Sebastien Charlier (he is simply amazing), Son Of Dave, Bartosz Leczycki, Hakan Ehn.
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Konstantin Kolesnichenko(Ukraine)
my music
thorvaldsen76
183 posts
Oct 09, 2014
9:24 AM
I would also recommend three guys from Norway:

Richard Gjems:


Arne Fjeld Rasmussen:


Eirik Bergene:


In these videoes they play traditional stuff, but these guys can also do some more modern stuff and can play pretty much anything..
Kingley
3718 posts
Oct 09, 2014
9:33 AM
There are probably more great harmonica players from outside the USA than in it. Some are blues players, some aren't. A few that come to mind are: Steve West Weston, Mark Feltham, Billy Miskimmin, Jean Jacques Milteau, Rachelle Plas, Filip Jers, Paul Lamb, Michel Herblin, Steve Baker, Knockout Greg, Helge Tallqvist, Tomi Leino, Greg Szlapczynski, Nico Toussaint, Christelle Berthon, Ben Boumann, Konstantin Reinfeld, Dieter Kropp, Matt Walklate, Egidio Ingala, Bertram Becher, Paul Lassey and there are many. many more.
NathanLWBC
4 posts
Oct 09, 2014
9:39 AM
Wheel, ever since we got your album in our shop, it has been in constant listening rotation.

Boris is also immensely talented, and I like his very modern spin.

I just realized that I forgot to mention Marko Balland. He's an animal and I love his use of effects.
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--Nathan Heck
Lead Technician, Lone Wolf Blues Co.
customerservice@lonewolfblues.com
The Iceman
2201 posts
Oct 09, 2014
9:51 AM
Keith Dunn
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The Iceman
5F6H
1843 posts
Oct 09, 2014
10:22 AM
...Lee Sankey, Pete G, Laurie Garman, Little George Sueref, Alberto Vigliarolo...
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www.myspace.com/markburness
wheel
317 posts
Oct 09, 2014
10:58 AM
I'm so pleased to read this! Thank you! BTW all amplified track were recorded using Lone Wolf Harp Break!
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Konstantin Kolesnichenko(Ukraine)
my music
kudzurunner
5027 posts
Oct 09, 2014
11:39 AM
The harmonica was invented in Europe. It would be surprising if there weren't a lot of great players there.

The relevant question for this forum, however, is whether there are a lot of great blues harmonica players there. Some of the players mentioned in this thread aren't blues players. Toots Thielemans isn't a blues harmonica player by any stretch of the imagination. He's a jazz chromatic player, like Hendrick Meurkens. He doesn't belong in this thread.

But a thread about great European blues harmonica players is long overdue. Thanks for starting this!

Last Edited by kudzurunner on Oct 09, 2014 11:39 AM
Kaining
60 posts
Oct 09, 2014
1:29 PM
"Son Of Dave"

Benjamin Darvill is actually canadian even if now lives in London.

As for Adam question, i'd nominate him as a great modern bluesman.
And since i am posting about semantic, i'd like to know wich players is first considered as "put some music style here" first and then a harmonica players.

It's kinda odd how any person playing the harp is first a harp players, then a musician. It doesn't happen that much with any kind of other instruments, except, maybe, for singers.
Singers gets more respect from normal people however.
BluesBrother
8 posts
Oct 09, 2014
10:49 PM
Great, quite a few names I haven't heard about before. It's true that some of the most popular European harp players are not really great blues players, but more into jazz, etc. Then again there are some great European blues harp players like Baker and several others who have been mentioned here already:

e.g.:



Also a good harp player: Christelle Berthon
Thievin' Heathen
411 posts
Oct 10, 2014
5:13 AM
Thanks for starting this thread BB. Looks like several hundred hours of youtubing to be had here.
R2D2
8 posts
Oct 10, 2014
6:28 AM
A great contemporary player is Alan Glen in the UK. He can play great, sing great and front great. I used to hang with his old band the Radical Sheiks at Caernarvon Castle in Camden. Gone now but what a club. Angels drinking tea as bouncers, many many pints, band laying it down and a lot of dancing. Kinda miss those days...................
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alan_Glen

Last Edited by R2D2 on Oct 10, 2014 6:29 AM
blingty
47 posts
Oct 10, 2014
6:50 AM
Hi Adam,

When a question is asked about European harp players, does the forum title/creed automatically mean that the question pertains to blues players? (I'm not sure I've used "pertains" in a sentence before). I ask out of genuine curiosity, as I'm sometimes unsure how to answer certain questions, if the context is always blues or not on this forum unless explicitly said otherwise. I'd guess from the modern blues harmonica title, that it defaults to blues playing. :-)

I can list a few players living in Ireland, Mick Kinsella and Rick Epping (originally from the USA), for example, who are superb players who also happen to play blues.

The same question arises for me on, say, the top X list of harmonica players. I automatically also think of chromatic players outside blues as well as in blues contexts... and these guys are not on those lists, presumably for the same reasons.

Thanks
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blintgy like soundcloud, ug
MN
348 posts
Oct 10, 2014
12:49 PM
Erich "Boboš Procházka" from Slovakia can blow.

A440
218 posts
Oct 10, 2014
2:50 PM
Kingley covered most of the ones I can think of.

And of course, Lee Oskar is European.
Martic
103 posts
Oct 11, 2014
12:01 AM
Marcos Coll (Spain)



Víctor Puertas (Spain)



Greg Zlap (Poland/France)

Georgia Blues
130 posts
Oct 11, 2014
2:18 AM
Wes Weston.
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Alex
kudzurunner
5032 posts
Oct 11, 2014
6:19 AM
@blingty: Your question is a good one. It's quite true that the OP didn't specify blues. Although this forum is specifically focused on blues players, there's no particular reason why a thread on European harmonica players can't include any sort of music--including various European folk musics (Irish, Bulgarian, Russian), other World Musics (Brazilian, Afropop), classical music, and of course jazz.

Since the OP spoke about Euro players not being part of the cohort of the players "frequently mentioned in this forum," and since 98% of the players frequently mentioned in this forum are blues players, I naturally assumed that he was seeking to supplement that group of players with a list of European worthies. I certainly think that's worth doing--but I do understand your question.
kudzurunner
5033 posts
Oct 11, 2014
6:27 AM
@Martic: That Greg Zlap video is superb! Thanks for sharing that. I'm a fan!
dougharps
749 posts
Oct 11, 2014
8:43 AM
Great thread! A lot of seldom mentioned (in USA) talented players. Thanks for starting this conversation. Lots of listening to do, now...

I enjoyed hearing the Greg Zlap song, and if I had heard it on the radio I would have categorized it as Pop-Americana. Since he is from Eastern Europe, can the label Americana apply to the song?

Is all music now World Music, as a result of increased communication and cross pollination?
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Doug S.
Tuckster
1455 posts
Oct 11, 2014
9:45 AM
Thanks for this thread! This forum is a little U.S. dominated and we tend to ignore a the great European players.

+2 for Victor Puertas. I've seen him twice at the IBC's in Memphis and think he's a monster player.

Last Edited by Tuckster on Oct 11, 2014 9:46 AM
6SN7
479 posts
Oct 11, 2014
10:18 AM
Yeah, Keith Dunn is from the USA though he is based in Holland.
Doug Jay is based out of Germany but is from San Fran via Charlottesville, VA. Both great players, but they are American.
BluesBrother
10 posts
Oct 11, 2014
2:28 PM
Körrie Kantner:


Henry Heggen:
BluesBrother
12 posts
Oct 11, 2014
2:35 PM
Dieter Kropp:


Chris Kramer:
FilipJers
1 post
Oct 12, 2014
1:03 AM
Nice to mentioned here, thanks!
Some really cool European harmonica players are the musicians in the group Sväng, http://www.svang.fi/?lang=en, from Finland.
They focus on original composition and traditional Finnish folk music. Played on different keyed chromatics, diatonics, harmonetta, bass harmonica.
BluesBrother
14 posts
Oct 17, 2014
4:35 AM
Roland van Straaten also hasn't been mentioned yet
Loz123
35 posts
Oct 18, 2014
5:31 AM
Some of my favourite uk players

Philip Henry
Mat Walklate
Paul Lamb
Clive Mellor
Lee Sanky
Jon Vaughan
Johnny Hewitt
Will Wilde

thanks

Loz
JonV
22 posts
Oct 18, 2014
6:03 AM
Loz123:

> Jon Vaughan

Fine company to be considered in! Do we know each other?
Loz123
36 posts
Oct 18, 2014
9:56 AM
Hi Jon

No Jon we don't, ive seen some of your videos on line and your a fine player. Iam up in Manchester and one of mats students. Do you ever get chance to play up north, would love to see you live.

thanks

Loz
garryfernand
9 posts
Oct 19, 2014
10:56 PM
Steve West Weston is a great harp player of this time. I like his music very much. Have A look to this wonderful performance of him.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AqaDUVNcOV8
Chris L
68 posts
Oct 20, 2014
8:13 PM
Charles Pasi!
JTThirty
253 posts
Oct 21, 2014
10:53 AM
While in Spain this past summer I caught John Primer at the La Coquette club. The harp player sitting in with him was Quique Gomez. He is substantially good with solid Chi-town blues chops.
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Ricky B
http://www.bushdogblues.blogspot.com
RIVER BOTTOM BLUES--crime novel for blues fans available at Amazon/B&N and my blog
THE DEVIL'S BLUES--ditto
HOWLING MOUNTAIN BLUES--due out early 2015
The Gloth
701 posts
Oct 23, 2014
3:44 AM
From Belgium, apart of Toots Thielemans (legendary, but aging and not as good as before) we have (not exhaustive) :

Thierry Crommen (one of the best players in the world IMO)

Steven De Bruyn

Genevieve Dartevelle

Big Dave

From France/Poland, I can mention my friend and teacher Pat Hannak.

To find out about europen players, especially from France, you can check out www.harmonicacontact.com, the website of my friend Patrice Rayon, a true passionate !
BronzeWailer
1495 posts
Oct 23, 2014
4:02 AM
Don't forget Bonny B, who I believe is Cambodian born but based in Switzerland.

BronzeWailer's YouTube
Adam Pritchard
42 posts
Oct 24, 2014
12:41 AM
Lee Sankey - Superb Harp Instrumental...

captainbliss
600 posts
Oct 24, 2014
4:27 AM
Giles King!





xxx
dmitrysbor
137 posts
Oct 24, 2014
8:36 AM
Jean-Jacques Milteau tear to pieces as Tuzik warmer every mentioned.
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http://www.youtube.com/user/dmitrysbor

Last Edited by dmitrysbor on Oct 24, 2014 8:37 AM
Stevelegh
982 posts
Oct 24, 2014
12:23 PM
Fred Yonnet

Pindzo
1 post
Oct 29, 2014
1:57 PM
http://m.youtube.com/results?q=smak+crossroads&sm=1

Last Edited by Pindzo on Nov 02, 2014 12:47 PM
Milsson
175 posts
Oct 29, 2014
2:59 PM
He is NOT the best harmonica player in sweden but he's been making a living on his music and harmonica playing sins the sixties her in sweden. He had a few albums were he played standards with swedish lyrics. Here he plays the sky is crying and sings in skånska witch is a swedish dialect that realy stands out.
If my mind serves me right he was in chicago in the late 60s and recorded an album.



And blues with a feeling:

harmonicanick
2184 posts
Oct 29, 2014
3:56 PM
Blues harmonica is boring to me, all 2nd and 1st, let's bring in gypsy jazz and jammin' in minor keys and harmonic minor

It's not blues but the audiences love it!!
Martin
714 posts
Oct 30, 2014
8:47 AM
@Milsson. True, "The week Peps came to Chicago" (1972, perhaps not his greatest effort to date. And I agree that there are quite a few guys who plays better harmonica in Sweden -- but none sings the blues like he does.
Martin
715 posts
Oct 30, 2014
8:49 AM
@harmonicanick: Are you really in the right forum?
GamblersHand
541 posts
Oct 30, 2014
3:37 PM
Will Greener aka Captain Bliss



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