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J j milteau
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SuperBee
3581 posts
Apr 09, 2016
8:29 AM
The weirdest thing...I set out for a 350 mile drive...well, 700 I suppose but I wasn't driving back the same day...so a 350 mile leg, and I packed a bag of CDs. But the first one I loaded up was Disc 2 of the JJ Milteau 2012 release "blowin' in the past". I played it all the way through and then let it run through again. It's all harmonica instrumental although you could equally say 'guitar instrumental' as there are plenty guitar solo sections.
But this is unheard of.
The disc is actually 2 previously released albums made by JJM in the 80s: 81's "blues harp & mojji", and 83's "just kiddin'".
I generally don't care for this kind of thing. I can rarely listen to an entire harmonica based instrumental. I usually don't care for players who play lots of 16th notes...but JJM seems to do it with excellent tone and tunefulness and without resorting to uninspiring repetition, playing for the sake of filling space. I thought all his playing was creative and expressive. I must admit...I didn't just play the cd non-stop. I did turn it off and think about it and other things on the way...stop and take photos, play some harp and wonder whether I could manage to copy some of his less speedy ideas...wonder whether I could learn to up my game enough to execute some of his fast moves...and also engage in some non-music related musing about history and such...and thinking about my future in music...about moving away from blues as a main focus, thinking about jazz and folk and the things that people like JJM are doing/have done...Ive been procrastinating on learning chromatic but this week commenced playing exercises again. I think that really is where I want to focus...looking at my father today...still breathing but withered and unable to speak or move...I know my brain will probably go the same way if nothing kills me first...and seems to me that music and social playing is a good thing for me to do...especially learning new skills
When I do the chromatic exercises...it's like I can feel mental fatigue set in...I "think" it's my brain making new connections, but I expect it's just fatigue...as I am simultaneously learning to read standard notation and learn the position of all the notes in the middle octave...really learning to sight-read I guess...my exercises are written in standard and I am naming the notes, finding them on the harp, and attempting to play them with good tone and breath control. Incidentally I've almost decided I actually prefer my old 270 over the cx 12. Never thought I'd say that...and I may change mi mynd about it.
But it's all about fundamentals. I think you can play chromatic instinctively, especially in 3rd position. But I want to do a bit more than that...
Anyway...JJM
The disc 1 of this set is older stuff, "l'harmonica" from 1974, and "l'herbe bleu" with New Bluegrass Connection (also 74). I haven't played it yet.
There is also a bonus disc: "blow your harmonica son", a selection of harp recordings from 1926 to 1960...I must say, this is the disc I played when I first bought the album. Classic recordings by daddy stovepipe, blues birdhead, vernon dalhart, Eddie map, will shade, etc..
There are 27 tracks on the bonus cd, 8 from the 20s, 7 from the 30s, 5 from the 40s, 7 from the 50s. 27 different players.
And a 50 page book...in francais, so anglais speaker/readers can practice their translation skills as well..
So...I don't think this was exactly a cheap CD but it's quite a lot of music...4 original albums plus the bonus disc...and I discovered JJM is probably my favourite living player..or maybe I'd rate him 'best' of those 'outside blues' players. JJM himself is rather modest or perhaps even a little embarrassed about this release, according to his comments. He doesn't think it represents his best work..he clearly thinks he has come a long way since these were recorded...or maybe the music generally is a bit dated. No doubt that's true, but there is also no doubt he is a major harmonica player. A genuine master.
I must listen to his more contemporary work...


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