Jason is back in great form. Here's a brand=new clip, uploaded on St. Paddy's Day. His sound is immediately identifiable. I just spoke with Jason yesterday while on a long drive; he's totally psyched for HCH and will be coming up with Harvey and other NO harp guys on Friday afternoon. I hope we'll see him at the crossroads!
Another cool one from last Wednesday's jam-that place was hoppin', and on a Wednesday! Yes, he will be at the crossroads, since we'll basically be holding him hostage either in Harvey's car or mine. It's gonna be a blast. ---------- Todd
This video is a great example of listening. I've watched a lot of JR's work but this is the first time I've seen him have to learn and hold the line, solo and then trade with a shredder. His thinking is transparent and his creative responses are interesting and spot-on melodically. And, tone tone tone.
I was there, along with HarveyHarp and several other CCHC members. I was sitting on the side, enjoying the show and a Guinness draft, just thinking how fortunate we are as a town to have such a strong harmonica presence. And Adam's going to almost singlehandedly wipe us out for one weekend in May! There will still be a few players left for anyone coming down to NOLA that weekend:smoky Greenwell and Andy J. Forest both do regular gigs between Cafe Negril and Balcony Music Club, plus a few more. ---------- Todd
Yes, we had at least 8 harmonica players from the Crescent City Harmonica Club in attendance. It was a great show. Mark Hummell was using an Avenger which sounded great. Jason was using his rig. At the end of the night, they invited up some of our local players, including Thomas Walker and Sunpie Barnes in addition to Jason, Johnny, and Mark. It was an amazing night, and the finale had all the pizzaz of any good fireworks show. After that, a bunch of us went to see Andy J. Forest at his Sunday Night Gig at BMC. He always get us up on stage. Just another harp day in New Orleans.
One of the WWOZ DJs was taking some video, which he will turn over to me to post, pretty soon I hope.
Johnny said his annual big harmonica show (The Iron Brotherhood) will include all the local players, and some of you if you make it down, and will last into the wee hours of the night, on the second Thursday of Jazz Fest.which should be May 5th.
Cool, May 5th, eh? The Brotherhood of Iron has expanded! Well, if anyone comes down that week, they can catch Eudora and Deep Soul the night before for an early semi-acoustic show at the soon-to-open Rock n Roll Cafe in Fat City. Man, that's gonna be a killer week. ---------- Todd
If you guys didn't catch this one I put up on youtube - It takes 'trading licks with a shredder' to another level. - It's not the one trading with me (I'm not a shredder) - but with John Lisi that same night.
Two badasses! Cool vid! John likes to do that trading licks thing-I've done it a few times with him(I'm nowhere near the caliber of Jason) and it's a fun challenge.
EDIT:I've apparently moved up to Captcha's Challenging stage...three tries until I got this posted. ---------- Todd
The second video makes clear something that I've suspected for a long time: a good guitar player pulls out the best in Jason. He's one of the very few harp players who could match a guitarist in that sort of context. Nobody can replace New Blood, of course, but Jason has found--to my ears, at least--a terrific new band.
Adam-I'm not sure if any vids can be found, but Jason also gigs with Major Bacon, which is headed by Dave Renson, Pat Ramsey's guitarist. Now THAT'S some awe-inspiring trade offs there. Renson is awesome. He makes playing onstage with him a pure pleasure-totally relaxed, never condescending, and awesomely capable to roll with whatever you throw his way. Plus both the amps he sets up onstage sound awesome for harp-an old blackface Princeton and a brown Vibroverb(i think that's what it was). Not to take anything away from John Lisi, who is a prince, plain and simple-and with killer chops. You HAVE to hear his slidework. ---------- Todd
Perhaps it's worth noting that Jason is working as a sideman here; he's riffing and playing fills behind vocalists. Most of what he was doing with New Blood was NOT that sort of work. So it's good to see him in this sort of context, which is more the sort of thing he would have done with Big Al and with The Nuckelheads. Maybe with Walter Trout, too.
You know, that seems to sit well with him, too. It's a lot less pressure when you aren't leading and always singing. You can just lay back, drink it all in and paint wtith your musical brush whenever you feel your color is needed. He is a lot of fun to watch in this setting. He is/was a killer frontman, but his charisma shines a little differently when he is playing as a sideman. ---------- Todd
