I've not been much of a poster on here but i've learnt a tremendous amount from the harmonica community in general. So what better place than here to offer up some of the tunes from my first cd. As always feedback from you chaps is always welcome...good,bad or indifferent.
Harmonicanick your a star,thanks a lot for putting that up there for me. I owe you a pint mate. And thanks for the comments to guys.
Rubes i,m not too sure were the clips all came from. Some i know came from a Scottish tv news report. Dave Oldham is the guy who put it all together and got permission tae use the clips. He works for distilled records here in deepest Galloway.
And Rubes,i wish i could play all that stuff myself,but at the studio were i recorded the album i was lucky enough to hook up wae all the great players on the cd. Some of the guys were old mates who i had played with for years and some became friends.
Mojo if you mean charts as in sheet music then no. I learnt the tune quite a while ago by ear,found a key a wanted to do it in and then arranged it wae the other guys in the studio. I was really lucky to have Rick Taylor the trombone player on it. I had just finished a session on his cd and i roped him in. He also did a bit of arranging on the album too. Cheers Nacoran,i'm not really a fast player. It is all aboot the tone for me. And Nick,if i get to Bristol this year i'd be glad to sink a couple wae yer guid self.
BTW,at the end of the wee vid there's a vid that pops up with another band i'm involved in ''Steve Dowling and the Obliviates''. Steve writes all his own songs and Urchin Child i think is one of his best. Worth a listen.
Hi Al! Nice to see you post here. You are the one who got me started on IV6/V6 tuning--it was called Magic Bop Band by Magic Dick but Brendan is laying claims to it. I didn't hear about it from either of them, tho, and so I am saying to you, THANKS! Hope you are doing well. "Al's My Pal"
Glad i turned you ontae the Bop Band tuning,it;s a well tastey tuning. I'd have to admit though it isnae my idea i think i originally came across it in Pat Missins essential document ''Altered States''.
Got any playing examples you acn share? You don't often hear that tuning used. The only one's i can think of making any use of it is Magic himself on the odd track and Jerry Portnoy.
Al: I am a fan! That is fantastic stuff. Great tone, great use of space. Very powerful conjuring-up of mood.
One original thing you've done, as I see it, is take the various tonalities available to the tongue blocker--tonalities that are a part of the traditional Chicago blues bag--and deploy them in a jazz context where 99% of players would tend NOT to use them, but would tend instead to lip purse and strive for a clean sound. You're the Miles Davis of the big low harp sound; you're constantly altering, shifting, fracturing your timbre, and always with a specific effect in mind. This creates great musical interest. You're an original.
PS: Al, I'm adding you to the honorable mention list on the greatest-players-of-all-time page of this website on the basis of that one cut. That's how much I like it.
Very enjoyable-I like your ballsy on-the-edge-of-cutting-loose amplified sound. Like Adam says:Blues harp nuances in a jazz setting. I want more. ---------- Todd L. Greene
Al is a custom harmonica tech as well and a great one. One of my favorite players. He tickles my ear whenever I hear him play. He's so interesting in the way and what he plays and what a sweet tone. ---------- Emile "Diggs" D'Amico a Legend In His Own Mind How you doin'
Those comments are way more than i deserve chaps,but thanks. Adam i'm humbled tae be added to your list of people to check out. Knowing you guys like it is praise enough.
Al--I have a version of Hotel California up on YouTube using this tuning, it's Bb6/C6 but I'm playing in Gm (so it's Dorian, except that I use the bends). Here it is: I have gotten better at it since then . . .
Last Edited by on Jun 24, 2011 5:43 PM
