Yeah, you know some guys have heard Jason once. Maybe on a night he was into other stuff. And then they say he can't play the blues. That is the biggest load of crap. Jason plays awesome blues with the best of them- and this video is proof. Man I'm sure keeping my fingers crossed for his recovery. We all need him back. ---------- /Greg
Yep. Not a "modern blues" fan. But, Jason can dig. What Greg said. -Bob ---------- http://www.facebook.com/home.php?ref=home#!/pages/Bourbon-Bleach/161722307208585
i think the coffee cup masks some amazing work with throat vibrato and mouth whah...just icing on the cake. what about the high accent squeaks at about 4:40 or so for a while on? and everything else???
comment on the technical side.. the intangibles.. holy crap... as always.. he is fighting through rehab, fingers crossed
For my taste, it started fine, but that long, extended, never ending solo at the end was too much. It was no longer music...It was just showing off. Otherwise, it would have been great.
Jason can also play a more classic, structured style of blues without the overblows and very fast licks....similar to Piazza, Estrin, or Wilson. I'm not sure how old this is but I think it is very good example of classic style playing.
Referring particularly to Jlnx and Gene’s comments, very similar comments were made about Charlie Parker. He was another guy that fought with the devil and the times.
Jlnx.....you listened for over 7 minutes? You must be a huge Ricci fan! I've only just discovered him, had to see what all the fuss was about.
Last Edited by on Nov 05, 2011 10:10 AM
We trust you see what all the fuss was about now mate!
When he toured Germany with The Walter Trout band, sometimes they were watching him open mouthed at his expressive virtuosity, he matched Trout note for note on solos, just by improv.
Are we sharing opinions of Jason's playing & modern blues harmonica? Jason's playing is great to me. One of my first inspirations that caused me to treat harmonica as a serious instrument. I love the modern harmonica sound & playing. I much prefer the Adam Gussow's (funkiness), Jason Ricci's, Chris Michalek's, Howard Levy's, etc. etc. to the traditional sound. Blues in 1st through 3rd is fine and great but I enjoy so much more music then that. Variety is the spice of life ;) .
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~Ryan
"I play the harmonica. The only way I can play is if I get my car going really fast, and stick it out the window." - Steven Wright
Pennsylvania - H.A.R.P. (Harmonica Association 'Round Philly)
i am not even sure if the long solos can be considered "showing off" not sure if any of you have read the stuff that Richard Feynman has written. He was a nobel-prize winning physicist who could be one of the most brilliant men of the last century. He wrote often about being smarter than other people in a very amusing way. If most other people said those things, they would be showing off a$$holes. He was actually a genius. He kept us from nuclear meltdown during the Manhattan project and figured out why the Challenger space shuttle exploded in terms of tangible professional outcomes laymen can understand.
My guess is that there is a good bit of ego, but that once Jason gets going, he cannot stop. I don't think there is another player out there today who puts MORE raw emotion into his or her playing. Christelle maybe. Technically right now I believe Levy is tops, but DelJunco and Ricci are running in the top three, and Jason puts more feeling in than either of these other two. Like what he plays or not, as a harmonica player generally interested in where the instrument is going and what it can express, it seems very important to pay close attention to how Jason approaches the music.
of course i love what he plays, so i am certainly biased and it is just my opinion.. it is certain that jason needs our love and support right now if we have any way to give it.
I send my good vibes out to Jason for recovery. Today a song came out that brought him right in my studio. I have never met him, have no idea of his exact problems, but his energy, and that of all of us in trouble with addictions, hit this point at some point. I see this song as a positive thing because it tells about the sadness of it all. Walter nosaj
---------- walter tore's spontobeat - a real one man band and over 1 million spontaneously created songs and growing. I record about 300 full length cds a year. " life is a daring adventure or nothing at all" - helen keller
for those who want to hear more, the Live Music Archive has 53 live recordings of JRNB shows from 2004-2009. all are freely available for download or streaming. jason is a firm believer in sharing his music.
