Harvey, Eric played with a lot of harmonica players. Just on his studio albums I can name 3 players: Jerry Portnoy played a lot with Eric. He plays on Clapton's albums "From The Cradle", "Me and Mr.Johnson"... Kim Wilson played on two songs in "Clapton" album (2010), "Judgement Day" and "Can't Hold Out Much Longer". Taj Mahal plays harmonica in one song in album "Old Sock" (2013)... Here is Jerry with Eric (is Jerry's solo in 1st or 3rd position?)
Last Edited by Rarko on Oct 06, 2013 2:01 PM
Jerry is always outstanding. I knew I had a high pitch hearing problem (busted an eardrum 30+ years ago), but it was very obvious with these videos. Couldn't hear Popper once he camped on the 9 and 10 and missed a few on Jerrys' solo. BTW: not jumping on the Popper Bashing bandwagon, but I prefer his singing to his playing.
Last Edited by rbeetsme on Oct 06, 2013 2:17 PM
Jon Popper is a unique harmonica player with impressive speed and verve , but he is not a good blues player. He garbles the low end , sounding more asthmatic than bracing. Predictably, he only sounds comfortable on the high notes, where his accuracy and intonation improves dramatically. Even there, he does really bring the low, middle and high registers together; these are some sorry transitions. He is, on the other band, a very fine blues singer, based on this sample. To be fair, though, this video is some years old and it seems that Popper has learned something about blues phrasing, as in his recording of "Last Night" with Johnny Winter. He allows space to sculpt his solo. His fleet runs on the high end are not as frantic, they are shot, sharp bursts, dead on target. It is a wonderfully chilling sound. ---------- Ted Burke http://www.youtube.com/user/TheoBurke?feature=mhee
jon popper is like hendrix, and many of the greatest at their instrument,,,, he doesn't want to sound like a harmonica player!!!! he wants to move the technique along.. quit sounding like an old broke down bluesman..
I'm with Theo. On the first sample Popper's high end playing in no way compliments or connects to what he just did on the low end. His high end playing sounds too major and lacks blue notes. I don't like the Winter stuff he does either. Some of his high end playing sounds like the Pied Piper on speed. Nothing blues about it at all.
A much better comparison to Hendrix would be Jason Ricci. He plays the high end overblows and overdraws in a very soulful fashion that connects all 10 holes of the harmonica very well. He plays fast but not just for the sake of playing fast. His 2nd position blues phrasing using all 10 holes is as good as it gets.
"I'm with Theo. On the first sample Popper's high end playing in no way compliments or connects to what he just did on the low end. His high end playing sounds too major and lacks blue notes. I don't like the Winter stuff he does either. Some of his high end playing sounds like the Pied Piper on speed. Nothing blues about it at all."
I don't hear the same stuff you are, especially in the high end. At the start of the solo he starts with a very "generic" 4 draw bend and hammers on the 3 hole bed several times. His note choice is right on with the blues scale, but his phrasing is much more horn oriented than harp.
He is playing blue notes over key changes including blow bends over the I and IV in the high end frequently. You can hear the major four run up to the blow bends at the first turnaround - which is actually quite hip to the song's harmony. He then spends a lot of time playing blue notes on the high end.
People have to remember there is note AND phrasing. Nothing about the note choice here is off, IMO. This is especially true give the fact that the high end lays out nicely into the Mixolydian mode, which is totally appropriate for blues. ---------- Mantra Customized Harmonicas My Website
Popper's low end execution is not the best - when he plays blues, he often sounds like he's not sure where the second, third or fourth notes are. He doesn't come to them with the intuitive ease he shows with his high register riffing. Even so, his high end escapades don't connect with any thing going around him, or just barely , if at all. The solo is a mess. But he does superb stuff on the Johnny Winter track--there are years between the recordings and what Popper does through out the improvisation is show us that he figured out how to play blues in his own style, with his signature runs, and still have it be blues. Toward the end of the solo, he gives us a masterful flurry of notes that speed by and yet maintain a blues cadence. He knows what he has to do. So there is hope for this man to get his share of blues cred. ---------- Ted Burke http://www.youtube.com/user/TheoBurke?feature=mhee
Good one rbeets...I've posted this video of Jason many times...using all 10 holes on an high F harp, overblowing nd overdrawing....heck most players won't even try a 7 od on an F harp....he makes it fat.
Peter Harper doesn't impress Walter as much as Jason does..just watch.
ninja, I understand you are friends wih Popper and he has called you up...maybe you are a starry eyed fan that hears nothing but perfection. Maybe I'm the same about Jason?
Popper would be on my Top 10 most influential harp players ever...but he would not make my top 20 blues harp players list
I don't think JP is a great blues player. I just think that the particular video in the OP was actually pretty cool for the context. ---------- Mantra Customized Harmonicas My Website
Some guys just aren't hardcore blues players - JP, Charlie McCoy, etc. That being said, I think they often do a better job "faking" a blues tune than blues guys do trying to play rock or jazz.
I also here the exact same note choices when JP plays blues as Sugar Blue...nobody calls him out on the same sorta stuff, though. ---------- Mantra Customized Harmonicas My Website
Last Edited by HarpNinja on Oct 07, 2013 9:38 AM
One reason being - even though many players are masters of the Harmonica - they are not Masters of Styles ( meaning: rock, jazz, funk etc)...
They have concentrated, specialized, and spent their lives studied in a Style that they highly prefer to play...
Because they want to make a living and a career out of their Mastery of that style, thus spending MOST of their life and time playing that particular style.
Masters understand how the odds are stacked against a player who wants to be a jack of all trades - especially if a respected career is what a player desires.
To be great and fluent at multiple styles of music is for the chosen few...The rest who try it, end up being mediocre in different styles at best and not very impressive at what they do.
Jason is a rare breed of harp musician...he can shuffle styles with authority :)
Last Edited by Frank on Oct 07, 2013 10:03 AM
