The other night at a show, when Jason Ricci and Shawn Starski were trading licks, I was thinking about how they might well be one of the best all time harp guitar pairs. They are not only amazing alone, but push each other to a higher level when they play together. In spite of the fact that the band is named after Jason, Shawn's influence is really obvious, and I think they might be the best out on the circuit now.
I am talking about technical strength in addition to the synergy of the two instruments.
Muddy and Little Walter.
Satan and Adam are not performing much now but really had that chemistry and understanding.
Blues Traveler does not quite do that for me, not quite sure why, cause there is great stuff there, and I am pretty convinced that without Popper, Ricci would not be where he is now.
Sonny and Brownie, though Sonny was unbelievable, did not seem to do as much as a duo with synergy as Cephas and Wiggins.
Who else and why?
Last Edited by on Mar 19, 2010 8:07 AM
Jimmy Reed and slim harpo ---------- 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.
A quick story for those of interest,Back in the early 80,s some friends and i went to see Sonny and Brownie at a place called the Mainpoint,outside of Philly.We drove out from the J.Shore and had tickets for the early show.It was Sonny,Brownie and a drummer named Red.anyway around 4 or 5 songs into they,re set Brownie had gotten a hair up his ass and said "Alright,If you want to listen to him play then I,m not going to play,and sat up on stage for 2 to 3 songs with his arms crossed and did not,play one chord.The set ended early and Thank God,especially since we drove close to 2 hrs to get there,the venue manager apologized and said we could stay for the later show.He explained that they had some kind of a love hate relationship going after playing and touring with each other for 40 plus yrs.They did hold it together for the late set and a turned out to be a great,but late show by the time we drove back east.BTW has anyone heard the S/B album or cd with J.Mayall on a couple of the tracks,if not and you ever get a chance to pick it up its a Great Listen,its titled Sonny and Brownie and was released in 1973.Mayall does a tune with them called White Boy Lost In The Blues.
I use to help Sonny get around at clubs in NYC in the late 70's. He and Brownie were always fighting. One night I caught a roundhouse off my head from brownie as I tried to seperate them onstage at the bottom line or other end (can't remember). Stevie Homick was their drummer during that era. That night the show lasted 1 song before the fist fight broke out. It must get awful warped when one cann't get a gig without the other. Show business in general warps ones spirit and ego but it seems the 2 team folks in all areas of show business really suffer. Sonny taught me a lot just hanging around him. I wish I could have gotten to know Brownie, but once I was in the Sonny camp, he wouldn't have anything to do with me. Walter ---------- 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.
Satan and Adam. They don't sound like any other guitar/harp combo and and they're great. I only got see them perform once but I would love to see them perform again.
MrVerylongusername: I don't know. I didn't ask. I mainly just listened to Sonny talk and play. His backstage playing was special because I was the only audience! That night after he and brownie fought and the show ended, I went outside and blew my harp on the street. I was so wound up I had to let loose. I had my eyes closed and I was playing stuff I had never done before. It felt magical and then it ended. I opened my eyes and there was my friend telling me Sonny was next to me the whole time stomping and smiling. I asked where he went? He said he didn't know. We went in the club, and up and down all the streets around the club. He was nowhere in sight. That was the last time I saw him because I left for Arizona, which bombed out and had enough for the greyhound to SF. I got out there with nothing but my harps an guitar. I smelled bread baking and this little sourdough bakery gave me a loaf. It was the best bread I have ever eaten. Then I heard blues and went in. It was cool papa. I ended up sitting in and going home with him. I have been guided to the old blues guys. Sorry to ramble. Walter ---------- 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.
I meant each alone on harp and guitar at the same time. Jimmy Reed in particular was a great guitarist IMO, and is much underated like Howling wolf as a guitarist and harp player. Harpo, Reed, and Wolf were all simple players, but could groove deep. They lacked the flash that most associate with greatness. Walter ---------- 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.
MrVerylongusername: Thanks! The book is actually done sort of. Like Spontobeat, it is ever evolving..... Nigel Price, an author in England is the writer. I need to wait on a few people to pass before it comes out. I grew up in the Newark NJ area and in a very Soprano like scene. I witnessed a mob hit and the hitman tried to kill me. I was 9 year old. About 8 years ago I was in one of my many therapies for my Post Traumatic Stress Syndrome and decided to investigate it. I called the police station and was put through to a captain that was on foot beat at the time of the murder. He took my statement because there is no statue of limitations on murder. He said he would be in touch. I kept calling him and finally he got on the phone and said _"drop it" and hung up. There are my parents as well. They have created their own nice little reality about those days. So, I figure in about 5-10 years all will be clear. It will be alot about how spontobeat came about,my parents forbidding me to learn to play music, my traveling ways-pretty much moving around the world at the drop of a hat hobo style- living/playing with some of the old blues guys, and my work for the past 15 years or so with Gang kids and special education students in the public schools. Nigel is currently working with the BBC about a segment being released. Sean Eaton, a young filmaker is doing a documentary as well. I am tired of pushing things. That almost killed me trying to get the conservative music business to accept spontobeat. I have learned the way to let all this stuff come out in its own time. Walter ---------- 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.
Ev: Nobody's firing, Ev630. But statements like "this statement is nuts," or "lol," or "really?," (with arched eyebrows implied), just don't go very far on a forum like this.
We like to traffic in rational argumentation. Waltertore didn't just say he liked them; he offered reasons for his nomination. What say you? Have you seen them live? Do you disagree with the reasons he invokes?
Last Edited by on Mar 19, 2010 5:36 AM
Tom Ball and Kenny Sultan are definitely up there in the mix.
Have Cephas and Wiggins been mentioned? From the early 1980s through John Cephas's passing a year or two ago, they were considered by many to be the inheritors of the Piedmont-style throne previously held by Sonny and Brownie. I had the pleasure of meeting them once (I'm friends with Barry Lee Pearson, who was their sort-of manager) and seeing them play 4 or 5 times. I loved Phil Wiggins's tone and bouncy groove; sometimes I felt that he played too many notes, but heck: Sonny Terry played WAY too many notes, and constantly stomped on Brownie's vocals, and I tend to be a pretty busy player. It takes one to know one. Anyway, I think they should certainly be on this list.
As for Satan and Adam: stay tuned for that new album, sometime--I assume--in the next 6-9 months.
@EV630 my reason for saying that Ricci and Starsky "might be one of the best" comes from seeing them live and getting the unbelievable energy they put out as live performers, and they way the push each other into new territory. It is most evident when they trade licks but is going on all the time. Other members of the band could have something to do with it, but they revolve out of the band over time, so creatively, in spite of the fact that the band is named after Jason, I think their interaction is part of what sets Jason apart musically from the other few harp players that are technically as proficient.
But I am getting out of the thread what I intended, discussion of why some guitar harmonica duos can be more than the sum of their parts, and how the great ones, over the years, evolve a body of work and a musical understanding that transcends what each of them could have done on their own. Also how such a pair of musicians can keep it fresh and growing year in and year out.
And no fair with John Hammond, Water Tore etc. It is possible Walter Tore has two parts of his brain and they synergize when he plays guitar and harp, but that was not the intent of the post :-)
But unless there is some amazing innovative never before heard technical prowess and just groundbreaking magic coming off of this duo, it's way too early to put them at the top of a mountain of great players. I mean, set Jason aside for a minute. What does the guitarist bring to the table that puts him ahead of a thousand other guys playing blues rock? Nothing that I can hear.
Adam, I appreciate your observation about my "nuts" comment. But really, it's nuts.
I am NOT dissing those guys. They are excellent. But the observation "best all time" is akin to some guy hearing SRV for the first time and posting, "this guy may be the greatest blues guitarist ever".
...and I'm sure that Jason and Shawn would have never named themselves. So what we're talking about isn't how great musicians rank themselves, but how reasonably qualified listeners rank them. WalterT said, "..one of the best all time guitar harp pairs." I think that some people would categorize Stevie Ray Vaughan as one of the best blues guitarists ever. Certainly Buddy Guy thought that.
Again, your language isn't quite as precise as WalterT, and yet you're mocking him. WalterT qualified what he said: might be ONE of the best.
You don't have to agree, but Walter is no fool--he's seen Sonny and Brownie up close and personal, for example, which is an experience many of us (including me) haven't had--and he was trying to open things out into dialogue.
As great as Stevie Ray Vaughan was, I would rather see Albert King, Robert Jr Lockwood, Louis Myers, Sammy Lawhorn, Johnny Littlejohn and about 50 other guys again before seeing Stevie Ray Vaughan again. It's just a matter of personal preference.
There never really is a "best", maybe a "best that I ever saw" list. It's always subjective. There are loads of great players that sound fantastic together.
Hummel and Rusty Zinn play a couple of gigs as a duo and they sounded great together. Were they one of "the best?"
I've seen Kenny Neal and Billy Branch play a spectacular duo set at a festival a couple of years ago. Were they one of "the best?"
It depends on the criteria that you use for judging and it's usually very personal. Some of the duos listed don't reach me at an emotional level and I wouldn't have listed them, but that's just me. Clearly, others do dig them, so I won't tear down one person's idols in an attempt to elevate mine.
I don't remember anyone mentioning Rishell and Raines.
Adam: Thanks for intervening I think? Was it me or walterharp you have been responding about?
Music is totally subjective. We each hear what we hear. Everyones opinion is valid. What tends to happen is a lot of people agree on certain players being the best and that is often percieved as fact. Human beings can easily be conditioned into liking most any kind of music if it is promoted right, played endlessly everywhere you go....... We all get turned on by music in our own way and should never doubt how it makes us feel or judge another for how it makes them feel. From the greats down to the recreational players here, if it makes you feel good it is great! Walter
---------- 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.
yup, there is some mixing of walter tore and walterharp here.. no shortage of harp playing walters! :-)
not sure if mr. tore ever saw jason ricci and shawn, and if he did, i bet it is not his cup of tea, but would predict that jason would win him over because of his sheer joy of playing and passion.
Adam was responding to my post.... and he is right, the words were chosen to waffle
might be one of the best ... not for sure and not THE best.. that is for future ears and years to tell, the comment is based on trajectory as well as what is now.
walterharp: I have watched Jason's videos and interviews, and read some of his posts. I respect the man. I would enjoy meeting him someday. I bet we could talk freely with each other. He seems a breath of fresh air in the music business. He does play a style that is not my favorite, but if I had to pick one from that style he would be the man. Walter ---------- 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.
Hey Lean... I was going to that show too but they canceled it again. I ended up going down to RI and catching Sugar Ray & the Bluetones. Still want to catch Annie & Paul though. Did you end up going and catching the replacement act. If so, how was it? Thanks
