i think it's the music we admire, at the core, that helps define us...what was his draw to play the harp at the start? blues? perhaps.. ive never talked to the guy.
in response to the title of the post, NO, I dont think he's left blues behind at all. It IS evidence that he knows what he's doing. However...In watching the clip adam posted and then scrolling down to the one showing him play early on. i do see similarities.
the last minute of adam's clip, after the band stops, jason goes on a tangent, seemingly picking notes out of the nether regions...some worked, and some didnt (to me) and it reminded me of the 1991 vid of ricci...plucking notes out of the air hoping theyd work and, well...mostly they didnt.
that is a flair that has distinct advantages and disadvantages. high risk, high reward. very hendrix-like
I agree that he has not reached his potential, and i have no doubt that his harmonica voice will evolve. i enjoy most of his work i hear from youtube vids.
i dont fear his command of the instrument as it pertains to how i study the harp. aww shucks i should put my harp down? no.. no... no... this man is a staple of what you can achieve once you unleash the beast within...each of us are unique, and though i can take quite a few lessons from ole jason... my voice isnt intended to be a mirror of his. perhaps some chunks here and there...
i would put him in my top 20 blues players, yes... i promise you tho, with his ever evolving style of blues playing, he'll jump up a few notches on everyones list in another 10-15 years.
I think Jason Ricci is pure Rock n Roll!!! The guy is amazing, he is without a doubt a Blues harmonica player in my eyes. You can hear the Blues within most of Jasons songs even in songs like "I turned into a Martian" a cover he did of a Misfits song. He manages to keep that Punk Rock spirit with a Blues undertone.
I think if Jason is causing debates like this he is doing his job well, i think its great no one can really pigeon hole him into a certain genre. It means he's pushing the boundrys of music in general.
Jason is a unique ball of energy that comes alive with a harmonica in his hands plain and simple.
Adam, by putting Jason in your all time blues harp players list, you are not saying he can only play the blues. He can do so much more but he IS one of the best blues harmonica players of all time.
If some harp beginner stumbles on to your site, and looks at your list to see what he should start listening to, he needs to see the name: Jason Ricci!
After listening to the original post again, it is obvious that Jason is purposely playing in the traditional style of 1st postion by skipping the middle octave....similar to what I have heard by Cotton, Bell, SBW, and many more including modern players like Kim Wilson. He could easily have add the OBs on 4,5,6 and made it more to his style.
"I'll put my Jason Ricci poster boy poster away when everyone puts their Little Walter poster boy poster away."
There are plenty of folks on this board who talk about dozens of OTHER great blues cats and rarely mention Little Walter. So, I'll stop rolling my eyes at your man love for Ricci when you stop generalizing and start paying attention.
@Mischa: You wrote: "Adam, by putting Jason in your all time blues harp players list, you are not saying he can only play the blues. He can do so much more but he IS one of the best blues harmonica players of all time.
If some harp beginner stumbles on to your site, and looks at your list to see what he should start listening to, he needs to see the name: Jason Ricci!"
That's exactly what I'm saying, and I'm not sure why it's so hard to people to understand, or agree with. The Top-10 and Second-10 lists on my website, for all their flaws, have a pedagogical function. They're trying to say, "If you're intent on learning what blues harmonica is and can be, you need to pay attention to these players. Each, in his own way, is essential; each has created a highly individualized voice and taken the harp somewhere that nobody else has." I offer a series of criteria, including originality, technical brilliance, soulfulness, and, not least, centrality to the blues harmonica's emerging grand tradition (so to speak) and influence on other players who seek to inhabit that tradition.
I think that a young student of the blues harmonica who seeks to understand the best that can be, and has been, played on the instrument in the past 25 years is making a terrible mistake to ignore Jason Ricci. Do some of you really not agree? Kingley? Do you really disagree?
It's not a question, finally, of what Jason would call himself. Most great, boundary-breaking musicians disdain labels, and Jason is certainly a boundary-breaking musician. I certainly don't seek to claim him ONLY for the blues harmonica world. I simply seek to claim him for that world.
Kingley, I'm afraid you're being deliberately disingenuous here. You know quite well what happens if we follow your "Jason is a HARMONICA player" line and group him with Stevie Wonder, Charlie McCoy, and the like: you get to pretend that Kim Wilson is the be-all and end-all of contemporary players. The problem is, he's not. He's an important contemporary blues player whose brilliance has been superseded and whose central place as the Big Bad Daddy of contemporary players can only be maintained if we find a way of keeping Jason out of the party.
I was hoping you'd invoke Kim and his first-position playing. He's very good. Jason is better. Jason is dancing around Kim's style, signifying on it, expanding on it, and helping us hear that Kim, at this point, is just a little.....old-fashioned.
Now, I love old-fashioned blues harp. I love Paul Oscher's current incarnation, as I made clear in another forum. I just think that, for the health of the instrument and idiom that we love, we should let Jason into the party. I'll agree with you: he's one of the greatest players of all time, right now, and he's still growing. But as the purveyor of a website named Modern Blues Harmonica, and as somebody committed to helping educate future generations of blues harp players into the best that has been played on the instrument and in the idiom, I can't deny the evidence of my own ears. In the video I posted, Jason is signifying and expanding on both Butterfield (the song itself and the acoustic/electric switch partway through) and Wilson (the first-position approach). He's smack in the middle of the tradition that you and I both love. And he's taking it to his own version of the next place it needs to be. His playing is brilliant, and it's brilliant BLUES playing, not rock playing (Popper), or R&B playing (Stevie Wonder), or country playing (Charlie McCoy), or jazz playing (Howard Levy). None of those four "great harmonica players" I've mentioned has anything like the all-points blues pedigree that Jason has.
Jason is indeed a great harmonica player, not just a great blues harmonica player, but he comes to that larger greatness by way of a long and indisputable track record in one particular idiom, and he has, like the strong young poet referenced in T. S. Eliot's "Tradition and the Individual Talent," clearly shifted the way that the entire tradition now looks. Sticking purely to the blues idiom, he can play circles around, get beneath, and upend pretty much every player out there (although Sugar Blue and L.D. Miller give him a run for his money, considered purely as speed demons).
Kim Wilson remains a great player. But nobody can listen to his playing these days and say, "My God! That is cutting-edge stuff and it's the best that I can possible aspire to. It's never been done better." Or at least nobody can do that and remain intellectually honest.
But of course if we find a way of keeping Jason out of the party....Well, many things are possible then.
I should note, just for the record, that Kim has earned his place in my Second-20 all-time list, and that place remains secure. Jason is not yet on that list. Nobody can accuse me of playing favorites, or of being a fan-boy. I try not to let advocacy get in the way of objectivity. I ask that others do the same.
Last Edited by on Jun 05, 2010 5:45 AM
"A young horse is fast, but an old horse knows what's going on... The young horse may win the race, but the old horse stays out twice as long."
Adam, I agree with you. Jason should be in the list. Something we can both agree on OBJECTIVELY.
But to say that Wilson has been superseded... that's entirely a SUBJECTIVE expression of your personal opinion. I know as surely as night follows day that if every musician I personally know, and every member of their non-musician families (young and old), accompanied me to a double bill with Jason and Kim, they would still walk away saying, "the young kid is great at that rock wanking stuff but he sure got schooled by the old guy."
I would never say that Jason is better than Kim as they are both different styles. What I would say is that in the acoustic part of that solo, Jason's playing owes more to Kim Wilson than any other harmonica player. I'd also agree that any new player (or old one for that matter) should not pass Jason by. However I stand by my view that Jason is a harmonica musician because in my mind he has surpassed simply being a blues harmonica player.
The main thing though to my mind is that we agree on the fact that Jason is a great harp player. The label we choose to give him individually doesn't matter at all. What matters most (or should do) is simply that his music reaches us.
Dance Puppets Dance!! to the marionetts tune,,,, is it he or you that are the buffoon:( for the answer you seek will never be found,,,, Dance Puppets Dance you are the Marionettes Clowns:)
"The main thing though to my mind is that we agree on the fact that Jason is a great harp player." I don't agree. It comes across as way to busy, forced, and thought out. I judge greatness on how it grabs me and has me coming back for more. His music does neither to me. I will take Jimmy reed, SBWII, Slim Harpo, they do this to me so I call them great. I don't live in the past, but until some new harp players come along that pull me away from guys like that, I will be tuning into their tunes because their playing is what turns me on and inspires me to play my harp. All opinion for sure. 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. " life is a daring adventure or nothing at all" - helen keller
The answer to this question is based on opinion. Your opinion may say he is too experimental or not traditional enough, and others may disagree because his roots are in blues.
The fact is that one day we all will be dead and all our opinions will be gone too. In 20, 50, or 100 years from now will the blues enthusiasts look back and say Jason Ricci was the best or most innovative blues harp player? Nobody knows the answer, and any discussion will be pure speculation.
IMHO dudes like Jason will be considered the evolution of "Blues Harp". My speculation is based on the history of other genres of music especially Jazz and Rock.
Did the New Orleans Creole musicians think ragtime was jazz? Did the improv musicians think Louis, Basie, and Duke were jazz? Did the Big band dudes think that Bebop was jazz Would Bird and Dizzy think that the later progressive Miles and Coltrane stuff was jazz? How about Miles' 60s stuff, Ornette Coleman, and Sun Ra? What about fusion; Miles' Bitches Brew, Weather Report, Mahavishnu, and RTF? How about cheesey 80s stuff from Miles and Herbie, or smooth jazz like Kenny G? Are the more current dudes like Zorn, Bela Fleck, MMW, Scofield, Marc Ribot considered Jazz?
Through out time each evolution was debated that it could be Jazz, and ALL styles above are currently considered "Jazz".
Do you think WC Handy or Robert Johnson would consider J Geils, Paul Butterfield or SRV blues? Possibly, but either way they are currently accepted. Ask your kids or grand kids if they think Jason Ricci is blues… lol!
"Kim Wilson remains a great player. But nobody can listen to his playing these days and say, "My God! That is cutting-edge stuff and it's the best that I can possible aspire to. It's never been done better." Or at least nobody can do that and remain intellectually honest."
Regrettably, because I believe that Kim Wilson is a true master harp player, Adam's observation is probably true. A gutsy thing to say, Adam.
I think that Jason is more like Jaco Pastorius than Hendrix for a couple reasons. 1) Pastorious was very tight technically, many recorings Hendrix was not. 2) Pastorious and Ricci are playing instruments where most people have no idea who they are or how good they are... both will be remembered by a select few for many years 3) They both phrase things more similarly to each other than to Hendrix.
Of course Hendrix was firmly rooted in the blues as is Jason.
I mentioned to Jason that I viewed him as the Pastorious of harmonica and he thought about it for a minute and said "I'll take that compliment", so at least he would not point-blank dismiss the idea.
I hope Jason is not like either in that he finds a way to live a long and happy life.
I guess I have to watch more video of Jason Ricci, but I have been watching and listening (much more than just casually) to Weather Report / Jaco Pastorius since the 1970's and I fail to see the connection. The only reference I can acknowledge (maybe) is making sounds come out of the instrument that are unique, as Jaco did with the bass. But Jason's runs are very reminiscent of Jimi Hendrix, expecially the timing of his hesitations and the fluidity of his playing (example Hendrix playing "Red House") If the reference to Jaco is that Jason is revolutionizing the instrument, some of that may have creedence.
"I know as surely as night follows day that if every musician I personally know, and every member of their non-musician families (young and old), accompanied me to a double bill with Jason and Kim, they would still walk away saying, "the young kid is great at that rock wanking stuff but he sure got schooled by the old guy." I was at just such a show-at The Paramus Picture Show in Paramus,N.J.,where Jason opened for Kim Wilson. Not one person there ever stated that Jason got "schooled" by Kim-actually,it was just the opposite. Jason and Kim have the utmost repect for each other,and the music they choose to perform. There was just as many people waiting for autographs in Jason's line as there was for Kim. When Kim took the stage,the first thing he asked for was a round of applause for Jason.
Not to belabor the obvious, but I posted this particular clip, and started this thread, because Jason isn't playing anything that any objective observer could call fast rock/blues. He certainly does that elsewhere, but he doesn't do that here. Here he's playing blues.
I'm gratified that my friends Kingley and EV360 have, for one brief shining moment, extended the olive branch of.....rapprochement in their posts above that immediately follow my last rant. It's a wonderful life! They get beers from me.
@atty1chgo by phrasing i meant the flurries of notes, though you are correct that Jason has more rock phrasing that is similar to Hendrix than jazz phrasing...
Of course it gets muddy, having seen Pastorious do third stone from the sun several times live, his debt to Hendrix is obvious.
personally ev, i like both sugar and popper(Harper??), but i dont think they sound anything like jason.. it is his style of playing that seperates him.. the scales he decides to use, and the notes(be it overblows or not) he decides to play.. if that is laughable fine.. but if they played like he does, i would listen to them more... but whatever.. i didnt want to argue.. i thought you actually had someone that is as fresh as jason's sound, and i wanted check em out.. who is harper
Only saw Jaco do it once (Weather Report - 11th row at the Auditorium Theatre, Chicago 1979 - second show) but I'm afraid I don't remember specifics from that far back. But I have seen the videos on YouTube. Re: debt to Hendrix, only for his songs. But this is a harp forum.
Back to Jason, I like his slower playing better, probably because of my inclination toward Chicago style blues. I have been wondering whether as I get more proficient with faster playing, I will like his/others faster stuff better (like Sugar Blue etc.) Although I appreciate the fast stuff, I harken to the words of Jerry Portnoy that "music is not sports". It's not about how fast you play. While I appreciate the technical proficiency, I gravitate more toward the Chicago players, especially Junior Wells, Carey Bell, and of course Billy Branch, for whom speed wasn't and isn't the main emphasis.
O.K...let it be noted, please pardon the comparison. ..youtube Lee Sankeys(slow blues). What I'm not sure about is who was first? Very nice stuff nevertheless. It develops into Jasons signature style very quickly, then it's all his, or it is harder to un-cover who the influences are...ha! John Popper triplets, Paul Butterfields attack and vocal phrasing, what does it matter at this point? I've been watching him off and on over the years. I have benefitted from his vids,and his very entertaining energized approach. We all strive to be as committed and relentless. Practice makes perfect. And with the web at our finger tips. I am hopeful for more of the same from the next generation. Whether Jason is one of the greatest harp players who ever lived. C'mon fella's. Are we that ...naive? Give it some more time, let him simmer a little, throw some salt and pepper, add a little shoyu sauce... Things taste better the next day...anyway. Sure!! he's unreal awesome...and there is a bright future for him. And he is well on his way to inventing a unique style all his own. Rooted in the blues, ofcourse.. Though, clearly departing from the blues roots.. Which he is succeeding in doing very well. But please tone down the worship.. btw. you'll dig Lee Sankeys smooth playing. Very tastey stuff.
Gwood420: Peter Harper is a UK born Australian guy who combines blues harp with didgeridoo and bongos and stuff like that. In the US press he was described early on as the "Jimi Hendrix of the harp" (a tired analogy and wrong) because he does that super fast John Popper "whistle through the harp" stuff, using pedals and things. He tours the States quite a bit, doing festivals. I'd say he's mostly in the rock/funk vein. Most of his phrasing on the sound samples I found, technically, isn't at all on the same level as Ricci - more intermediate blues/rock phrases. But I've done supports for him in Australia, and I've heard him throw in those real fast Sugar Blue type runs many times. So may he's simplified things to make the harp less of a deal for him, and focused more on the vocals and grooves. That's where the money and longevity lies, IMO.
I don't have any of his CDs, but here's an Amazon link:
I definitely love and prefer blues in pure traditional form but could hendrix play blues no question and can jason ricci play blues the driftin blues adam posted proves it to me without a doubt
EV, I got to spend some time hanging out with Harper last year in Hattiesburg, MS. His background in blues is still evident, but as you say, his sound has evolved into something that I'd best describe as World music meets Bill Withers. I like it(although my non-Austrailian ears have trouble seeing the musicality of the Didgeridoo), and I'd suspect he's probably suffered somewhat by people who expect him to be a 'bluesman'. And yes, a great guy, indeed. ---------- Todd L Greene, Co-Founder
I don't get the excitement over Jason Ricci. I want to like his music cuz I love his personality (some of his YouTube lessons are so fun). It's too rock like and the subtlties are missing. That video of Kim Wilson shows in this thread has much better tone and phrasing. ---------- Tin Lizzie
..like I said, without over analyzing it to death... let em simmer a little longer. Throw some salt, hot sauce, a little soy sauce,too.. and dear Jason will continue to show his prowess..and one day find himself to be one of the greatest players alive. I am trying to "get" what all the Jason worshiping is all about.
Last Edited by on Jun 07, 2010 3:48 PM
It's obvious from some of these posts,they've never seen him live. Until you do that,you really can't base your opinion from YouTube vids. If I could compare him to anybody,it would be Art Tatum with a good dash of Danny Gatton.
I agree with Tuckster. I did not get it till I saw Jason live. So very few performers have impressed me like that. Garcia on a good night. Emmy Lou more than once. Joan Armatrading. John Hiatt. Jaco Pastorious (with weather report and joni mitchel). Wayne Shorter. Bonnie Riatt on a good night, Ry Cooder
Saw some other big names close (so I can compare to being in a smaller venue with New Blood), that did not do that much for me. Paul Simon, Stevie Ray Vaughn, Brecker, Metheney, the Who, Paul McCartney, Jethro Tull, String Cheese, CSNY, Kim Wilson, VSOP, Santana, Fleetwood Mac (yuck), Dylan, Cake etc...
Maybe I caught Jason on some good nights and I was in the right mood. The big names were amazing, they just were not putting it out there, it just did not feel like something new was being created. It did not feel like the whole band was just stepping outside of themselves and thinking holy crap, did we just play that? It did not matter if it was blues, punk, jazz standard rocked out, whatever, that is just what I felt. If you get a chance to catch jason live now, do it, don't hesitate.
After seeing Jason Ricci perform live, I appreciated his skills but really didn't dig the music. He was performing before Buddy Guy. I couldn't wait for him to vacate the stage. Buddy put on one helluva show.
Anyway, this whole thread was probably cooked up between Adam and Jason, so Adam... why don't you just get Jason to tell us what he thinks he is? Cut out the middle man! We know he reads this stuff avidly.
2010 Blues Music Awards - Best Instrumentalist Harmonica 1. Jason Ricci 2. Billy Branch 3. Kim Wilson 4. Mark Hummel 5. Rick Estrin
Last Edited by on Jun 08, 2010 9:50 AM
Billy Gibson is an amazing harmonica player. In a club setting, he ignites both the band and his audience with explosive solos and individual charisma. In a studio setting, he’s the one who gets a call from producers when a track needs some magic. Simply put, Billy Gibson is an extraordinary musician. Born in Clinton, Mississippi, Billy first picked-up the harmonica at a very young age. After high school, he spent some time in Clarksdale, where he honed his musical skill and immersed himself in the blues culture. In his early 20s, he moved to Memphis and quickly became recognized as one of Beale Street’s most dynamic new performers. During this period, he also became acquainted with some legendary Memphis jazz musicians and began studying jazz harmonica with renowned virtuoso Pete Pedersen. Now one of Memphis’ most popular entertainers and twice the recipient of the National Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences’ Premier Player Award for outstanding harmonica, Billy Gibson is a mature musician who is getting more than just a little notice. His recent guest appearances on Michael Burks’ I Smell Smoke along with various television appearances are adding up to nothing less than a serious buzz. His recording credits include two CDs with the popular Beale Street band junkyardmen (1998 and 1999), a self-titled solo release in 1996, and the 2001 jazz release The Nearness of You. He was also guest artist and co-producer on two other releases that year—Goin’ Down South Blues Sampler and the McCarty-Hite Project’s Weekend in Memphis. In a Memphis Tone was mostly recorded in 1997 and captures Billy Gibson as an artist with enormous talent and renewed inspiration. The sessions include his mentor Pete Pedersen on one track, and B-3 organ virtuoso Charlie Wood and bassist Kevin Sheahan on most others. An instrumental CD with elements of blues and jazz, In a Memphis Tone captures a moment in time where a heightened sense of artistry is achieved and pure pleasure awaits the listener.
