....and have we ever asked this particular question? It seems to me that we haven't.
I was struck, while attending the Chicago Blues Festival, by how beautifully Billy Branch accompanied guitarist Carlos Johnson when CJ sang and played emotional electric blues, like Santana crossed with B. B. King. Branch barely played anything. But he did play. He edited his accompanying harp riffs down to the bare minimum. And he was perfection as a side man.
Maybe we can start with five of the greatest:
--Big Walter --Billy Branch --Magic Dick --Little Walter --who?? Cotton, maybe? Or Sonny Terry, if you think that the way he steps all over Brownie's vocals is actually an inspired kind of comping. Or Kim Wilson? His stuff on Jimmy Rogers's LUDELLA remains a standard, I believe.
Post videos, if they're applicable, or direct us towards specific recorded tracks.
We're talking here NOT about the greatest soloists, but about everything BUT that. We're talking about the guys who know how to accompany a singer and reinforce a band's groove.
Adam - Carlos Johnson is bad ass. It's too bad you never saw Billy Branch backing Carl Weathersby when Carl was an SOB. That was something to see.
Check out Billy's playing on the first Tail Dragger DVD. It's pretty damn good. His work on the Wolf label is nice, too. I really dig the Vance Kelly CD called Hands Off. It is excellent, too.
Carey Bell. It's a long list. Start here. Check out Carey Bell's playing on the Buster Benton's Spider In My Stew CD. He plays some really soulful stuff. Also, Willie Williams' Raw Unpolluted Soul CD (if you can find it) and on Jimmy Rogers' Bluebird CD on the Analogue Productions label.
Actually, I was lucky enough to see Billy and Carl together a handful of times back in the late 80s and early 90s. But Carlos Johnson on Saturday at the festival blew my socks off. And Rico McFarland (not to go OT) with Sugar Blue was as frightening as he always is. When people think "Chicago blues guitar," they don't think THAT stuff. But he's been playing in that over-the-top style for 25 years, and he keeps getting better and crazier. He definitely hasn't mellowed.
Who is the greatest comping blues harp player? A great question, and one that doesn't come up often. The reason, I think, is that most current harmonica players sing (some badly, but that can be the subject of another thread) so therefore aren't called upon to comp, i.e. accompany other singers, as often as in the past.
I've been playing on stage for 36 years. Nobody in my first band could sing, so we all took turns. I quit singing in 1978 when I saw someone in the audience literally grimacing, right in front of me, when I sang a sour note-- and I deserved it. From then on, I stuck to harmonica alone, which meant I had better be good at comping.
I don't know if I want to say anyone is the greatest (psst...if pushed, "Little Walter"), but I agree with much of what's been said so far. My favorites-- Little Walter, Big Walter, Carey Bell, and Kim Wilson. I saw Carey Bell accompany Willie Dixon and Buster Benton in the late 70s as part of Willie's touring Chicago Blues Revue-- he did a beautiful job. Kim Wilson-- he's tasty whenever he accompanies someone. His work with Jimmie Rogers in Ludella is stellar. There's also a fellow named Adam Gussow who did a great job accompanying a singer/guitarist going by the handle of Sterling Magee. Jazzy, rhythmic, exciting accompaniment-- I'm not saying this for the brownie points.
Let me talk about the whole issue of being a harmonica playing accompanist. Since I love playing, and since I don't sing, I've had to give this issue a lot of thought. I've also written about it.
If you need to, go to the bathroom, do whatever needs to be done, then sit down and read two little essays I wrote about the issue. The ideas in the essays overlap. The first questions the rule some players gave me-- "Only play when the singer takes a breath". The second talks about the same issue in another way-- how do you know, as an accompanist, when you are OVER playing? Have a read:
1. "ONLY PLAY WHEN THE SINGER TAKES A BREATH"
Like many rules, this one is made to be broken. From my blues loving perspective, I can't help thinking of Little Walter, Walter Horton and Sonny Terry, to give familiar examples. They played over, under, around, (insert any other preposition you can think of) the vocals. But it worked!
They had the chops and deep musicianship to pull it off. Muddy Waters' "Forty Days and Forty Nights" would not be the arresting song it is without Little Walter's harmonica, which can be heard throughout. Although it is present during the vocal, it does not detract, at least to my ears.
In my playing, if I'm inspired, I do play while the singer's singing; weaving in and out of and sometimes over the vocals. If we're all on the same blues page, it works; the singer's happy, I'm happy and the audience is happy. Sometimes it doesn't work.
Other times I play a rhythm riff on the harp. Rhythm harmonica is an under-appreciated art, but that's best kept as a subject for another thread.
Other times I shut up until it's time for a 12 or 24 bar solo, and that works too, in the right song.
In all vocal songs, blues or not, the singer is the most important performer in that song. The role of the other musicians, all of them, is to play in a way that supports the message the singer is trying to convey. That involves listening to and appreciating the lyrics, and understanding the inherent mood-- emotional, spiritual, even intellectual-- of the song. It might involve playing during the vocals.
This brings to mind a rule I subscribe to-- "When in doubt, lay out". If you're not sure you can add to the vocal, then, yes, you'd best be quiet while the singer's singing.
I'm ignoring instrumental showcases for the time being, where the rules are different. Even in that case, there's usually an instrument taking the lead, and the other instruments' role is to support that lead. I'm ignoring jazz scat singing, where the singer is really another improvising jazz instrumentalist.
Having said all this, I do acknowledge the risk of playing over vocals. I've attended too many jam sessions where the harmonica player absolutely murdered the singer's efforts by playing over the vocals, in a fashion that did not even come close to complementing those vocals.
2. "PLAYING vs. OVERPLAYING"
This is something I've thought about often. I play blues harmonica. My only musical trick. These remarks come from the perspective of a lifelong blues devotee.
In my small town, there's a core group of musicians who get together in various combinations for special events, concerts, music festivals, night club gigs, etc. I'm in that group. Since I don't sing, I'm never the leader of the band. I'm always trying to please whatever band I'm in; especially its singer. He or she is usually the nominal leader of the band. Some of my bands are "blues" bands; some are not.
Because I see the voice as the supreme, sublime instrument, even more expressive than the harmonica, I see every instrumentalist's role, be it a with a horn instrument (including harmonica) or rhythm instrument (including harmonica), as having his first goal to support the singer. More precisely, to help the singer convey the mood, message, emotional content, etc. of the song. So, if you can do that while playing as the singer sings, or as the other instruments sound, by all means do it. If you can't, stick to your solo spot; even a sympathetically delivered solo can add immeasurably to a song.
In my opinion, you should never be trying to "wow" the audience when it's your time to solo. Wowing the audience, moving them to say "what a great harp player", is detracting from the overall spirit of the song. They should be thinking about the message in the song. (even blues songs-- they're not always about "my no good woman/man done me wrong".)
Besides being great soloists, Little Walter and Walter Horton were great accompanists. They had the uncanny ability to pick just the right phrases, played in rhythm, for the singers they backed. Not all great blues harp players have that ability. Sonny Boy Williamson II, for instance, as well as he played on his own recordings, showed his fallibility when he was called upon to back other singers. I am thinking especially of the European package tours he travelled with-- the American Folk Blues Festivals and side gigs, as documented on record and video. To my mind, he clashes with the singers as often as he provides sympathetic accompaniment.
My point? Play contemporaneously with everybody else if you truly have the skill; if you don't, best stick to your solo spot. Hopefully the band, especially the singer, will give you feedback as to where you fit in. I'm not sure where I fit in; some of the singers I back love it when I play over, under and all around them as they sing; others insist on not hearing a peep out of me except when it's time for my solo mid-song.
Oh-- one last thing. The sound of a harmonica is powerful and arresting. It turns people's heads. Too much of it in a song, or in an evening of music, dilutes that power. When in doubt, lay out! You want people craving more, not less.
Gary Smith does fabulous accompaniment...with other instruments, or as second or THIRD harp. Always fills a slot and knows the part. Charlie Musselwhite is a recognized virtuoso, but is also superb on the side or in the pocket.
One of my favorite Cds is Etta James "Blue to the Bone". I think the harp player is Jimmy V? He plays very fitting and tasteful stuff. Great CD! Most songs are 12 bar classics.
I'll have to wait until I get home to check. But, I'm almost certain that it was Logan playing harp on "Blue to the Bone". Unless I'm thinking of a different Etta James album?
I find it difficult to come up with a definitive fifth. LW is at the top of MY list,followed closely by Magic Dick. I had forgotten how good MD was at comping,he is a big influence on my own comping.
wolfkristiansen-Well said and very much in line with the way I feel about it. I also don't sing and consider myself more the sideman,there to serve the song.I'm fond of playing the notes the singer is singing,but at a lower volume. Vocals first and foremost.
Finger Taylor plays on a Debbie Davies CD and he does some really fine comping.
I think that Jerry Portnoy really deserves a big nod in this category. Whether it's with Muddy or on the stuff he's done with Clapton, he fills that space in a way few others know how to. -Bob
Billy Branch and Jerry Portnoy come to mind. But the master was Junior Wells. Listen to him fill in on "I've Been There" from the Buddy Guy and Junior Wells Live At Legends CD.
I also dig Junior Wells for comping and a classic example from him is on the original Muddy Waters recording of Standing Around Crying, and many people think it's Little Walter, but from finding out personally from two people who were on that recording session, both Muddy Waters and my ex-boss Jimmy Rogers, they confirmed that it was indeeed Junior Wells.
I'd also add to the mix is Sonny Boy Williamson #1 (John Lee Williamson), who played some great stuff behind Big Joe Williams and also Paul Oscher and George "Mojo" Buford behind Muddy and Jimmy Reed behind Eddie Taylor on his classic VJ sides like Bad Boy. ---------- Sincerely, Barbeque Bob Maglinte Boston, MA http://www.barbequebob.com CD available at http://www.cdbaby.com/cd/bbmaglinte
I was at a jam last weekend and the harp player ahead of me was up there for two songs, and he played every second of both of them - through the vocals, solos, everything. OUCH! As he passed my table after getting off stage he tapped my harp case and said "Try and top THAT!" ---------- http://www.myspace.com/jeffscranton
@schaef6o - The guy was nominated for a Blues Music Award this year. He was nominated for a Grammy this year. He consulted on the development of a harmonica (Suzuki Manji). He's been on hundreds of recordings. He headlined the largest free Blues festival in the world.
He gets mentioned on two or three threads and there's a "love fest" going on.
You've gotta be kidding? Why shouldn't he be recognized for his work?
Last Edited by on Jun 17, 2010 2:24 PM
I love me some Billy Branch. He went from the new kid on the block, backing up the legendary Chi-town blues folks to becoming a legendary Chi-town bluesman. Anyone who can go toe to toe with Johnny Winter (Guitar Slinger-Alligator Records) and come out alive is alright in my book. Although--Kim Wilson has my vote.
@belfast_harper: I love Phil Wiggins's tone, but he's always struck me as a very busy player, whether he's soloing or comping. On slow blues, it's true, he knows how to slow down and leave space. On faster grooves, such as the one in the video you've put up, he's pretty much playing nonstop. I first saw him live in the mid-1980s and last saw him live in the late 1990s. My response was always the same: great sound, but awfully busy. It's also true that I've only seen him in his role as a sideman with John Cephas. I have no idea what he sounds like in other contexts. I'm certainly eager to hear what he's doing with Corey Harris and look forward to catching THAT duo live.
What's with the Billy Branch love fest? I would rank him as one of the top 5 LIVING blues harmonica players in the world today. In no particular order:
James Cotton Sugar Blue Kim Wilson Jason Ricci Billy Branch
Honorable Mention - Charlie Musselwhite
I don't see how Billy Branch gets bounced from this list by anyone I have heard of.
Branch is awfully tasty. I like what Adam G. has done for rhythm harp although it wouldn't be something I could/would emulate as it is so unique to the band.
But I will concede here that LW is the king and almost no one comps in electric blues without copying him whether intentionally or not! I usually try to avoid using him as a reference because it is so cliched (with good reason), but here is a huge exception. ----------
kudzurunner, I agree that Phil Wiggins is a very busy player, but I think he manages to play over vocals with out taking anything away from them.
He seems to play over Corey Harris's vocals too from what I have seen on youtube, but there are only a few videos uploaded at the moment so you might see something different in at a live gig.
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