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Dirty-South Blues Harp forum: wail on! >
In Praise of Paul deLay
In Praise of Paul deLay
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wolfkristiansen
14 posts
Jul 04, 2010
12:40 AM
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"Paul Delay didn't make much use of overblows, and he was a notable innovator"-- Adam Gussow, Dirty South Blues Harp Forum, July 3, 2010.
I agree. Forget about the overblows for the time being, and focus on "innovator". I want to turn everybody on to Paul deLay. Here's what I posted in harp-l back in February, 2009, and am reposting here for those who aren't hip to this beautiful, innovative harmonica player:
"Paul deLay, Portland songwriter, singer and harmonica player, deserves to be heard by all on this list. He died on March 7, 2007. Most of you will have heard him, on recording at least. For those who haven't, seek out a CD or two, and listen! Your ears will be opened.
I've been listening to him a lot lately. His first recordings were clearly blues based; his later ones not so much. He always retained a bluesy feel, to my ears. His songs always had a spark of originality. In his later years he had the advantage of having a jazzy, talented, rhythmically sophisticated organist and arranger in his band, Louis Pain.
He was more than a harmonica player. But-- for this harp forum I'll focus on what I hear in his harmonica playing:
1. Subtle manipulation of tone by hand placement. Not for him the constant supertight grip to get a dark compressed tone à la typical "Chicago Style" blues harp. His normal grip was looser, with the corresponding treblier sound. He would throw in contrasting darker tones by way of a tighter grip when appropriate. He often darkened the tone when he hit the low notes. The tone changes added a lot to the character of his playing.
2. Wonderful use of a delay pedal. He should have written a book-- "deLay on Delay". Anyone know what he used?
3. Use of arrangements to add power and punch to his live and studio offerings. Some of his solos, to my ears, are clearly improvised, but there are always parts in his songs that have been carefully thought out. As an example, he often used what we used to call "pushes", where the band plays rhythmic shots in unison at some point in the song.
4. Absolutely original note choices, runs and harmonies. You will hear things in his playing you haven't heard anywhere else, either before or after Paul's moment in the sun. He was equally original with chromatic or diatonic. His third position diatonic playing was outstanding, and wasn't limited to minor key songs.
5. A preference for a cleaner sound than most blues based harp players. Despite being relatively clean, the notes had plenty of body. The cleaner sound let him put in more detail. He had plenty of musical detail to offer.
6. Perfect pitch.
7. Few or no rhythmic missteps. He swung when he wanted to, but played in all sorts of rhythms. Whatever he did, it was always rhythmic."
If there's anyone in Dirty South Blues Harp Forum who hasn't heard him, have a listen. You are in for a treat.
Cheers,
wolf kristiansen
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manlio
3 posts
Jul 04, 2010
3:38 AM
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I'm really glad you posted this, really... I've been a Paul's fan since 2001 and in 2005 I had the great opportunity to meet and spend a couple of days with the man including a great jam with him, dave khal and josh fulero.
A journalist once wrote he was "bigger than life", Bill Barrett wrote his sound was 360 degrees wide... I cannot agree more with both. He was what we harp players often forget to be: an artist.
He really didn't care about OB, OD and tech stuff, he was a blues lover who really listened very few blues records, much more interested in new harmonies and new ideas to develop.
He was open minded and humble, and always tried to listen and understand new things and material. He asked me to show him a couple of my chops... can you believe it? I was there to have a lesson and he was asking me to show him a thing that I was doing that he thought to be interesting.
He was spontaneous and fresh and so was his music, that's the only real trick behind the incredible music Paul was able to create.
The most incredible thing about Paul is that you can find a strict connection among his harp playing, voice and songwriting. He was just using the harmonica to express what he felt, he loved the instrument of course, but he was not a "tech geek".
he didn't care about "proper cupping" or about the "best rig". he simply went for the best to fit his musical ideas, and guys... he had tons of 'em.
he didn't care about Walters, Sonny Boys and stuff... he had stories to tell and everyone here who try to play on a professional level should do now a step back, watch himself in the mirror, go and reach the deepest side of his soul and ask: what do I have to tell?
Useless to say that you can be the best overblower, the fastest player on earth or have the biggest tone of 'em all but if your music is empty, well, you are facing a BIG problem.
Paul was absolutely not in this condition and about the DeLay on delay thing... that's really funny but, for what I saw those days we spent together... well he was just using a damn multieffect, like a zoom or similar... cheap stuff driven into a small home made pre amp and then into a big peavey keyboard amp, can you believe it? He had a 200 $ rig and a milion dollar sound: that's it, and 2hundred millions ideas I'd say.
Said that, well, wolf thanks a lot for raising this subject, for me it's almost personal. really loved him and his art and it's too bad that today he is like "the harmonica players harp player", 'cause no one but some open very minded harmonica players talk about him and remember him with the respect he deserved.
he was a great man and a great musician, today I cannot see anyone in the scene like him.
I surely remember him
manlio
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