A CHALLENGE TO…YOU!
A QUESTION…what separates the world’s finest chromatic harmonica players, at the very pinnacle, from the rest?
Is it an innate adherence to the rhythm, an unfailing adherence to the written score? Something which an academic may test, or mark, or score, or reward with grades?
No.
More than anything, the world’s best all share this one characteristic…albeit in different ways…THEY LIVE FULLY IN THE MUSICAL MOMENT, and in that moment they transcend rules and become free.
They are “there”, and we know they are there, and they take us with them. WE ARE PRIVY to their very personal journey, a participant, willing or no.
Into an unraveling of the subconscious mind of the human being, to that indescribable combination of rhythm, pitch, and intonation which says, “I see it thus, and present it to you for your consideration. Shall we see it together…anew?”
THE BEST make us feel like no others, they connect us with some part of ourselves hitherto left unadorned, and we walk away changed as if by magic.
To each of us who play this MAGIC resides within…the question is- will you find it, and share it? I believe you CAN, and WILL.
To the “MASTER OF HARMONICA” within us all. May your focus and daily exercise on the one hand, and your dreams in the other…clasp hands with fingers intertwined in this world of the real, and holding tightly like the mighty bonds of the unseen atom, reveal to us YOUR way.
Believe that YOU can be good, believe that YOU can be great..and perhaps you shall.
David E. Kettlewell
Host of MASTERSOFHARMONICA.COM
Masters of the Chromatic Harmonica
GREAT LINKS
MASTER OF HARMONICA
Jon Eriksen/ playing DINDI by Antonio Carlos Jobim
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jJKmhHSHJLY
Lovely rendition of this jazz standard, nuanced, fabulous!
MASTER OF HARMONICA
PHILIP ACHILLE/ CLASSICAL AND JAZZ CHROMATIC HARMONICA VIRTUOSO
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AzY_KZTSXJk
A truly mind boggling performance due to the world classic artistic mastery at London’s Royal Albert Hall by what must be considered as one of the finest chromatic harmonica players of all time…Philip Achille. Phillip began with classical music, but has gravitated more to Jazz. Lives in Paris.
This video changed how I viewed the potential of the chromatic harmonica early on in my studies, and raised the bar of expectation of my own playing. I think it will do the same for you.
MASTER OF HARMONICA
TOMMY REILLY
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jYnH8dpm3Go
Minute Waltz, Bach Badinerie, and The Fairytale with Tommy Reilly and accompanist Judith Durham.
Oh dear, I hate to say this, but I believe this particular video actually has a prerecorded sound track, but no matter, it is his playing and will open the door for you to what I consider perhaps the finest harmonica player of all time.
His nuanced interpretations and sensitive artistry set amongst the elite of the classical music world set a standard which is seldom equaled, and honestly I’m not sure has ever been exceeded. A student at the Leipzig Conservatory of Music in Berlin, he was arrested and imprisoned in a German prisoner of war camp for the duration, where he played harmonica day and night.
He emerged as the world’s premier player, and did the same thing for harmonica which Segovia did for guitar…make the harmonica a concert instrument respected by the finest musicians and composers worldwide.
His boundless talent and professionalism melted many a composers’ predisposition against taking the harmonic seriously, with the result they became “Reilly” adherents, saying to their doubting agents, “He can play any piece of mine at any time.”
Every recording is a cherished masterpiece, but especially so the recording, SERENADE, with The Academy of St. Martin-In-The-Fields Chamber Ensemble, available on CD on Amazon.
MASTER OF HARMONICA
CLAUDE JARDIN-GARDEN
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=U-GlfbyOLCY
Composer Eric Satie’s, “Gymnopaedie Number 3.”
What you will hear on this Youtube post is an entirely new and superior approach to artistic phrasing, and tonal control of the chromatic harmonica. And we should expect no less from this savant, who taught music at the International Conservatory of Music in Paris. Now deceased. Top players worldwide have nodded to this great musician, expressing their view he represents the highest pinnacle of artistic interpretation of harmonica in history. I leave the final decision to you.
The Suzuki Magic Garden harmonica was developed with his input and bore his name.
MASTER OF HARMONICA
HUGO DIAZ
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kMwQj0J9-aY
This Argentine wonderkind overcame childhood blindness at 5 years old after being hit in the head with a soccer ball, he regained sight, to become a player of world shaking singularity. Accepted by the world’s top musicians as one of their own, his guttural larynx staccato notes and facile scale mobility are beyond description. One must hear it to grasp it. He is a master of harmonica in every sense of the word, and you’ll find many CD recordings of his on Amazon, with many Youtube postings. Enjoy them all.
