The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air Theme by Samauraiguitarist and Gagne

"Ever wonder what the theme to Fresh Prince would've sounded like if Will came from down in the Mississippi delta?"

Well Samuraiguitarist and Jeff Gagne did, and I like their cover version. 

Phil Hughes - Trouble So Hard (Vera Hall)

Very nice version of Vera Hall's "Trouble So Hard" by Phil Hughes.  Nice harpping and singing.  Hope you all enjoy on this Sunday morning.

Adam Gussow's Crossroads Blues

From Adam Gussow's FaceBook Page;

"I'm delighted to announce that I've just signed a licensing deal with Right Recordings Ltd., a pop/indy label in the UK, for my self-produced solo debut, Kick and Stomp. The phrase "worldwide distribution" has a nice ring to it, as does the phrase "radio edit." Here's the new version of "Crossroads Blues

http://www.amazon.co.uk/Crossroads-Blues-Radio-Edit/dp/B00GLO3T2A/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1384435693&sr=8-1&keywords=adam+gussow+crossroads+blues "

Adam Gussow @ Amazon.com

Carey Bell Show in Bern Switzerland

Here is a nice YouTube video that you may enjoy, especially if you like harmonica playing and blues music.  The video is just a bit over an hour long, so grab some refreshments sit  back and enjoy.

Notes from YouTube:

Carey Bell - Live at the International Jazz Festival (Bern, Switzerland 2000)

Carey Bell - Harmonica & Vox
Steve Jacobs - Guitar
Johannes Pach - Keyboards
T.A. James - Bass
Marc Tiffault - Drums




                                                                                          
                                

Paul Davies and Ronnie Shellist Harmonica Jam

Notes from YouTube; just a jam in G



Harmonica Players @SqueezeMyLemon

Harmonica @SqueezeMyLemon

It's the Birthday of Adam Gussow

Adam Gussow (born April 3, 1958, New York, United States) is a scholar, memoirist, and blues harmonica player.

Gussow is currently an associate professor of English and Southern Studies at the University of Mississippi in Oxford. He spent twelve years (1986-1998) working the streets of Harlem and the international club and festival circuit with Mississippi-born bluesman Sterling Magee as a duo called Satan and Adam.


Check him out online at these places;

* Adam Gussow's Modern Blues Harmonica web site

* Adam Gussow's dirty-South blues harp channel

* Adam Gussow's Facebook page

* Adam Gussow @Amazon.com

* Satan & Adam @Amazon.com

Blues Book: Instant Blues Harmonica

Instant Blues Harmonica 9 Ed: Minutes Away From Blues and Rock Improvisation!


Book Description - David Harp has taught thousands to play the harmonica, and in this revised edition with 30 percent new material, he makes it even easier. An illustrated instruction book, a CD of play-along music, and a "Mojo Deluxe" harmonica encourage would-be wailers to play the blues.

Book Details

* Paperback: 64 pages
* Publisher: Musical I Press; 9th edition (May 1, 2001)
* Language: English
* ISBN-10: 0918321727
* ISBN-13: 978-0918321725
* Product Dimensions: 10.8 x 8.4 x 1.6 inches

Blues Book: Jon Gindick's "Rock n' Blues Harmonica

Rock n' Blues Harmonica: A World of Harp Knowledge, Songs, Stories, Lessons, Riffs, Techniques and Audio Index for a New Generation of Harp Players (Includes ... book and 74 minute stereo CD Jamming Buddy)

About the Author - Jon Gindick is the author of "Country & Blues Harmonica For the Musically Hopeless", "Harmonica Americana", "The Natural Blues & Country Western Harmonica", "Banished Moon", and "Country and Blues Harmonica For the Absolute Beginner" (video).

"Jon Gindick is one of the world's foremost teachers of blues harmonica." BB King

Book Details

* Paperback: 224 pages
* Publisher: Music Sales America; Revised edition (February 1, 2000)
* Language: English
* ISBN-10: 0930948106
* ISBN-13: 978-0930948108
* Product Dimensions: 10.7 x 8.3 x 0.6 inches

Sonny Boy Williamson I Documentary Clips

Complete Recorded Works, Vol. 5 (1945-1947)

Here is a short documentary film on the life of Sonny Boy Williamson, a pioneer of blues harmonica playing. Sonny Boy Williamson (John Lee Curtis Williamson, was born on 30 March 1914 and he was murdered on 1 June, 1948. He was first popular harmonica player to use the name Sonny Boy Williamson.

The film clips below give excellent bio information of Sonny Boy Williamson and shows photos of him and his wife.

I think that this film is important because I have noticed that some modern blues fans don't know that difference between Sonny Boy Williamson and Rice Miller. And I believe as a harmonica player it is important to study the playing of Sonny Boy Williamson.





Sonny Boy Williamson I @SqueezeMyLemon

Sonny Boy Williamson I @Amazon.com

Harmonica Web Site in the Spotlight

I recently wrote a post on some of the great YouTube tutorials for harmonica players. And I was contacted by Tony Eyers who operates the web site Harmonica Academy. I was pleased to hear from him because I think harmonica fans will want to check his site out.

According the his bio;

Tony was born in Australia and began playing harmonica in the 1970's, inspired by Jim Fitting while studying at Yale University. He returned to Australia in the 1980's, and became a well known blues player.

I spent some time going through his web site and I really like the instruction provided there. Very easy to understand, includes harmonica tabs as well as sound files that help you understand how the riffs being taught should sound.

Each lesson builds on past lessons. And even though I have been playing for years and have looked at a lot of different instruction methods I got a lot of good information from going through his instructions. And plan to go back often.

For example he has some blues harmonica lessons that I really enjoyed. The advanced lesson gave me some insights into the blues scale that I had not considered;


First blues harmonica lesson


Intermediate blues lesson


Blues Scale - Advance Blues Lesson 9

- = . = -

Black Mountain Harmonica

Tony also has a folk music CD out, if you would like to hear some of his music just click on the image to the left and listen to the mp3 samples provided.

This mp3 album includes a number of jigs, reels and rags. Tony's music is unique, quite pleasing and kind of makes me want to dance. LOL, at the thought of me dancing, and a jig no doubt, but it does have that effect on me. Gets my foot to tapping.

Blues Harmonica Questions and Harmonica Tutorials

What I really want to talk about today is harmonica playing, and where you can find answers to questions that you may have, and where you can view some great Harmonica Tutorials.

I have mentioned many times, and probably will again that I play blues harmonica for my own entertainment mostly, but every now and then for friends and family too. And I have also mentioned that I answer questions over at Yahoo answers. Well many of the questions about blues harmonica come up over and over. And I thought, hey, I could do a blog post on those questions. And when people ask, I can just point them to this blog post.

People want to know what harmonica to get? Where to buy harmonicas? How to hold a harmonica after you get it? How to play a single note? How to bend notes? Where the can find books, CDs, DVDs and other training material about blues harmonica? etc, etc and etc.

I have answered these and many other questions about blues harmonica so many times, that I am tired of answering them. Plus some really smart dudes invented a website called YouTube which answers every one of these questions better then I can. By people who can play the harmonica waaaaaaay better than I can.

Here are my favorite YouTube blues harmonica channels, where you can find awesome (and I do mean awesome) blues tutorials;

~.~
Jon Gindick's YouTube blues Harmonica Channel - Jon Gindick is the guy who taught me to play blues harmonica. Yes, you can blame those squeaky noises coming out of my face on him. Well I just love his stuff, he is a great teacher that has been around and he knows what he is talking about.

He has 78 videos posted, hours and hours of instructions. And as he says in one of his comments, this is what he does for a living. I love the versoin of Work Song that he does below, and here are a few other leassons that you may enjoy;

Jon Gindick Musicality Memory
Jon Gindick Understanding the I-IV-V.
Gindick Blues Harp Lesson: Add Percussion & I-IV-V to Scale



~.~

Håkan Ehn - Is a harmonica player who lives and plays harmonica in Stockholm, Sweden. Check out the video below just to see what he can do.

I really like his style, and his presentations are crisp and easy to follow. Here are a few of his online videos;

Håkan Ehn - Bo Diddley Harmonica Beat
Håkan Ehn - Harmonica Train Boogie
Håkan Ehn - How To Play That Sugar Blue Harp Riff (With Tabs)



~.~

Adam Gussow's dirty-South blues harp channel - Adam Gussow is a college professor and blues musician who has a great style of presentation and a body of work on YouTube that any beginning to intermediate harmonica player will find valuable.

Adam has over 200 videos, check these out;

Sanctified Blues 1 (MBH.167)
Sanctified Blues 2 (MBH.168)
Sanctified Blues 3 (MBH.169)



~.~

Jason Ricci's Blues Harmonica Channel - Jason Ricci is one of those guys who has amazing chops and he can communicate what he is doing on the harmonica to you. I love all his videos and I highly recommend them to anyone wanting to learn about harmonica playing.

As of this moment, he has 95 videos up.

Just to give you a taste of what he does check out these three videos;
Jason Ricci's Beginning Harmonica, Lesson #1
Jason Ricci's Beginning Harmonica, Lesson #2
Jason Ricci's Beginning Harmonica, Lesson #3




~.~

I will post more info on all these guys, but this is a good begining for anyone who wants to get some good online harmonica tutorials.

Little Walter: His Best The Chess 50th Anniversary Collection

His Best:Little Walter
If you read SML often you probably know that I love harmonica players. And the harmonica player that I love listening to the most is Little Walter. And the Little Walter album that I like listening to the most, is His Best :(Little Walter)The Chess 50th Anniversary Collection.

I am serious when I tell you that if I was placed on a desert island, and could only have one album, this might be the album. And I bet someone is wondering how could I pick a Little Walter album over say a Muddy Waters album, or maybe a Howlin' Wolf album. Well part of it may be my mood right now, if I pose this question on another day, I might come up with a different album, but right now this is how I feel.

I agree with Robert Gordon's assessment of Little Walter when he said;

Marion "Little Walter" Jacobs is perhaps the most influential harmonica player on contemporary blues, and his collection is a great place to start. He was trained by Muddy Waters, but brought a more swinging feel to blues. Muddy and his band accompany Little Walter on many hits, as do Robert "Jr." Lockwood, the Aces, and other Chicago greats. In the 1950s, Little Walter's popularity eclipsed even Waters', his style a little more relaxed and pop-oriented. Walter's versions of many songs are the standards: "Blues with a Feeling," "You're So Fine," "Juke." Great stuff.

Track Listing
1. Juke 2:47
2. Can't Hold Out Much Longer 3:03
3. Mean Old World 2:57
4. Sad Hours 3:15
5. Tell Me Mama 2:47
6. Off The Wall 2:52
7. Blues With A Feeling 3:10
8. You're So Fine 3:07
9. Too Late 2:44
10. Last Night 2:46
11. Mellow Down Easy 2:45
12. My Babe 2:44
13. Roller Coaster 2:56
14. Hate To See You Go 2:20
15. It Ain't Right 2:57
16. Boom, Boom Out Goes The Light 2:53
17. Confessin' The Blues 3:06
18. Key To The Highway 2:48
19. Everything's Gonna Be Alright 2:52
20. Just Your Fool 2:23

Little Walter mp3s @Amazon

Little Walter @SqueezeMyLemon

Friday Blues Funny - Darth Vader Feels Blue

As I have mentioned before I'm a Star Wars fan so this is kind of one of my favorite Star Wars blues music mash ups. The harmonica part is Sonny Terry, but I am sure that most of you know that.

I think that the blues are a joyous music, for the most part. Even though many of the lyrics seem to be about bad things, often times this is "tongue in cheek" and is played to get a laugh.

Living the blues means mostly having a hard time, but it also means having a good laugh too.

Darth Vader Feels Blue

A Great Place To Find Harmonicas

eBay has some great collectible and vintage harmonicas as well as brand new ones. If you are looking for a great selection and a good price check out what the have to offer below.

You can get racks, mikes, amps and other blues accessories as well.

Top 10 Blues Harmonica Players

I wrote this post a couple of years ago, my mind has not really changed over that time, but I thought I would report it with links to Amazon.com this time. Enjoy, debate and let me know what you think of my list.

Here is my list of my top 10 favorite blues harmonica players. In loose order, the people listed below #6 can change depending on my mood, the first five guys are set in stone in my opinion. Feel free to leave me a comment with your top 10 favorites.

01. Sonny Boy Williamson II
02. Little Walter
03. Sonny Terry
04. Junior Wells
05. Sonny Boy Williamson I
06. Jimmy Reed
07. James Cotton
08. Charlie Musselwhite
09. Sugar Blue
10. Big Walter Horton

file under;
blues, harmonica

Harmonica Day 6 - Junior Wells

There is no way that I could even try to do a blues harmonica week without doing a post on Junior Wells. The man is right up there with Liltle Walter in my mind. I love his song Messing with the Kid. It is one of the songs the attracted me to the blues harmonica. I also liked the style of Junior Wells and the work that he did with Buddy Guy.


Junior Wells Hoodoman Blues




Other cool videos at YouTube;

Junior Wells Mike Bloomfield - Messin With The Kid

Junior Wells - Help Me (1978)

Junior Wells - What'd I Say (1966)


Blogs that are hosting Junior Wells mp3s (get them while they are hot).

Blues Calendar Blues - Junior Wells. This is a interesting write up on Junior Wells and has four mp3s.

Reverend Frost Blog. This post has three mp3s.


the leather canary. This post has three mp3s and according to the post;

here are a few songs from a 1972 album buddy recorded with the late, great junior wells entitled buddy guy & junior wells play the blues...it was produced by eric clapton, tom dowd & ahmet ertegun, & clapton plays rhythm guitar throughout (save for a couple tracks cut with the j. geils band)...dr. john also shows up to play piano on "t-bone shuffle", but you can hardly hear him over buddy.

References;

Junior Wells@Wikipedia

Junior Wells@BluesHarp.ca

Junior Wells mp3 search @Elbo.ws

Junior Wells mp3 search @Hype Machine

Harmonica Day 5 - Friday Funny Darth Vader Blues

On Fridays I like to take a look at the funny side of the blues and because I am also doing harmonica week the below video seemed to fit. I'm a Star Wars fan too so it fits even better. The harmonica part is Sonny Terry, but I am sure that most of you know that.

I think that the blues are a joyous music, for the most part. Even though many of the lyrics seem to be about bad things, often times this is "tongue in cheek" and is played to get a laugh. Living the blues means mostly having a hard time, but it also means having a good laugh too.

Darth Vader Feels Blue

Harmonica Day 4 - Little Walter

Well back down there in Alabama, or any where else, you could walk into a pawn shop and buy a harmonica for 5o cents, after Little Walter put out that record Juke it went up to 5 or 10 dollars.

Sam Lay - Drummer for Little Walter, Howlin' Wolf and Paul Butterfield Blues Band

I relate to my favorite blues harmonica players for different reasons. Little Walter is one of my favorites because he is from my home state, because of the work he did in creating the Chicago electric harmonica blues sound with Muddy Waters, and because he was a man who definitely lived the blues.



Little Walter R&R Hall of Fame film



Notes from YouTube - A brief film about blues harmonica icon Little Walter Jacobs, which was shown as part of his induction into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame on March 10, 2008.



Hound Dog Taylor & Little Walter - Wild About you baby





Little Walter You're So Fine


References;

Little Walter's induction into the R&R Hall of Fame - Chicago blues icon Little Walter was inducted into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame on Monday, March 10th, 2008. This is the complete induction ceremony: the 2:00 minute Tribute to Little Walter film, followed by musician Ben Harper's induction speech, then James Cotton performing both of Little Walter's #1 hits, "Juke" and "My Babe", accompanied by Paul Schaffer's Late Night Band, and featuring Ben Harper on "My Babe".

Bluesharp Little Walter page, includes several short mp3's of Little Walter on blues harp.

Little Walter@wikipedia

Little Walter - The Chess 50th Anniversary Collection: Little Walter - His Best

Harmonica Day 3 - Sonny Terry

Sonny Terry is of course a member of the duo Sonny Terry and Brownie McGhee. They had a great career as blues and folk musicians. If you want to be a blues harmonica player studying Sonny Terry and his playing style will serve you well. The man's timing was the best in my opinion, the way he sings, shots and plays the harmonica all at the same time is a kind of magic.

I love the part of the below video when Mr. Terry ask, "What you say harmonica?" You have to love a man who talks to his harmonica.

Sonny Terry - These Women Is Killin' Me (1966)


Sonny Terry/Callin' Mama

Check out wikipedia's list of harmonica blues players.


Notable harmonica performances by other bluesmen;

Good Rockin Charles - Don't Start Me To Talkin' (1977)

Big Walter 'Shakey' Horton - Shakey's Blues (1965)

Sonny Boy Williams I Documentary

Harmonica Day 2 - James Cotton

I love the blues music of James Cotton. Probably because he is an award winning harmonica player and because he makes it look so easy. He always seems to be having fun when he is playing.

You can read his bio at the James Cotton offical web site.

James Cotton - Rocket 88



James Cotton live at a radio show in 1993



Here is a James Cotton interview in Spanish. The notes at YouTube say, "James Cotton in Buenos Aires, Argentina, few interviews during press conference."

Over at the "I AM FUEL, YOU ARE FRIEND" Blog, there is an impressive group of mp3s for the song "Bring it on home" by many great musicians. You should check this out, it is a great post. One of them is James Cotton doing Bring it on Home. Not sure who is doing the vocals but Mr. Cotton is doing the harmonica.

More James Cotton @ SqueezeMyLemon.