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Improvisations on a classical theme
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funky blues muddy waters harmonica john lee hooker funky jazz elvis presley robben ford organ bass pedals
Vocals, harmonica, guitar, organ bass pedals (same time), solo or band. I don't accept anything less than "full band" quality or better.
I'm IronMan Mike Curtis. I sing and write songs. And I play electric harmonica, guitar, organ bass pedals ..... all three, all live, all me. Nothing prerecorded, nothing sequenced (well .... except an Alesis SR-16 drum machine I use when I don't have a drummer that doesn't object to having the beat punched in). I have video and more tunes on request. I play the harmonica-guitar-bass pedal three instrument combination as one instrument because I can only do one thing at a time. Harmonica guru Jon Gindick (who also plays guitar) coined the word "Guitarmonica" for the guitar and racked harmonica combination. So now I'm on the horns of a dilemma, trying to decide whether I play bastarmonica (that's a long A as in ace, not short as in donkey), basspeduitarmonica, harbasspeduitar, guitarmobass, or petarmonica. Thanks a lot, Jon ;) Some call me "One Man Band". That's why I often play bastarmonica with other musicians. Drums, percussion, a second guitarist, sax, and once with TWO other harmonica players, Winslow Yerxa (harmonica player extraordinaire, publisher of Harmonica Informational Press) and Harmonica John Fraser. And yes, it sounded good! The secret? We listened to each other, and thought like a horn section. Harmonies, comping, and laying out whenever we had nothing to add.
Song Info
Charts
#2,112 today Peak #31
#640 in subgenre Peak #11
Uploaded
May 28, 2010
Track Files
MP3
MP3 3.4 MB 128 kbps 3:43
Story behind the song
Before the incredible virtuosity of Mozart et al created such a demand for what we today would call "cover tunes", classical music was a more improvisational genre. No disrespect to Wolfie, but it's a shame that it has lost this beautiful, sensitive quality of expression. This is essentially my reason for doing this. I was half expecting some vitriolic reviews, and a few dirty looks. Instead, I've received many compliments and several excellent reviews from long time classical musicians. One said, "I never knew the harmonica was capable of such depths of expression and capriciousness". (I was insufferable for the next two weeks.) Should I play "the chart" when I'm feeling playful and capricious? In your opinion, would classical audiences attend concerts and buy songs like this? Thanks in advance for your help.
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