Archivist Blog

Memories of an Old Friend: Toots – Rob Paparozzi

Archie

Toots came to the USA in the 50’s to join the Benny Goodman band and later George Shearing. John Lennon saw this LP cover in a shop in Hamburg, with Toots playing guitar, and decided if the Rickenbacker 325 was good enough for Toots he wanted it and hit the pawn shop on the corner!

He moved to the NY area in the 50’s to Yonkers, Montauk and NYC, In the 70’s I found his number in the AF of M Musician’s Directory and called him. He told me he had no time to teach but would be glad to talk and advise me by telephone and he never refused my calls and we chatted many times.

He said, “we were phone buddies, and was happy to answer my questions and gave me some invaluable practice tips which I will always treasure. In the 70’s he would tell me he was ready to retire from the NY studio scene as he really wanted to be more known as a jazz artist with his own Quartet. I would go see him live in NJ/NY at Ramapo College, Gulliver’s, The Blue Note and Greene St. in NYC.

Years later I went to see Toots at Carnegie Hall called The Magic of Toots with my friend Chris DePino and teacher Robert Bonfiglio. At the end of the show with tears & a big smile in his eyes Toots came up to us backstage and said Guys, I can die now, I played with Herbie Hancock at Carnegie Hall – we all laughed.

I asked him many questions, he loved talking about his work with Quincy Jones and Jaco. He said he met Paul Simon when Paul was a kid. Paul’s dad was the bassist on the old Arthur Godfrey show in NYC in the 50s & 60s!
When the Beatles came to do the Sullivan show in NYC, Rickenbacker Guitars asked Toots to go and demo their Guitar for them in a NYC Penthouse – John loves Toots!

Then only 4 years after John was shot dead in NYC, Toots played on his son Julian’s hit LP Valotte. Three years later in 1987 Julian came up to me in a NYC club and asked me if he could sit in with my band….We did Johnny B Goode!

Toots told me that Quincy wanted to do a record someday with Stevie Wonder and Toots as the featured artists!…Quincy got too busy and that never reached fruition.

These are just a few of my Toots memories, I guess I need to write that book.

Goodbye Toots and thank you so much for everything.

This appeared in the October 2016 issue of Harmonica World as part of a special tribute to Toots.

Toots & me – Antonio Serano

Archie

I first met Toots Thielemans when I was only 17 years old, in Seville, during the World Exposition of 1992. My father and I had travelled there to hear and meet the great Toots Thielemans! I was beginning to get interested in jazz so I was really excited! We arranged to meet in the lobby of his hotel for a coffee and chat with Toots before the concert. The moment arrived and suddenly I was there sitting beside the genius of jazz harmonica. I felt the luckiest boy on earth.

I´m not sure what the conversation was about but after 10 minutes Toots said something I will never forget. He looked at me and said: Hey boy! you must be kidding if you think I´m going to let you play with me on stage like Larry Adler did! Imagine how I felt. For one second I was devastated.

Then he continued: Let´s see, what scale would you play on a Dmin7(b5) chord? I answered wrong not only because I was nervous but also because, to be honest, I had no clue of what Dmin7(b5) meant. My knowledge of harmony at that point was only about I IV V progressions. He stoped me and said: You still have to study a lot if you want to come up on stage with me. From that day on I started to take the study of harmony and improvisation seriously and I understood that playing the harmonica very well wasn´t enough if I wanted to play jazz.

I will always thank Toots for being so honest with me on a critical point of my career.

The rest is history…

Thank you Toots!!

This appeared in the October 2016 issue of Harmonica World as part of a special tribute to Toots.

Remembering Toots – Adam Glasser

Archie

I don’t remember when I first heard Toots Thielemans. He has always been part of my harmonica life. I was amazed particularly by his virtuosity on the album Man Bites Harmonica especially the tracks Don’t Be that Way and Scotch on the Rocks. His album with Bill Evans, Affinity has always been a reference especially his solo on Sno Peas, all the more miraculous to my ears since I tried improvising on those very difficult chord changes.
In January 1996 he agreed to be interviewed before a gig in Leiden, Netherlands. We met at his hotel and I spent a fascinating couple of hours questioning him about the chromatic harmonica. The interview was published later that year in Harmonica World.

About a year later I received a call to do my first orchestral session ever, depping for Toots on the film Hard Rain. He could not make the first morning’s recording and I was asked to fill his shoes. It was a terrifying experience walking into the legendary CTS studio in Wembley with dozens of other musicians. The title music featuring harmonica was first up and not easy! When Toots arrived he greeted me with a very warm hug remembering our conversation a year earlier.

The producers were impressed by this camaraderie and I was asked to stay on for the whole week of recording as adviser to the composer Christopher Young. It was particularly extraordinary to hear Toots play something absolutely fantastic over very difficult shifting atonal harmony. Toots had to leave before the final days recording so I played the remaining few cues myself and I earned a harmonica credit below Toots at the end of the film.

The last time I saw him was at the 2010 Cape Town International Jazz Festival. We met and talked at length the night before his superb gig on 3rd April which I attended. The sadness I feel at his passing still sits in my heart as I write.

This appeared in the October 2016 issue of Harmonica World as part of a special tribute to Toots.

Toots Theilemans Tribute – The Archivist

Archie

Jean Toots Thielemans: 29 April 1922 to 22 August 2016

I can say without hesitation that Toots is one of the greatest musicians of our time. On his instrument he ranks with the best that jazz has ever produced. He goes for the heart and makes you cry. We have worked together more times than I can count and he always keeps me coming back for more. Quincy Jones

Toots was a transcendental musician – if he had picked up any other instrument he would have been just as great. What was remarkable was that he was able to express the full range of musical ideas through the chromatic harmonica. He was playing music through the harmonica rather than playing the harmonica. Howard Levy

I feel best in that little space between a smile and a tear. Toots

Toots was born in Brussels, Belgium in 1922. He started playing a cheap accordion when he was three, but he took up the harmonica at sixteen after seeing Larry Adler in a film and realising what a harmonica could do. During the Second World War he heard a 78 recording of Louis Armstrong and his destiny was sealed.

His friends told him to get a real instrument. He was studying mathematics but he decided to become a jazz musician. He got to hear the local bands like Django Reinhardt and bought a guitar. He taught himself to play and soon got a reputation as a jazz player and after the war he joined a local band, Le Jazz Hot, where he got his nickname, Toots. He learned harmony through the guitar, which stood him in good stead when he played harmonica. Toots sat in at some New York jazz clubs when he made his first visit to the US in 1947, and he played with Charlie Parker in Paris.

In 1950, Benny Goodman asked him to join in his European tour which began at the Palladium in London in 1950. Toots moved to New York in 1951 and soon landed the guitarist’s seat in the George Shearing Quartet. He stayed for 6 years playing mainly guitar with some harmonica. In between gigs he was sitting in with some of the top bebop musicians. Toots recorded his first American jazz LPs in 1955/7, and the chromatic harmonica would never be the same again.

In 1957 Toots became an American citizen and he would divide his time between his Long Island and Brussels houses for the rest of his life. Toots also developed the art of whistling when playing guitar, and the original recording of his most famous composition, Bluesette, was done this way in 1962.

In the 60s Toots became a session musician and he began to be in demand for film music, something which lasted for most of his life. Toots moved more toward jazz in the 70s with appearances with Oscar Peterson, Jaco Pastorius and his landmark recording, Affinity, with Bill Evans in 1978.

Toots sufferred a stroke in 1982 which resticted his guitar playing. He had always suffered from athsma and he began to play more ballads. This suited his new style which used fewer notes, with the emphasis on melody and playing the lyrics of songs. In the latter years of his life, Toots toured with his quartet, usually with Kenny Werner or Fred Hersch on piano. He liked Brazilian music and produced two enjoyable CDs, The Brazilian Project.

Toots used Herbie Hancock as a pianist before Herbie was picked up by Miles Davis. Herbie returned the favour by setting up the two NY concerts which were held for Toots in Carnegie Hall, The Magic of Toots (2006) and The Lincoln Center, Toots 90th Birthday (2012) Toots developed a special musical friendship with Quincy Jones and they recorded film soundtracks and performed in festivals together on many occasions.

Toots was in great demand to play with top singers like Paul Simon, Ella Fitzgerald, Natalie Cole, and Billy Joel. He was the harmonica soloist for many filmscores such as, Midnight Cowboy, The Getaway, Sugarland Express, Cinderella Liberty, Turks Fruit, and Jean de Florette. Toots was cutting back on the demands of touring in his 80s and he finally retired in 2013 aged 91.

Hohner produced two harmonicas for Toots, the Hard Bopper and the Mellow Tone. Both are 3 octave and they are only available in C. The King of Belgium honoured Toots with the title Baron.in 2001. There are many videos on YouTube for anyone wanting to hear Toots. Toots recorded many LPs and CDs and these are available from record shops and online stores. These include two which provide a selection of Toots’ output from the late 40s to the present time, such as the Verve Jazz Masters 59 -Toots Thielemans, and Yesterday & Today from Universal Music BV.

This appeared in the October 2016 issue of Harmonica World as part of a special tribute to Toots.

Here are some great links to concerts and interviews with Toots on National Public radio in NY.

Franz Chmel – 1944 to 2016 – The Archivist

Archie

Franz Chmel was regarded by some as the best classical chromatic harmonica player. He was born on 26th February 1944 in St.Pölten, Austria. Franz started playing harmonica at the age of six and when he was 12 years old he founded the successful Piccolo Harmonica Trio with his elder brothers.

Franz Chmel
Franz Chmel

Between 1957 and 1965 he took many top three prizes as a soloist and group performer in National, European and World Harmonica Championships. Then in 1965 he suddenly stopped playing harmonica and went back to his work as an engineer…

In 1987 he made a comeback and immediately found success in festivals and competitions. He was well known in his home country, Austria, and he played at the Austrian Presidential inaugural ceremony. He toured Morocco and performed in Armenia, Germany, Switzerland France and Japan. He was also www.chmel.at invited to perform at the 5th Asia-Pacific Harmonica Festival in 2005 in Hong Kong.

Franz was a perfectionist and he practiced many hours a day to achieve what he knew to be possible. He worked hard on his technique and developed his distinctive tongue vibrato. His practice regime was breaking his harmonicas and so he set about developing his own design which would maintain their tuning and have longer lasting reeds. This resulted in the NC64. Only three were made. He played one and two more were sold. They were hand made and each one took over 200 hours to assemble and adjust for the performer. There is more on his website

His determination to become a master of technique and harmonica design led to him becoming involved with Michael Timler and HarpOnLine, where such things were discussed. Michael put on a concert in Ulm where Franz played with Howard Levy. Howard was impressed enough to invite Franz to join him and Joe Filisko for a very eclectic concert in Chicago, Harmonica Convergence, in 2006.

Franz’s musical success led to meetings with James Moody and some other composers who wrote music for him. Franz recorded five albums of Classical Music and his last recordings were with his latest harmonica, the NC64.

You can hear Franz play on his YouTube videos, many which he uploaded just before his death on August 18, 2016, aged 72. These videos show his phenomenal technique as well as many of the best known transcriptions of classical music for harmonica.

This was taken from the October 2016 issue of Harmonica World magazine.

Stan Harper – 1921 to 2016 – a Tribute by Antonio Piana

Archie

Stanley Harper, born Stanley Theodore Wisser, better known as Stan, was born in Brooklyn, New York, September 21, 1921, just as the chromatic harmonica was being born. Stan Harper and Antonio Piana

As a lover of music, Stan was attracted to the fine, new instrument which was no longer restricted a mere seven diatonic notes, but could play anything. It was not enough for Stan to play by ear, as many others did. He took full control of this little instrument, studying it fully. He learned musical notation, timing, harmony, composition and counterpoint. He studied for hours, daily, fascinated with the evolving potential of this new-found musical gem.

Stan’s first professional engagement came at the early age of 14. His technique advanced quickly to include rapid chromatic runs. In a relatively short time, therefore, his work and arrangements became the benchmark for the ensembles which included harmonica in their repertoire. He also did some solo work, duets, trios, and quartets. His versatility was soon recognized in the United States by radio, television, record companies, and theatres.

In the 1930’s, Stan Harper played in harmonica groups in Brooklyn along with some of the best harmonica players in the world. As classical music was Stan’s first love, they performed Beethoven’s Fifth, Scheherazade, and The Sorcerer’s Apprentice, among other popular pieces. In those days the harmonica group was king and for that reason, few solo performers emerged with any public acclaim.

Over the years, Stan Harper performed with Eddie Shu (Shulman), Carl Reiner, Howard Morris, Hal David, Werner Klemperer, Sam Wanamaker, and Leon Kirshner. In 1991, he presented a one-man show, demonstrating his skills using 5 to 6 different sized harmonicas, at the Smithsonian Institute of Arts, in Washington, D.C. The Hering Harmonica Company of Brazil worked with Stan to produce a 3.5 octave chromatic harmonica (14 holes) which surpassed the 3-octave instrument currently in use. This particular instrument has been greatly appreciated in both North and South America. The name Stan Harper is engraved on the instrument, an honor that only a few select harmonica musicians have achieved; namely, Larry Adler, Toots Thielmans, and Willi Burger!

During his career, Stan Harper lectured widely at Musical Association meetings and at specialized centres. He lived in Allenhurst, New Jersey, where he was a member of the Garden State Harmonica Club.

He was active to the end, at national conventions and enjoyed playing harmonica and writing arrangements. His participation at harmonica events was always a great pleasure for the organizing committees.

He died on 29 June 2016 in New Jersey.

——-

When I met Stan Harper – by Antonio Piana

The first time I attended the annual SPAH festival was in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, in 2007. As usually at SPAH conventions, the atmosphere was very friendly, with harmonica players playing everywhere. There are no competitions but open stage sessions, concerts and a lot of workshops and masterclasses. Stan Harper walked up and down the hallways, slightly hunched, wearing his Hawaiian shirt, looking at exhibition stands. Many people greeted him with friendliness and deference. I had attended his workshop and then I went to meet him. I introduced myself as an Italian amateur harmonica player, who loved both classical and jazz music. Stan told me that his wife was an Italian opera singer and we began to speak of music, harmonica technique and his musical career.

Since then, we have met at SPAH festivals every year and our friendship continued to build. He did not have Internet at home, so I kept in touch by telephone. One year, I met Stan in the SPAH shop where harmonica players sell their CDs and I noticed that he only had some old tape cassettes – among them was his recording of Novelettes, or Light Music. I said But your records will not be preserved for the future. What a pity, because there are no records of this type. You should transfer them to CD format, and save these musical masterpieces for posterity. He had the original master tape and all the rights so we agreed that we should get the tracks transferred to CD. We (EUCLED) now sell the CD, Stan Harper Plays The Novelettes.

Stan Harper – 1921 to 2016 – The Archivist

Archie

I met Stan at the first Garden State Harmonica Festival run in New Jersey by Phil and Val Redler (2009). I was very impressed by the playing of this sprightly 88 year old. His music was full of life and emotion. He seemed to be one of the last of the Golden Age soloists. He was active into his 90s.about his contacts with StanStan Harper

My knowledge of Stan came mainly from Kim Field’s book Harmonicas Harps and Heavy Breathers. It should be compulsory reading for all harmonica players. Here are some links to on-line resources. He deserved more.

There is a Wikipedia page about Stan
It is quite detailed and has a full discography.

Here is a tribute from the Denver Mile High Harmonica club.

Here is a nice piece written by Antonio Piana about his contacts with Stan.

Eucled (Italy) are a couple in Italy who released Stan’s a CD Stan Harper Plays Novelettes and another Stan Harper Plays Fritz Kreisler..

You can get a chance to hear how well Stan played by listening to his videos on YouTube.

Tributes and Obituaries

Archie

I recently asked my friend Rob Paparozzi about the death of Stan Harper. He posted the question on Facebook and it was apparent that there was little or nothing online. I had just edited some tributes to Franz Chmel and Toots Thielemans for the October 2016 issue of Harmonica World and we both thought it would be better if there was an online resource to gather together links to any articles, tributes and the descriptions of the lives of the great chromatic harmonica players who have died in recent years. Their life stories show how the harmonica developed from a new novelty at the beginning of the 20th Century into an instrument fully respected by Classical, Popular and Jazz Musicians.

Anyone who is interested in harmonica history and the players who helped to create it will get more satisfaction from a good book rather than relying only on Internet resources. I created a post about harmonica books harmonica books but if you only read one book, it should be Harmonica, Harps and Heavy Breathers by Kim Field. It is not perfect but it is a work of scholarship and deserves recognition for the research which went into it.

I will add more posts to include links to tributes to Stan Harper and other harmonica players.

Popular Harmonica Recordings after 1962 – a personal choice

Archie

An earlier programme on this site, Cyril Davies – From Trad Jazz to the Rolling Stones, described the start of the UK blues boom in 1962. This is a celebration of the popular harmonica recordings which followed in Europe and America with examples drawn from R&B, Rock, Popular Music, Film Music, Rap and Beatboxing. We had to leave out many great recordings. Maybe we need to select Vol 2.

It includes three tracks from the UK R&B scene by The Beatles, The Rolling Stones and Manfred Mann. A couple of on rack-harp from Bob Dylan and Neil Young. The Doors track features a guest appearance by John Sebastian. Canned Heat was founded by blues historians and record collectors, Al “Blind Owl” Wilson and Bob “The Bear” Hite – Al played the harp. Mr Bloe was originally a Bubblegum B-side from New Your but a group of UK session musicians recorded this 1970 hit. Magic Dick soloed on Whammer Jammer. Stone Fox Chase is the theme for the BBC TV programme, Old Grey Whistle Test and it became a ‘right of passage’ for UK harp players. Stevie Wonder has a style of his own. It took a long time to find the right harmonica break for Runaway. Norton Buffalo eventually developed this version using four harmonicas to cover the chord changes. John Popper shows off his technique and musicality on But any Way. Ray Jackson is the harp player with Lindisfarne. Motorhead lead singer, Lemmy put together this acoustic version of Ace of Spades, which was featured in a TV advert. The Leo Diamond and Larry Adler’s recordings of film themes are from the 1950s, but they add a little more chromatic into the collection. Toots plays like only Toots can. US Rapper, Pitbull, uses a Lee Oskar riff from San Francisco Bay, played by Paul Harrington, in the Country tinged Timber. Son of Dave’s San Francisco was used as the theme for the BBC Radio series Tales of the City.

Track listing

1 – The Beatles – Love, Love Me Do – 00:17
2 – The Rolling Stones – Not Fade Away – 02:34
3 – Manfred Mann – 54321 – 04:21
4 – Bob Dylan – A Man of Constant Sorrow – 06:29
5 – Steve Stills Band and Neil Young – Long May You Run – 09:29
6 – The Doors – Roadhouse Blues – 13:31
7 – Canned Heat – On the Road Again – 17:37
8 – Harry Pitch – Groovin’ With Mr Bloe – 22:41
9 – J Geils Band – Whammer Jammer – 25:16
10 – Area Code 615 – Stone Fox Chase – 27:55
11 – Stevie Wonder – For Once in My Life – 31:29
12 – Bonnie Raitt – Runaway – 34:16
13 – John Popper – But Any Way – 38:18
14 – Lindisfarne – Meet me on the corner – 41:35
15 – Motorhead (Lemmy) – Ace of Spades – 44:11
16 – Leo Diamond – Sadie Thompson’s Song – 47:47
17 – Larry Adler – Le Rififi – 50:33
18 – Toots Thielemans Quartet – Theme from Midnight Cowboy – 53:50
19 – Pitbull – Timber – 58:34
20 – Son of Dave – San Francisco – 62:01

Introduction to Blues on the Chromatic Harmonica by David Barrett

Archie

Here are some great examples of blues music played on the Chromatic Harmonica. They were put together by top educator and performer, David Barrett, who introduces each track, identifying the artist and indicating how it was played.

This playlist is taken from the third part of David’s series of articles about playing Blues Chromatic published in the NHL magazine, Harmonica World. David Barrett – www.bluesharmonica.com.

If you like what you hear, please press the “like” button and “share” it with your friends.

Over to you, David…

Introduction to Blues on the Chromatic Harmonica by David Barrett by The Archivist on Mixcloud

Track listing
1 – George “Harmonica” Smith – Blues in the Dark – 0:00
2 – George “Harmonica” Smith – Blues For Reverend King – 04:41
3 – George “Harmonica” Smith – Boogie’n with George – 09:45
4 – Little Walter – Fast Large One – 12:07
5 – Little Walter – Lights Out – 15:25
6 – Little Walter – Flying Saucer – 18:11
7 – William Clarke – Blowin’ Like Hell – 21:25
8 – Rod Piazza – Harpburn – 24:18
9 – Rick Estrin – Coastin’ Hank – 28:03
10 – Mark Hummel – Humble Bug – 34:38
11 – Paul deLay – Good Thing – 39:47
12 – Dennis Gruenling – Bluesmith – 44:45
13 – Mitch Kashmar – Crazy Mixed Up World – 55:00
14 – Gary Primich – The Briar Patch – 58:38
15 – Paul Oscher – Walkin’ – 63:10
16 – Steve Guyger – We’re Gonna Ride – 65:31
17 – Lynwood Slim – Oil Can Harry – 68:50
18 – Kim Wilson – Reel Eleven, Take One – 71:58
19 – Jean “Toots” Thielemans – Fundamental Frequency – 74:48
20 – Dave Barrett – Dark Night – 80:05

Discography
1) Blues in the Dark – (Blues Masters The Essential Collection, V4 Harmonica Classics, Rhino
2) Blues For Reverend King -(West Coast Down Home Harmonica, El Segundo
3) Boogie’n with George – (Now You Can Talk About Me, Blind Pig
4) Fast Large One – (The Essential Little Walter [Disc 1], Chess), C Chro in 3rd (D)
5) Lights Out -(Confessin’ the Blues, Chess)
6) Flying Saucer – (Blues With A Feelin’, Chess)
7) Blowin’ Like Hell – William Clarke (Blowin’ Like Hell, Alligator)
8) Harpburn – Rod Piazza (Harp Burn, Black Top)
9) Coastin’ Hank – Rick Estrin (That’s Big, Alligator)
10) Humble Bug – Mark Hummel (Harmonica Party, Mountain Top)
11) Good Thing – Paul deLay (The Last Of The Best, Criminal Records)
12) Bluesmith – Dennis Gruenling (History Of The Blues Harmonica Concert, Backbender)
13) Crazy Mixed Up World – Mitch Kashmar (Crazy Mixed Up World, Thumbs Up!!)
14) The Briar Patch – Gary Primich (Company Man, Black Top)
15) Walkin’ – Paul Oscher (Alone With The Blues, Electro-Fi)
16) We’re Gonna Ride – Steve Guyger (Past Life Blues, Severn)
17) Oil Can Harry – Lynwood Slim (Too Small To Dance, Big Rhythm Combo, Pacific Blues)
18) Reel Eleven, Take One – Kim Wilson (Tigerman, Antone’s)
19) Frequency by Jean “Toots” Thielemans (Legends Of Harmonica, Rhino
20) Dark Night -0 David Barret (It Takes Three)