Mick Kinsella started out as a drummer before moving across to the harmonica to pursue his love of traditional music. Skilled in the use of both the diatonic and chromatic, Mick played on numerous sessions before releasing his own 2002 album ‘Harmonica’ with an assortment of genres and some tremendous harmonica work. He went out to tour with Rick Epping and Brendan Power under the name Triple Harp Bypass. Mick likes to tinker with his harmonicas, has a tuition book to his name and teaches each y...
Aug 01, 2020•1 hr•Season 1Ep. 18
Gregoire Maret is a chromatic player, originally from Switzerland. After studying jazz at the New School in New York, Gregoire went on to play with some of the biggest names in jazz: from Jimmy Scott to Cassandra Wilson, Pat Metheny and Herbie Hancock. Although he can also turn his hand to other genres, such as pop, funk and even opera! In 2012 Gregoire made the first of the albums under his own name, as well as continuing to be an in-demand sideman. Renowned bassist, Marcus Miller, said that Gr...
Jul 22, 2020•1 hr•Season 1Ep. 17
Rachelle Plas is a French player who learnt her craft at an early age in group lessons provided by Greg Zlap in Paris. She won various competitions at French music festivals which led on to her touring Europe and beyond with her band. After making a splash at the World Harmonica Festival in Germany, Rachelle became the face of Hohner’s Golden Melody harmonicas. She has gone on to record two albums since, with her fusion of blues, soul, pop, rock & electro bringing her fast flowing harmonica ...
Jul 11, 2020•58 min•Season 1Ep. 16
Michael D’Eath is the President of the American harmonica organisation SPAH. He tells us what SPAH is all about and the many benefits it brings to its members. The SPAH convention is one of the biggest events on the harmonica calendar, and this year it will be online. Allowing more international artists to be utilised, and providing the opportunity for people around the world to take part in the convention, which takes place from Aug 12-15 2020. Select the Chapter Markers tab above to select dif...
Jun 28, 2020•1 hr•Season 1Ep. 15
Howard Levy is known to be the pioneer of overblows on the diatonic harmonica, but his music shouldn’t be defined merely by the use of this technical tool. Starting out as a piano player, he first started using overblows to enable him to play the music that he wanted to play. And they have allowed Howard to take the instrument to soaring new heights across a diverse range of genres. And make no mistake, he has rhythm, feel, a great bluesy tone when he needs it, and most of all, blistering chops....
Jun 19, 2020•1 hr•Season 1Ep. 14
Lee Oskar left his native Denmark to move to the US at age 18, and was soon enjoying phenomenal success with the rock funk band War, interweaving soulful harmonica lines into the horn section. Lee also has numerous solo albums, releasing some of the most downright catchy harmonica melodies ever recorded. On top of all this, he set-up his own harmonica company, leading the way with innovations such as replacement reed plates and different tunings Select the Chapter Markers tab above to select dif...
Jun 11, 2020•59 min•Season 1Ep. 13
A grammy award winner, Peter Madcat Ruth has enjoyed a long career, from playing jazz with the Brubecks, to numerous solo projects and playing in various bands and duos and trios. Madcat has loved Sonny Terry from the start and has really mastered the style, and gives some pointers during the podcast. Select the Chapter Markers tab above to select different sections of the podcast (website version only). Madcat's website: http://www.madcatmusic.net/index.html Equipment: Shaker microphones: https...
Jun 04, 2020•1 hr•Season 1Ep. 12
Brendan Power is my guest today. A true visionary of harmonica design, Brendan takes us under the hood of the instrument he has revolutionised with his alternative tunings and new designs, all helping him make some great harmonica music across a range of different genres. Select the Chapter Markers tab above to select different sections of the podcast (website version only). Brendan's website: https://brendan-power.com/home.php Info on Brendan's tunings: https://www.brendan-power.com/harpgeeks.p...
May 27, 2020•1 hr•Season 1Ep. 11
Always looking to push himself in new directions, Carlos has released an eclectic mixture of genres across the range of his albums. But each song is underpinned with his great sounding fusion of blues / jazz harmonica, with a great tone. Carlos is also known for his overblowing technique, and he shares how to use this to compliment his sound. Carlos is also a passionate teacher of the harmonica, and is running some Webinars on how to transcribe music to aid learning. Select the Chapter Markers t...
May 20, 2020•1 hr 2 min•Season 1Ep. 10
PT Gazell developed his melodic style of harmonica through playing a range of genres, from Bluegrass, to Pop, Country and Jazz. After his iconic first album, Pace Yourself, he became a session musician and toured with Country bands before taking a prolonged break from playing due to his frustrations at the limitations of the diatonic harmonica. This led him to develop his Gazell Method half-valved diatonic, in partnership with the German manufacturer Seydel. Select the Chapter Markers tab above ...
May 16, 2020•1 hr 1 min•Season 1Ep. 9
Charlie McCoy is the leading figure in Country harmonica playing, where he joined the Nashville scene in 1961. With over 13000 sessions to his name, Charlie is probably the most recorded harmonica artist of all time. Although best known as a country harmonica player, along with his 40 solo albums, Charlie has played with some of the truly legendary names in popular music, from Roy Orbison, to Bob Dylan, Elvis Presley, Johnny Cash and Paul Simon. Select the Chapter Markers tab above to select dif...
May 11, 2020•1 hr•Season 1Ep. 8
Rod Piazza developed his exciting brand of West coast jump harmonica in Southern California, where he formed his own band before joining forces with George Harmonica Smith, to form Bacon Fat. Two harps, what a sound! Rod has an extensive discography, both as a solo artist, and also with his long term band, the Mighty Flyers, alongside his wife Honey. Rod talks us through his evergreen career and how he has burned it up on stage for so many years. Select the Chapter Markers tab above to select di...
May 01, 2020•59 min•Season 1Ep. 7
Kim Wilson is without doubt one of the great harmonica players around today. He grew up within the vibrant music scene in California, learning his chops on the bandstand, which he hasn't got off since, touring extensively all his life. Kim's long term band, The Fabulous Thunderbirds, has brought him commercial success, and he has also maintained his own dedicated blues band for many years. He leads from the front, and absolutely knows what it takes to deliver the blues to an audience. Select the...
Apr 25, 2020•1 hr•Season 1Ep. 6
Joe Filisko has made the study of the harmonica his lifelong passion. His detailed knowledge of early recordings has helped him become the pre-eminent pre-war harmonica player of our time. He built his knowledge of the harmonica from the inside out, producing revered custom harmonicas still used by some of the big names in harmonica today. Joe has been playing in his duo with Eric Noden since 2003, and is also a renowned harmonica tutor, both online and in workshops around the world. Joe display...
Apr 22, 2020•1 hr 1 min•Season 1Ep. 5
Billy Branch is a Chicago blues harp player who grew up learning directly from some of the classic generation of Chicago players, such as Carey Bell, James Cotton and Junior Wells. And he played in Willie Dixons band for 6 years. Billy has been nominated for three Grammy awards. He has become a real ambassador of the blues and takes great pride in maintaining that legacy with his long term band, the Sons of the Blues. A great technical exponent of the harmonica, with great soul, Billy released h...
Apr 17, 2020•1 hr•Season 1Ep. 4
Today I talk to Giles Robson, who released two highly successful albums in 2019. Giles started out with a more blues rock fusion approach before returning to a more traditional blues style, but with a modern twist, which has won over audiences across Europe and America. He has done this with a real dedication to the art and a keen sense of how the music industry works. This led to Giles winning an award for best acoustic blues album in Memphis in 2019. Giles tells us of all the ingredients that ...
Apr 13, 2020•1 hr•Season 1Ep. 3
Steve West Weston is the man in the hot seat in episode two. Steve grew up among the vibrant music scene in Essex, listening to Dr Feelgood among others. He started out playing in various bands on keyboard before finding his harmonica mojo as the front man in West Weston and the Bluesonics, and he hasn't looked back since. He has become the harmonica player of choice for Mud Morganfield when he's touring Europe, as well as playing with Trickbag in Scandinavia, and then playing on the number 1 al...
Apr 11, 2020•1 hr•Season 1Ep. 2
First up in the podcast I'm delighted to welcome a certain Mr Paul Lamb. Paul is a living legend of blues harmonica. He's been performing for over 45 years now, would you believe. He has a multitude of great albums to his name, and is inducted in the Blues Hall of Fame. Paul tells us how it all unfolded, meeting greats such as Junior Wells and his harmonica hero Sonny Terry along the way. With some tips on how aspiring harmonica players can try to emulate his tremendous success. The secret is al...
Apr 09, 2020•1 hr 3 min•Season 1Ep. 1
