Mark Hummel’s Harmonica Blowouts in Oakland This Friday, Saturday and Sunday
This week’s must-see is also a great bargain. Blues veteran Mark Hummel brings his Blues Harmonica Blowoff to the San Francisco Bay Area for three evenings at the hip-yet-opulent Yoshi’s nightclub at the heart of the exciting Jack London Square entertainment district in Oakland. This is a safe area, central and easy to get to, with good offstreet parking.
While ticket prices are reasonable, the real bargain is the rich and varied blues harmonica talent all gathered in one show. You get to see and hear not only Mark, but four other excellent and highly distinctive blues harmonica stylists:
Rod Piazza (yes, with Miss Honey at the piano). Rod is one of the great showmen of the blues who gets the whole room rocking and keeps it that way.
Chicago stalwart Billy Branch, whose traditional values are reflected in his past tenure with Willie Dixon and later membership in Sons of Blues. Billy comes from inside the tradition, but extends it in exciting ways.
The high-octane Sugar Blue, who has recorded with both Willie Dixon and the Rolling Stones and is thought to be the model for John Popper (but remains firmly rooted in the blues).
Carlos del Junco, the eclectic "mongrel blues" Cuban Canadian, who adds overblowing to solid blues chops while adding a little Latin and jazz - and some just plain slammin’ R&B - into the mix.
Of course Mark Hummel is a master stylist who always brings a fresh approach that continues to resonate with the core of electric blues tradition while reinventing it from a deep knowledge of the less-explored roots and offshoots, always with a strong musicality and crowd-pleasing sense of dynamics and pacing. And he's a great producer and host for this great show.
Shows are Friday, Saturday and Sunday evenings, with a Sunday matinee. For more info and to order tickets, visit:
