Pat Ramsey
Forgot to mention him as an artist that really does it for me. How the hell did he play so freakishly fast? Was he using repetitive patterns like you talk about in the rock book or something else? It sounds more like guitar shredding a la Clapton than horn lines and such. Is he playing with integrity to the chords and all that or just going nuts?
-Taylor
I had the honor of seeing Pat Ramsey about twelve years or so ago, without even knowing who he was, when I stumbled into the House of Blues in Orlando. Not only was he impressive for his speed, but he was a dynamite performer and showman. He seemed to know exactly when to back off on speed and play for melody and give space to his guitarist and then also knew when to give the audience what they wanted on the harp.
If I could play anywhere near his calibre, I'd die a happy man...!
Sweet! Lucky. That's why I make it a point to catch everyone I can that comes into town. I don't want to have those "I wish I would've seen ____ live when I had the chance" blues.
Yes, good point... he's a good example. He was a fairly solid player... pretty much the tradition of blues harmonica, just faster. Yes, follow the principles in the Rock Harmonica book. He had times where he would sacrifice note quality for speed, but that's common for speed players.