PT Gazell

First picking up the instrument in his late teens, the Wisconsin-born, self-taught player PT Gazell honed his craft by taking on all manner of musical styles including bluegrass, folk and pop. PT found his way to Lexington, Kentucky in the mid-seventies. At the time Lexington was a hotbed of young bluegrass musicians and PT fell right in with the likes of Ricky Skaggs, Jerry Douglas, Bela Fleck and others. While in Lexington, PT recorded his first album for Sugar Hill Records titled Pace Yourself. PT was the first harmonica player, and the second artist, to be honored with a recording contract with famed Sugar Hill Records. PT soon became a sought after side man and session player for some of Nashville's biggest stars and spent the next part of his career playing and recording all over the world along side the stars of the day. As exciting and fun as that period was, I also began to get somewhat frustrated. Tired by the road and frustrated by the musical limitations presented by the standard diatonic harmonica, Gazell put his instrument down and disappeared for a while.

When he finally reemerged it was with a newfound enthusiasm in part created by his introduction to valved harmonicas. Using self-valved harps, Gazell's music literally soared to new heights as this new approach allowed him access to musical possibilities hidden on standard diatonic harmonicas. And PT came out swinging... his first recording using the valved diatonic is a masterful swing record entitled Swingin' Easy, Hittin' Hard released in 2005. Gazell's playing on this record begs comparisons to jazz greats Benny Goodman and Ben Webster. The record spurred a brand new interest in PT and soon he was back on the road, only this time fronting various combinations of jazz and swing musicians. Critics and fans alike hailed Gazell's return to live performing and Swingin' Easy, Hittin' Hard quickly became a favorite at NPR stations across the United States.In 2008 Gazell and New Zealand chromatic harmonica wizard Brendan Power teamed up for the CD Back To Back. This CD features standards and jazz classics reinterpreted by two of the world's most gifted harmonica instrumentalists.

This interview was held in August of 2010. To learn more about PT visit his website www.ptgazell.com.