Song Tracks with Blues Harmonica to listen to.
Hi All
I'm just thinking about starting to learn the Chromatic after @ 2yrs playing and now on LOA-5
So, I'm wondering if whilst I'm getting the funds together to purchase a 270 Deluxe can anyone help me with great Chromatic Harmonica tracks that I can find to download from iTunes.
Please can you let me know your favourite Blues Chromatic Tunes/songs
Cheers
Richard
Are you looking exclusively for blues chromatic tracks, or anything good played on the chromatic?
If it's blues, check out such players as Little Walter, who pretty much started the whole style. Here's one of his early chromatic instrumentals:
Lights Out https://youtu.be/ycjUSvxcUrE
Note that he's playing a 16-hole chromatic, with low range that the 270 does not have, and he uses that low register.
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Other prominent blues chromatic players include:
William Clarke: Blowing the Family Jewels https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=75FssrS3K9o
Dennis Gruenling: Chromatic Jump https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iDU2MXm1N18
Rod Piazza: Soul Monster https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Rjy61aD5YpU
George Smith: Woke up This Morning https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eTyaFE0spxI
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Here's a wider range of styles and players outside the blues world:
==Jazz
Toots Thielemans: Midnight Sun https://youtu.be/SK0f4ZC9IPg
Toots Thielemans: C to G Jam Blues https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=V4kUjgdeaQE
Hermine Deurloo: Goodbye https://youtu.be/q6L1Ig-FMc0
Hendrik Meurkens: My Foolish Heart https://youtu.be/ViQK4qPzkuM?list=PLRjjh3BtCuBE2-ykwvpqHOIP-vIGDiPoF
Wim Dijkgraaf: Nightwings https://youtu.be/ouP0VJPh-Ks
==Classical
Charles Leighton: Fauré’s Apres un rêve https://youtu.be/USCidY58KiI
Robert Bonfiglio: Saint Säens’ The Swan: https://youtu.be/2sRNcVX8n34
Franz Chmel: Parts of Paganini - La Campanella https://youtu.be/dEevfUAn-80
Douglas Tate: Cantilena https://youtu.be/rr9eY7QoEvU
==Pop
Leo Diamond: Offshore https://youtu.be/7nUPEpT21gg
Stevie Wonder: Alfie https://youtu.be/EL2TxSBWa6o
Tommy Reilly: Londonderry Air https://youtu.be/b-2bH5hA6vM
Larry Adler: Summertime https://youtu.be/z8lpHDNCttU
Larry Adler: Le Grisbi https://youtu.be/RI5NwoxlQMI
Harmonicats featuring Jerry Murad: Perfidia https://youtu.be/fGyNLiWUJzA
Richard Hayman: Ruby https://youtu.be/P5r3fz3Ob8s
George Fields: Moon River https://youtu.be/G50jixUB91g
And just to toot my own horn a bit, here are some blues or blues-inflected chromatic instrumentals I've recorded:
Blue Chrome (B minor on a C chromatic)
Blue Rant (A minor on a C chromatic)
Solstice Winter Bonfire (Eb and D on a C chromatic)
Summer Solstice (A and Bb on a C chromatic)
Conspiracy Theory (E on a D chromatic)
One thing that can be surprising is that blues greats are often known to have listened to a much wider variety of music than just blues. Little Walter listened to a lot of popular music and jazz, while B. B. King was a big fan of gypsy guitarist Django Reinhardt. George Smith actually recorded I Left My Heart in San Francisco (on chromatic) , and Bill Clarke obviously was listening to a lot of soul jazz that showed up in his later style - and so on.
So listening to some non-blues chromatic might just help feed your head and enrich your playing concept. (Besides, a lot of it is just great listening)
I don't play Chromatic so someone else can give more specifics, My favorite old school player is George Smith, he could hit one note and bring the house down. Here's my favorite "live" clip of him on Chromatic. "Leaving Chicago"
https://youtu.be/b_D-56WY57s