From: Glenn Weiser Date: Thu, 23 Apr 1998 01:28:33 -0400 Subject: Another call from Jerry Portnoy
> >
> > I'm going to say what I'll guess a lot of folks here have been biting their > tongues wanting to say. > > You never said whether Walter Jacobs actually TOLD Jerry that this was what he > _originally_ did. Anything other than this firsthand account is a guess AKA > opinion. Jerry's good, and has an impressive resume', and certainly not to > take anything away from him, but he's mortal (and has opinions) and is "just > another harmonica player" just like the rest of us. There are a lot of great > harmonicists on this list. > > -- IronMan Mike Curtis > "Doin' It All Myself" CD on USA-MG records > Available from Tower Records, Tower Online, or me
Look, Jerry called me again today and we spoke at some length about LW, Juke and embouchure technique. But first let me say that I must now concede that that the problems surrounding making exact determinations of Chicago harp technique in general, and Le Riff in particular are much greater than I had ever imagined. I don't wish anyone to bite their tongues on my account-for me my involvement with the list been an amazing learning experience. The dialouge here should be conducted in an atmosphere of humor, humilty, and respect for the incredible players who have gone on before, and I may indeed have violated that spirit in past. When I first posted to the list I thought it was fairly easy to know just what LW had done-after all I had written the melodies down correctly (my editor had my work checked by a sight reading monster), and even devised what is probably the most complete system of indications for tongue slaps, bends and other effects to date (I'll post that if you want to see it). Portnoy had also tuaght me a system of mixed embouchure that I mistakenly assumed was common practice among the Chicago players. So I thought I had it under control. I was cool. Then I swaggered up Main Street of Listville, Arizona at high noon, and found six Gary Coopers waiting for me, badges gleaming in the sunlight, harps drawn. When the smoke cleared there were no obvious victors, so I pulled my black hat down over my eyes, slunk back to my hideout, and listened to Little Walter again. And thought about it all. Later I rode back into town and questioned the guys in the saloon about harpslinging practices in these parts. And on and on... Mike, I'm not holding up JP as the ultimate authority-no one can claim that, not even him (and he wouldn't, either). I mentioned what he said because I believed it would be of interest to the group. If I'm wrong about that I'll shut up. But assuming your curiosity, no, Little Walter did not tell him precisely how Le Riff was played. He saw Little Walter on Maxwell St. as a kid but didn't know him personally. JP said the Big 3 -LW, BW, and SBWII-left no indications as to exactly how they played. He feels sure there are 6-9 octaves in the head, at the stops, and at the end. That's the way he hears it. I was only interested in obtaining his opinion, and as I've said elsewhwere, I had no intention of disputing the Le Riff point with a man who was kind enough to call me long distance, give me his time, and offer to help me in the future. But I don't give JP absolute creedence on Le Riff either, because there is persuasive evidence that something other than the 6-9 may be the case. And it's simply time for anyone who felt cocksure of themselves on this point or related points to relent and admit as I've done that certainty is far more elusive here than previously supposed. What I'm realizing as I probe into all this is that a priceless opprotunity has been lost. If I or someone else with my skills had been in Chicago in the mid-fifties, I could have sat these guys down, figured out exactly what they were doing, and thoroughly documented it for posterity as an American musical treasure. But LW & co. are gone, and the task of accurately reconstructing what they did may prove impossible. What I need to do now is figure out the extent to which this can be done, because that's my responsibility as LW's transcriber. So I'll continue to pan for gold here as long as I'm welcome to do so. Back to Jerry-I picked his brains some more, and he thinks that LW puckered in the low three draw holes to bend. He thinks BW tb-bended more, but admitted that it is very hard to be sure. SBII pucker bended, he thought. He has video footage of SBII playing, and will look at it again for me, because he says you can sometimes tell by watching the player's cheeks which embouchure is being used. He's not sure if there are two or three note chords in Le Riff. He's going to send me his master class package, and told me to call him back after I had reviewed it. Sorry for writing such a long post, but I do feel we're heading into some exciting new territory. Comprable stuff was figured out a long time ago in the guitar, banjo, and fiddle worlds, and I'm honestly surprised at this shroud of mystery over Chicago blues harp. The first phase of my search here was really understanding why this is so. I think that's primarily because there are two ways to bend, which I honestly didn't know before because no instructional book I've seen explains this. The second phase will be seeing how far it can all be unravelled. That where we're at now. And of course you're all invited along for the journey.
Glenn Weiser
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