Date: Thu, Jan 11 2001 16:15:35 GMT+1100 From: smckenz~zemail.com.au Subject: Australian CD featuring William Galison
This "Love Letters" CD featuring William Galison's harmonica playing has been mentioned on Harp-L already and here is yet a another review...
And Mr Galison - I understand you are touring Australia in 2 or 3 weeks time. If you read this, please post some tour dates on your website or to Harp-L!
Regards Scott
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Love Letters by Janet Seidel and William Galison A review by Scott McKenzie
One of Australia's well know jazz vocalists teams up with American jazz harmonica legend Williams Galison on this laid-back and soothing collection of tunes by Hoagy Carmichael with the odd standard by Duke Ellington, George Gershwin, Cole Porter, Henry Mancini and others.
Janet sings and plays piano and is joined by her brother on double bass, a guitarist, a drummer and, of course, William Galison on harmonica for a full jazz sound. This is the first album that I have heard with Galison playing a "backing" role to a vocalist. I am used to hearing him play superbly as a soloist on instrumental tracks. So I was interested to hear how he would fit in this role and he does an excellent job. Harmonica fans should be satisfied with the amount (and of course the quality) of harmonica playing that Galison does on this CD. Galison features on every track with his harmonica solos as well as continual harmonica fills at the end of vocal lines. Indeed, with due respect to the other fine musicians on this CD - especially Janet's vocals - it was William Galison's harmonica playing that stands out for me on the CD and it was his harmonica playing that received the largest and longest applause when I saw the band playing these songs live in Canberra recently.
This album will appeal to fans of Janet Seidel and William Galison and to fans of jazzy harmonica. It's hard to compare musicians but this CD reminds me of less flashy, perhaps more down-to-earth, arrangements of the sorts of tunes done by Larry Adler and his celebrity friends on the excellent Glory of Gershwin album. I expect Adler fans would find this CD a pleasant and fresh addition to their CD collection.
William Galison is a regular visitor to Australia and has promised to tour Australia again in February 2001. For those who are interested, he plays Hohner chromatics that he customises himself. On one harmonica he was using at a recent show he had replaced the comb with custom- made plastic comb from F. R. Farrell (http://www.frfarrell.com) and he had also swapped coverplates between different model harmoincas looking for just the right sound. He also plays diatonic harmonica on the odd occasion on CD and live. On this CD he plays predominantly chromatic but he plays a little diatonic (even throwing in some overblows as screechy sound effects on song Lazybones). Also, look out for William Galison on the internet, he has a website (http://www.williamgalison.com) and he regularly contributes to harmonica discussion groups like Harp-L (http://www.harmonica.org).
CD details: Love Letters By Janet Seidel and William Galison La Brava Music In~abravamusic.com Phone the company: Australia + 612 9360 5928
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