New resource: Harmonica Heaven

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Dear harmonica lovers,

This is my first post here on the forum. I’ve been visiting the community for some time and learned a lot from all the knowledge that’s being shared, but I never felt that I really had much to contribute. Then I came up with the following idea. Playing mainly “traditional” music, over time I compiled a list of Trad and World music harmonica albums on Youtube, more or less organized by region and style. The collection explores (almost) any style but Blues, Pop, Jazz, Classical and “Light” Music, so you might make some unexpected findings there.

Please don’t seek to much in the categories I came up with, they are my half-backed attempt to adapt to the limitations of a YT page. Anyway, please have a look and I hope you find something new, something that will inspire you. If you like the pages don’t forget to bookmark them, as they do not (yet) pop up in any search prompt, no matter how hard I try.

Enjoy!

Harpin’ Harry

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wow, that’s a lot of work! With youtube’s search now being nerfed, this may come in handy! Bookmarked for future use.

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Yes you’re right, I guess, although it certainly didn’t feel like “work” because it turned into a journey of unexpected and exiting discoveries (and it still is)! The fact that searches on Youtube seem to give less and less niche content unless you know exactly what to type was actually one reason to undertake this, so that we can enjoy these niche recordings for a long time to come!

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WOW!! This is mind blowing. Thanks @Harpin_Harry

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My pleasure! Funny thing is, now that I transformed my collection of bookmarks into these webpages I find myself rediscovering some nice stuff as well.

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Quite a few of my favorite harmonica players and albums are not on Youtube, so I decided to make another collection on Bandcamp. Same principle as before: (almost) no blues, jazz, classical, pop, light music. Sorting the albums thematically is not possible on Bandcamp, so you’ll have to explore for yourself.

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A whole bunch of exiting new discoveries (as in “Columbus discovered America”: the “new” obviously depends on your perspective) was added to the Harmonica Heaven pages. There is new recordings to be found in nearly all categories, but some deserve special mention:

Harmonica Heaven 1: Europe, America & Canada

* Flamenco: Antonio Serrano was the creative force behind the chromatic harmonica in flamenco music. Diatonic harmonicas are even less common (although they might make sense for imitating the vocal inflections); I have pinned my hopes on the incomparable Stephane Laidet who published some tantalizing incidental recordings on Youtube.

* Tarantella: Not to be missed: several minutes into an increasingly dizzying tarrantella and the crowd going mad, Giulio Bianco from Canzoniere Grecanico Salentino hitting the climax in Pizzica Indiavolata.

* Cajun: Rediscovered a nice set of historic recordings by Isom Fontenot.

Harmonica Heaven 2: Africa, Asia & Latin America

* Latin America, European Rhythms: Lucio Taragno, an Argentinan harp player who won the National Folk Festival in front of an audience that would not be out of place at a pop concert. The chamamé he plays fits the harmonica very well.

* Latin America, European & Afro-Latin Rhythms: several old albums from the Andean region, where the harmonica was absorbed in pre-Colombian tradition. A bit rough around the edges, but worth a listen! Harmonica player Carlos Baquerizo Castro (from Los Demonios del Mantaro) is the author of several hundred songs and a veritable national treasure in Peru because he invented an incredibly popular dance, La Chichera.

* Tango & Folclore: Franco Luciani was already present on Harmonica Heaven, but previously I had not fully appreciated his multifaceted talent.

* Canada: Great Canadian party music by Chuck & Albert - Énergie.

* Middle East: the personal harmonica recordings of Hamid Reza Behzadian (his album Songs for Leila with both his slide guitar and harmonica playing is also highly recommended).

* Carnatic harmonica (South Indian Raga): I haven’t had the time to explore this in detail so the collection is only a starter, but there happens to be a whole series of Indian carnatic concerts online (and it’s nice for a change to see so many female players in the spotlight!) The musical driving force behind this thriving community is carnatic singer and harmonica player Sri SaiTejas ChandraShekhar.

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