I’ve been getting a little bit back into listening to the blues recently. Mainly for harmonica lick inspiration and as a way to cope with something private going on with my family. I like to use music (both listening to music and playing harmonica) as a way to cope with big, complex emotions. I’ve mainly taken a lot of inspiration from blues slide guitarists and dobro players, typically from country and Texas blues, as I really like to make the harp cry.
In terms of blues harmonica players I really enjoy, it’s actually really difficult trying to find one who doesn’t copy the old Chicago guys all the time and plays with a lot of the energy and passion I’d like to hear in the harp world. A lot of players online told me in the past that I had to conform to a strict set of rules in terms of my influences and what I should play under the idea of it being “real blues”. That’s why I’m always on the lookout for players who would be considered “unorthodox” by Facebook traditionalists. I love harmonica players who think outside of the box and challenge the idea of what blues harmonica should sound like; which is why I love players like Son of Dave for his unique compositions, Jason Ricci for incorporating elements of many genres of music (that alone challenges the idea that blues harpists need to have “real blues” influences only), Charlie Musslewhite for using different positions for blues beyond 1st and 2nd, and the subject of this thread, Norton Buffalo.
I had heard of his name prior to actually listening to his music, with a few people bringing him up for players they’d think I’d enjoy. As he was the player behind the harp solo in Bonnie Raitt’s song, “Runaway”. There were also a couple more saying to me that they hear a possible influence on the style of my favorite player, Terry McMillan. I sometimes do think of Norton as the West Coast version of Terry due to the both of them having expressive playing styles and being session musicians.
What I really like about Norton as a singer and harpist is boiled down to one thing: this man was the actual embodiment of the blues. Although he possessed a smooth baritone voice similar to jazz singers who are labeled as “crooners”, he moaned the blues with a lonesome growl. Every note he sang was filled with soul to the point where his singing could potentially make people cry. His harmonica playing really compliments his voice too, as he played with a lot of passion that I don’t often see in modern blues harpists. He played with the rare U-blocking embouchre style (in contrast to the more common tongue blocking and lip pursing styles) and his acoustic tone is very smooth and rich on both the diatonic and chromatic as a result of this, especially on single note heavy songs. I also really like how he could change the sound of his harp from having a mellow tone to a brighter tone on the fly. I don’t know what harp models he played, but whatever they are he could really make them wail.
Here are a couple of tracks I think showcase his playing and singing the best:
