Topic: The Missing (Blues) Link
I wouldn't be surprised if someone else has already posted the same general observation (rant), but regardless ... here goes.
Joe has done just about everything there is to do (almost), in terms of musical styles/genres, playing with other musicians (artists), singers, tributes, etc., with one glaring exception; blues harp players! I can count the number of blues harp players he's performed with live and/or recorded with on just ONE HAND! What's up with THAT?!
I grew up in the 60s, about 30 miles from East St. Louis (on the Southern Illinois side of the Mississippi), and was fortunate enough to see just about ALL the great blues musicians and bands that were still alive back then; Howlin' Wolf, Muddy Waters, B.B. King, Albert King, Freddie King (to name just a few legends), along with the likes of The Animals, The Paul Butterfield Blues Band, Johnny Winter, Canned Heat, the late/GREAT Gary Moore and too many other bands and artists to even begin to list.
I started playing guitar when I was 12 years old (I'm now in my 60s) and 'the blues' was a HUGE influence on me while learning to play guitar. A natural progression (for me) and overall interest in the blues, lead to me take up the blues harp, and that's what this post is really all about (the missing link).
There are some phenomenal (LIVING) blues harp players today; Jason Ricci is the first that comes to mind. If you're not familiar with him or his work, he was the blues harp player that filled in for the late Paul Butterfield, when the Paul Butterfield Blues Band was inducted into the Rock 'n Roll Hall of Fame this year (2015). He (Jason) is arguably the best blues harp player in the US right now. Let's face it; if he WASN'T, who else would they have hired to fill in for Paul Butterfield?!
That said, Magic Dick (J. Giles Band) comes to mind, as does Adam Gussow, Sugar Blue, Kim Wilson, Charlie Musselwhite and many other great blues harp players.
My point is, my exposure to 'the blues' and blues bands (since the 60's) frequently included blues harp players. It just goes with the territory. At least in my mind it does. That old classic, soulful, heart wrenching wail of a blues harp IS a big part of 'the blues' ... always has been and always SHOULD be.
I guess what I'm suggesting here is that Joe NEEDS to either record or play live (AND record) with as many blues harp guys as will play with him, and make THEM (the blues harp guys) either the focus of the show or album or, at the very least, evenly share the spotlight with them. Frankly, I can't believe he DOESN'T already have a full-time blues harp guy in has road band.
Anyway, that's my rant. Obviously, I'm a BIG fan of blues harp, although I don't play much anymore. I still play guitar, but not as seriously as I used to. Still, when I go to see a blues band or blues artist, I REALLY enjoy seeing and hearing great blues guitar AND great blues harp players, together on the same stage. The two just go together, like peanut butter and jelly ... pork and beans ... spaghetti and meatballs ... biscuits and gravy ... chicken and dumplings ... and Cheech and Chong. Blues guitar AND blues harp, for me at least, are at the very top of that list of things that go together and make life worth living.
My WAY better half (Suzy) and I will get to 'meet and greet' Joe at one of the two 'Three Kings of Blues' shows in San Diego this coming August, and I WILL bring this up when we meet him.
Come on, Joe. I KNOW I'm not the only guy out here that thinks blues guitar AND blues harp are about THE best combination there is!
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