Posted by Tuten (209.244.178.42) on August 05, 2000 at 18:31:07:
After searching high and low for years I finally picked up a copy of George Smith's album 'Blowing The Blues'. Smith was the most dynamic of all harp players, and had a gritty hard-winded overblowing sound that today is only paralelled by contemporaries like Sugar Blue. His beautiful tribute to Rice Miller and Little Walter, though short, is a fabulous execution of his west-coast style of harp playing, and as far as I know, he's the first to blow the tune 'Summertime'on a harp with any significance. His
straight up ghetto lyricism, overlayed with pincing back riffs which seem to employ the skills of all those before him morphed into one distinct sound, is a
joy to the ears of any die-hard blues harpist.
Check it out.