Mr. G's Top 10 Musical Sounds

1.      Bonnie Raitt’s voice -Bonnie must be the perfect woman because she has the  perfect voice.  She finds all the depths of human experience and it pours out her mouth.   She respects and salutes her sources - the great blues poets of the 20th Century and the R&B pioneers.  And she seems to like harmonica players - they play on a lot of her records.

2.      Stevie Wonder’s chromatic harmonica  - They say that the harmonica is a perfect instrument for a blind person since you don't need to see anything to play it.  Everybody knows the sound of Stevie Wonder's harmonica. All it takes is just a few notes - his exuberance and technical mastery, the glissandi and melismatic approach to the instrument is unique.

3.      Tower of Power’s horn section - These guys are as tightest and funkiest horn section that has ever existed.  High-end trumpets, bari sax honking out the bottom, trombones and saxes filling out the middle - sounds like  single instrument.  Nothing is more hair-raising that the TOP horns in full cry.

4.      Gary Valente’s trombone - Raucous, braying, insistent and heart-breaking - Valente nails it every time.  His work with Carla Bley will live forever.

5.   The Count Basie band - This sounds weird, but the Basie band is tightly connected to the Tower of Power horn section.  Basie invented the concept of a group of talented instrumentalists playing as one.  Nothing swings harder than the Basie band.

6.      Anthony Palmer’s guitar - He may not be terribly famous, but Tony has fantastic technique and a unique voice on his instrument.  He has absorbed and re-assembled so many fantastic sounds.  And he is my neighbor and former band mate.  It was an honor to work with him.

7.      Miles Davis’ trumpet - Miles was the king of expressing the unexpressible in an economic, perfect series of musical phrases.  His trumpet sound was wistful and yearning.  Listen to the live version of "Stella By Starlight," and try not to weep.

8.      Jimmy Smith’s Hammond B-3 organ - THE GROOVE!!! The B-3 is the singing keyboard.  It is also an instrument for over-achievers, with bass pedals, multiple stops and techniques   Jimmy Smith created a marvelous sound, - soul jazz by an organ trio (B-3,drums and guitar).  

9.      Tito Puetes’ timbales - He generated excitement and joy for everyone when he started banging on those drums.  He was an unbelievably fine showman.  Pull up one of his videos on YouTube and see if you can sit still.

10.  Rahsaan Roland Kirk’s clarinet - R. Kirk played many instruments (often 2 or three at the same time).  His work ranged from interesting to "fall-down and worship him" material.  But I have to say that my favorite Rahsaan Roland Kirk sound is his clarinet.  Check out Blue Rol on the Verve album, "Now please don't you cry, beautiful Edith."  his circular breathing and intense tone on this jazzy blues tune is enough to cause your brain to explode

That's all, folks.

Keep Norton Buffalo in your Thoughts

Norton Buffalo is one of the best harmonica players of my generation. He is an old Oakland CA boy, came into his musical prime in the 1970's and has recorded on his own and with many others (Steve Miller Band is his regular gig, and he has played with Bonnie Raitt and the Doobie Brothers). He is a major studio harmonica player and is on many movie soundtracks and commercials. Remember the awesome harmonica solo on Bonnie Raitt's version of "Runaway?" That is Norton Buffalo (I think he used 4-5 different harps on the tune, switching between them with lightning speed).

Norton was on the road with the Steve Miller Band all summer and felt crappy much of the time. His doctors thought he had pneumonia but they were wrong - he has lung cancer, Stage 4 Adenocarcinoma of the lower right lobe - and it has spread to his brain. He received his diagnosis in September and is going through the extreme challenge of trying to beat the disease. Please keep him in your thoughts. You can drop him a card, too - the address is:

Norton Buffalo & Lisa Flores
5905 D Clark Road
Paradise, CA 95969

There is going to be a benefit/fund raiser for Norton to cover medical expenses - I guess his health insurance situation is inadequate. If you can attend, do it. If you can't attend, consider buying a ticket anyway. Here is the info on the benefit:

Norton Buffalo Benefit //Tell the folks you know

Tickets for the first BENEFIT FOR NORTON BUFFALO at The Paradise Performing Arts Center ARE NOW AVAILABLE!!! CARLOS REYES and FRIENDS, TOM RIGNEY and FLAMBEAU, and ROY ROGERS & THE DELTA RHYTHM KINGS have agreed to play at Norton's request.

The benefit will be held Sunday evening November 22nd. Call Bill Anderson toll free 1-877-397-3363 (10am-4:30pm & 6pm-9pm) to order your tickets with a credit card, or you can call to reserve your tickets and send a check payable to PPAC to Bill Anderson, 6848U Skyway, Paradise, CA 95969. Tickets for Norton's benefit will be $40 General Admission. I will either mail the tickets to you or hold them for you at Will Call. Doors will open at 5:30pm, show starts at 6:30pm.

Looking forward to seeing all of Norton's friends at the show! For those who cannot attend but still want to support the benefit, donations may be sent to LISA FLORES, 5905D Clark Road, Paradise, CA 95969.

Tickets will also be available at Diamond W Western Wear in Chico, Country Touch, and Paradise Coin in Paradise, and at The Performing Arts Center starting next week. PPAC's box office is open 11am-3pm Monday-Friday.

Bill & Penny Anderson
6848U Skyway
Paradise, CA 95969
bill@​paradisecoin.​com

Norton is not yet 60 years old.

It seems especially horrible that a harmonica player should be afflicted with a lung disease - to play harmonica, one must breathe very deeply.

Get Well, Norton........

New Life

This blog has been neglected for the past month. Unlike my other periods of inactivity, this time I have a decent excuse...my eldest daughter gave birth to my first grandchild, pictured above. Patrick Christopher arrived on April 8 at 4:35 AM Central. Hangin out with a new grandson is a great way to spend time.

I also squired my middle daughter around to colleges earlier this month - she is a junior in high school and that is the year when a teen's thoughts turn to the future. And today is my youngest daughter's 13th birthday party. Rounding out the story, my eldest just landed an awesome teaching job in New Mexico (quite a feat for my son in the midst of this recession). Oh, and he is getting married in a few weeks.

The small stories of family life are what sustain and occupy us all. Economic calamity, swine flu pandemics and the deaths of great people (Bud Shank, jazz saxophonist, April 6, 2009 RIP; Steve Raitt, musician, soundman supreme and elder brother of Bonnie Raitt, April 6, 2009, RIP, and on and on) may distract and depress - the household stuff continues and carries us forward.

So here is to little Pat Chris - I am grateful to be able to rest my eyes on the first face of the next generation of my clan. He seems to like it when I play the harmonica for him......already humoring the ol' grandpa.

Five Living Musicians I Love

I am into the music of many people who have shuffled off this mortal coil. But there are lots of folks that I love who are still with us. I admire dozens of musicians - maybe hundreds. Here are five, not listed in order of preference (because I love them all):



Bonnie Raitt: I am Bonnie's loyal dog. Her voice is an unique, exquisite instrument, capable of expressing love, lust, anger, longing, joy, sorrow - and every other emotion that a human being can experience. I was a fan boy long before she broke through with the "Nick of Time" album in 1990 - I bought her first album in 1971 when I was a junior in high school. She was and is a frequent visitor to Chicago, and supported the blues people from whom she drew her inspiration - Robert Johnson, Son House, Sippie Wallace, Muddy Waters, A.C. Reed, John Lee Hooker, Junior Wells and all the rest. While her voice is what captures me and reduces me to a puddle of emotions, her slide guitar work is also outstanding - unhurried, tasty and instantly recognizable. Stevie Wonder is among the fans of her slide guitar prowess, adding her as a guest musician on his most recent album. She is also an individual with strongly-held convictions, and she devotes considerable time and energy to pursuing those convictions. Hard to come up with a more admirable person among the upper echelons of popular music....



Sonny Rollins: Miles, Dizzy, Bird, 'Trane, Monk, Duke, Dexter.....and Sonny. Sonny is surviving member of this exclusive club of jazz heroes. He is the Saxophone Colossus. Here is a link to an interview of Sonny, conducted by Clint Eastwood on the eve of the 2007 Monterey Jazz Festival (it is well-known that Clint is a dewey-eyed jazz fan, bless his heart). At the age of 77, Sonny is still blowing up a storm - in his sixth decade as a jazz giant. His exuberent and joyful music is a blessing for all humans. It was my great honor to play trombone in the UC Berkeley Jazz Ensemble that supported Mr. Rollins back in 1975 when he was the featured artist at the Pacific Coast Collegiate Jazz Festival in Berkeley. Listening to him play, working through the arrangements that he wrote, being in his presence...it was one of the peak experiences of my musical life. Sonny is a constantly striving musician - his practicing regimen is legendary. He is famous for dropping out at the peak of his bebop fame in 1959 to play alone for two years under the Williamsburg Bridge in Lower Manahattan. There are many things I love about this musician, but one of my favorite things about him is his affinity for unusual material - "I'm an Old Cow Hand, "Tennessee Waltz," "Someday I'll Find You" (which is the theme song from an old radio show called "Mr Keene - Tracer of Lost Persons"). Sonny gets my vote as the coolest man alive. His look, his way of speaking, his devotion to his craft, his focus and refusal to wallow in the fruits of his success are all very cool. The intensity, humanity, humor, and tenderness of his playing are absolutely unmatched by any other musician, living or dead.



Tom Waits: I discovered Tom Waits in 1974 when I bought his "Closing Time" CD at a used record store on Telegraph Avenue in Berkeley CA. I spent $1.50 for the record, and I got $150 worth of juice out of one cut - " Ol' '55" - a great song. And that is one aspect of Tom Waits - he writes great songs. Sentimental, heart-breaking, weird emotional songs. Bruce Springsteen covers Tom - "Jersey Girl" is the tune, if I remember right. This is my favorite "nice" Tom Waits song. And then he does some stuff that is WAY....OUT...THERE. Man - he can squeeze so much emotion and intensity out of a limited vocal range - but it isn't his range that is important. He can evoke a wide spectrum of tonal colors and craziness with his voice and his shenanigans.

Tom is also a terrific actor - his current movie role is in "Wristcutters - A Love Story" Can't wait to see that flick - it hasn't been released in Chicago yet.


Curtis Fuller: Back when I was a mediocre high school trombonist, I discovered Curtis Fuller. He is now 73 years old and still making the trombone do things that are hard to believe. He played 'bone with John Coltrane on the "Blue Trane" LP; he played with Art Blakey. Mr. Fuller was one of those cats that had talent that refused to be denied - his Jamaican parents died when he was a child, so he was raised in an orphange in Detroit during the WWII years. He joined the U.S, Army in 1953 - one of the few places where black men were treated like human beings. He was a J.J. Johnson protege, but he developed his own style - edgier, faster, crazier. When I used to play trombone, I would listen to his records and weep. He is the reason that I changed my major from music to economics at Cal Berkeley.



Kim Wilson: Kim is my blues harmonica idol. He is devoted to the post-war Chicago blues tradition. He is also an official rock star; has written major hits and fronted the Fabulous Thunderbirds for almost three decades. The royalties from "Tuff Enuff" and all of the T-Birds hits allow Kim the freedom to play straight-up blues with true believers like Rusty Zinn, Billy Flynn, and a long list of other blues fanatics. I feel deeply connected to this man due our similar histories - Kim is three years older than I am, he played trombone as a kid, he found the harmonica and the blues when he was a senior in high school (I bought my first harmonica when I was a junior in high school). I have had the honor to meet him a couple years ago at the Old Town School of Folk Music in Chicago. He is the best Chicago blues harp player alive today, in my opinion. He also is a very solid, skilled vocalist with a very flexible and powerful baritone voice.

So that is five that I love...the list of living musicians that slay me is much longer than this. Watch for more profiles in future posts....