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This Is The Blues Harmonica – Vol. 2
Delmark DE 780

For some, the harmonica is not much more than an inexpensive plaything, but as the artists heard here amply demonstrate, the expressive range of the harmonica is as deep and wide as any other musical instrument in the blues, rivaled only by the human voice. These are among the very greatest blues players ever to pick up the instrument, from world renowned legends like Junior Wells (heard here on a previously unreleased take), Big Walter Horton and Little Walter, through undeservedly obscure players whose fame barely stretched beyond their own neighborhoods. Featuring the best harp players on Delmark. Contains previously unissued tracks by artists including Shakey Jake (performing with Magic Sam). Also available: This Is The Blues Harmonica – Vol. 1 (Delmark 746).

This Is The Blues Harmonica, Volume Two
Delmark DE 780

1 Junior Wells - Tomorrow Night (alternate) 2:48 *
2 Hammie Nixon - Love Grows In Your Heart 3:38* (with
Sleepy John Estes)
3 Carey Bell - Carey's Rumba 3:05 *
4 Mark Hummel - I Got My Brand On You 5:42 *
(with Dave Specter-Steve Freund)
5 Shaky Jake - That Ain't It (alternate) 2:53*
(with Magic Sam)
6 Walto Pace- Fox Chase / Lost John 2:30 *
7 Mad Dog Lester Davenport - West Side Blues Harp 3:32
8 Little Walter - Rollin' & Tumblin', Pt. 2 3:12
(with Baby Face Leroy Trio)
9 Louis Myers - That's Alright (alternate) 2:41*
10 Alfred "Blues King" Harris - Miss Ida (alternate) 3:05 *
11 Tad Robinson - Coming Home 3:52
12 Little Sammy Davis - Devil's Trail 3:09
13 Little Mack Simmons - Muddy Waters Goin' To Run Clear
6:10 (with Eddy Clearwater)
14 Big Wheeler - Chicago Winter Weather Blues (alternate)
7:27 *
15 Big Walter Horton - Back Home To Mama 3:07
16 Eddie Burns - Hastings Street Special 3:30

* Previously unissued

Delmark Records, 4121 N. Rockwell, Chicago, IL 60618 • www.delmark.com
CP 2004 Delmark Records

The harmonica - a/k/a the tin sandwich, the Mississippi saxophone, the mouth organ, the harp. Cheap and portable, it's the most common musical instrument in the world. John Steinbeck rhapsodized its virtues in "The Grapes Of Wrath", and everyone from Al Pacino to Stan Musial to Abraham Lincoln has played one. Almost every cowboy or prison movie ever made includes a scene with someone playing a mournful tune on one. It's truly the people's instrument - almost anyone can pick one up and within a few minutes succeed at huffing and puffing out a rudimentary tune or two.
It's probably the same qualities that make it so popular that prevent it
from getting much respect in the musical world. "Serious" musicians think of it as not much more than a toy, and for the majority of people around the world who play it, it never rises above that level. But in the hands of a select few, the harmonica has reached a level of musical expressiveness rivaling the human voice, and this unique quality, when combined with the others, makes it perfect for the blues.
Junior Wells and Delmark go back a long way together; Junior's groundbreaking "Hoodoo Man Blues" (Delmark 612) LP, recorded for the label in 1965, is generally acknowledged as one of the all-time classics, a "desert island disk" for many blues fans. But the Wells performance included here goes back even further - it's from Junior's very first ever recording session, done for Chicago's United label in the early 1950s with all-star backing by members of Elmore James' and Little Walter's bands, plus Willie Dixon. In those days young Junior was considered by many to be Little Walter's only serious rival on the Chicago harp scene; he proves why on this rocking, previously unissued take of "Tomorrow Night".
Hammie Nixon spent almost his entire music career backing fellow Brownsville, Tennessee native Sleepy John Estes. The first of their many recordings together took place in 1935, but with a few rare exceptions, Nixon stayed in the background, weaving his snaky, purring harp lines around Estes' elemental acoustic guitar and vocals. By the time this recording was made, their uncanny level of musical telepathy was second nature. This previously unissued recording comes from a session done just before the pair left for a 1974 tour of Japan.
Carey Bell arrived in Chicago in 1956, when the greatest blues harp players
in the world could be heard playing in neighborhood clubs any night of the week. Carey's first release, "Carey Bell's Blues Harp" (Delmark 622) in 1969, brought him
wide recognition as a modern master of the instrument. In 1972 he re-entered the studio for Delmark to record a follow-up LP, featuring his friends Hubert Sumlin and Eddie Taylor on guitars. That album was never completed; presented here for the first time is "Carey's Rumba".
Mark Hummel is one of the contemporary masters of blues harmonica, and a leading light of the west coast blues scene. A well-seasoned road warrior with his own band and a lengthy discography of solo releases over the last two decades, he's also a first-call player for blues sessions. Here he helps out his pals Dave Specter and Steve Freund on a track recorded during the sessions for their upcoming Delmark release, "Is What It Is" (Delmark 779).
Shaky Jake Harris was known around Chicago almost as much for his gambling as for his music; considering his formidable talents as a harp player and
singer, he must have been quite a gambler! Harris recorded for several labels in the 1950s and '60s, and was also a mentor to his nephew, blues legend Magic Sam, providing him early guidance and bandstand experience. Sam returned the favor by using Jake on a number of his own recording sessions, including the session for Delmark that produced this previously unissued take of the Jimmy Rogers classic "That Ain't It".
Almost nothing is known about "Whiskey" Walto Pace, except that he was
probably born in Philadelphia, Mississippi, around 1912 and died in 1991 in Flint, Michigan, and that his only known existing recordings were done by Delmark in 1965. At that time, Delmark already had Big Joe Williams, Yank Rachell, and Sleepy John Estes on its roster - 'blues revival' artists with well-known pre-war releases and marketable reputations. Pace lacked both, which is the best possible explanation for why his session tapes went unissued and forgotten in the Delmark vaults until now. Pace was a strong vocalist and guitarist, but in between takes pulled out a harp and also demonstrated his skills on the pre-war harmonica standards "Fox Chase" and "Lost John".
"Mad Dog" Lester Davenport played and recorded with Bo Diddley in the 1950s (replacing Billy Boy Arnold when Arnold left Bo's band to pursue his own
solo career), and has been making occasional appearances on the Chicago scene ever since, much to the delight of local blues fans. Here he's heard on one of his patented booty-shaking instrumentals, from his most recent release on Delmark.
Virtually every blues harp player who picked up the instrument in the last
50 years has been influenced at some level by Marion "Little Walter" Jacobs work both on his own and backing Muddy Waters. His swinging phrasing, dynamic and tonal range, jazzy improvisational skills, and his fits-like-a-glove ensemble work set the standard by which blues harmonica is still measured today. His own earliest harp hero was the most influential blues harp player of the FIRST 50 years of the 20th century, John Lee "Sonny Boy" Williamson. Presented here is one of Little Walter's rare early recordings alongside Muddy Waters and Baby Face Leroy, as he straddles the fence between Williamson's more rhythm-oriented playing, and his own emerging solo style.
Louis Myers is better known for his guitar playing as a member of The Aces
(the band that backed Little Walter on his groundbreaking early solo recordings), but that's not due to any shortcomings in his harp playing. In fact, he was one of the best harp players in Chicago during the heyday of blues harp in the 1950s, but when you're in a band that also includes Little Walter, you're not going to get many chances to strut your stuff on harp. Still, Louis‚ first record under his own name in 1956 gave Walter a run for his money, with outstanding harp instrumentals on BOTH sides of the release for the tiny Abkco label. His next session as leader in the mid-’60s produced this rocking take of "That's Alright", released here for the first
time.
With a small handful of record releases to his credit in the 1950s, the music of Alfred "Blues King" Harris is somewhat better known than that of Walto Pace, but he's still a biographical mystery. He was active on the blues club scene in Chicago in the 1950s, and made his way into the recording studios a few times (and also once got into some union trouble for recording his band live in a club), including a rough-and-ready session for United in 1954. Heard here for the first time is an alternate take of his "Miss Ida".
Originally from New York, singer/harp player Tad Robinson spent years in
Chicago soaking up the deep blues of the masters. He learned his lessons well, and has developed into a such a powerfully soulful and adventurous singer that his harp playing often takes a backseat. But make no mistake about it - Robinson is among the most talented blues harmonica players active today. And he's a fine songwriter as well. All three facets of his talent are on display here on "Coming Home".
Little Sam Davis recorded a few tracks with his pal Earl Hooker in Memphis
in the early ’50s, contributed a few more to an obscure anthology in the early 1970s, and then wasn't heard from again on record until his debut CD for Delmark in 1996. Davis was influenced equally by post-war Chicago school harpmen and the pre-war acoustic stylists; he's also incorporated more current musical styles into his harp playing, even adding a bit of Stevie Wonder-style chromatic harmonica, which he demonstrates here on his adventurous instrumental "Devil's Trail".
Little Mack Simmons was ubiquitous on the Chicago blues scene from the late '50s onward. He recorded for more labels than even he could remember, and
played more styles of music than almost any of his contemporaries, from stripped down gut bucket blues, to slick '60s style R&B, to serious gospel, to Michael Jackson covers. And he always found a way to make the best use of his harp, no matter what the setting. He was also a talented and tasteful ensemble player, adding just the right elements to get his point across, as he demonstrates here on a track from a session led by his old friend Eddie Clearwater.
Golden "Big" Wheeler was a fine harp player and singer who first made a name for himself in Chicago during the heyday of blues harp in the 1950s. Towards the end of that decade, Wheeler (like many of his harp playing contemporaries), turned to a day job to make his living, and only played part time for the next few decades. In the early ’90s he retired from the day job and turned his attention back to music, picking up almost exactly where he left off, playing in the raw, swinging style from the classic years of Chicago Blues. The track presented here, "Chicago Winter Weather Blues", is a previously unissued alternate from his second Delmark CD, "Jump In" (Delmark 709).
Big Walter Horton''s uniquely deep and resonant harp tone has often been
imitated but never duplicated. After gaining fame in Memphis in the 1930s and '40s, he set his sights on the bright lights and big city of Chicago. His first session as a leader in Chicago featured a sophisticated, city sound, featuring riffing saxophones a swinging rhythm session which included Willie Dixon on bass. From that 1954 outing, his "Back Home To Mama" helped launch his reputation in the city he'd be associated with for the rest of his life.
Veteran Detroit bluesman Eddie Burns is the older brother of longtime
Delmark artist Jimmy Burns; both brothers learned to play harmonica listening to the records of John Lee "Sonny Boy" Williamson in the 1940s. It's interesting that Eddie actually plays in a relatively more modern style than his younger brother these days, as he shows here on his Little Walter-influenced "Hastings Street Special".
-Scott Dirks, October, 2004

1. Junior Wells Tomorrow Night (alternate) (Amos Blakemore, Embassy Music, BMI) 2:48
Junior Wells, vocal, harmonica; Louis Myers, guitar; Dave Myers, bass, Fred Below, drums. June 8, 1953. From the same session as "Junior Wells, Blues Hit Big Town" (Delmark 640)

2. Sleepy John Estes Love Grows In Your Heart (John Adam Estes) 3:38
Sleepy John Estes, vocal, guitar; Hammie Nixon, harmonica July 19, 1974. Not available on any other album.

3. Carey Bell Carey's Rumba (Carey Bell) 3:05
Carey Bell, harmonica; Hubert Sumlin, guitar; Eddie Taylor, guitar; Lovey Lee, piano; Joe Harper, bass; Willie Williams, drums. January 27, 1972. Not available on any other album.

4. Dave Specter - Steve Freund I Got My Brand On You (Willie Dixon, Hoochie Coochie Music, BMI) 5:42
Steve Freund, vocal, guitar; Mark Hummel, harmonica; Barrelhouse Chuck, piano; Harlan Terson, bass; Marty Binder, drums. June 18, 2004. From the same session as "Dave Specter - Steve Freund, Is What It Is" (Delmark 779)

5. Magic Sam That Ain't It (alternate) (Jimmy Rogers, Arc Music Corp., BMI) 2:53
Magic Sam,vocal, guitar; Shakey Jake, harmonica; Mac Thompson, bass; Odie Payne, III, drums. October 18, 1967. From the same session as "Magic Sam, West Side Soul" (Delmark 615)

6. Walto Pace Fox Chase/Lost John (Traditional, P.D.) 2:30
Walto Pace, harmonica. December 22, 1965. Not available on any other album.

7. Mad Dog Lester Davenport West Side Blues Harp (Davenport/Dawkins/Flynn, Leric Music, BMI) 3:32
Mad Dog Lester Davenport, harmonica; Billy Flynn, guitar; Detroit Jr., piano; Bob Stroger, bass; Jimi Schutte, drums. July 10, 2001. From "Mad Dog Lester Davenport, I Smell A Rat" (Delmark 763)

8. Little Walter Rollin' & Tumblin' Pt. 2 (Traditional, P.D.) 3:12
Little Walter, harmonica; Muddy Waters, guitar; Baby Face Leroy Foster, drums
January, 1950. From "The Blues World Of Little Walter" (Delmark 648)

9. Louis Myers That's Alright (alternate) (Jimmy Rogers, Arc Music Corp., BMI) 2:41
Louis Myers, vocal, harmonica; magic Sam, guitar; Mac Thompson, bass; Odie Payne, Jr., drums. April 1, 1968. From "Sweet Home Chicago" (Delmark 618)

10. Alfred "Blues King" Harris Miss Ida (alternate) 3:05
Alfred Harris, vocal, harmonica; earl Dranes, guitar; James Bannister, drums; remainder unknown. August 9, 1954. From "Big Walter Horton & Alfred 'Blues King' Harris, Harmonica Blues Kings" (Delmark 712)

11. Tad Robinson Coming Home (Tad Robinson, 90th Street Publishing, ASCAP) 3:52
Tad Robinson, vocal, harmonica; Alex Schultz, guitar; Ken Saydak, piano; Harlan Terson, bass; Jon Hiller, drums. January 10, 1994. From "Tad Robinson, One To Infinity" (Delmark 673)

12. Little Sammy Davis Devil's Trail (Davis/Scribner/Sexton/Scribner, Yawnin' Fritz Music, BMI) 3:09
Little Sammy Davis, harmonica; Fred Sexton, guitar; Brad Lee Sexton, bass; Brad Scribner, drums. May 26, 1993. From "Little Sammy Davis, I Ain't Lyin'" (Delmark 682)

13. Eddy Clearwater Muddy Waters Goin' To Run Clear (Eddy Harrington) 6:10
Eddy Clearwater, vocal, guitar; Little Mack Simmons, harmonica; Thomas Eckert, guitar; Bob Riedy, piano; Aron Burton, bass; Sam Lay, drums. March 14, 1977 From "Eddy Clearwater, Boogie My Blues Away" (Delmark 678)

14. Big Wheeler Chicago Winter Weather Blues (alternate) (Golden Wheeler) 7:27
Golden "Big" Wheeler, vocal, harmonica; James Wheeler, guitar; Allen Batts, piano; Bob Stroger, bass; Baldhead Pete, drums. August 18, 1997 From "Golden 'Big' Wheeler, Jump In" (Delmark 709)

15. Big Walter Horton Back Home To Mama (Leonard Allen, Embassy Music, BMI) 3:07
Big Walter Horton, vocal, harmonica; Red Holloway, tenor sax; John Cameron, tenor sax; Lafayette Leake, piano; Lee Cooper, guitar; Willie Dixon, bass; Fred Below, drums. November 1, 1954. From "Big Walter Horton & Alfred 'Blues King' Harris, Harmonica Blues Kings" (Delmark 712)

16. Eddie Burns Hastings Street Special (Eddie Burns, Flat Out Gold, BMI) 3:30
Eddie Burns, harmonica; Jimmy Burns, guitar; Roosevelt Purifoy, piano; Nick Charles, bass; Larry Taylor, drums. September 13, 2001. From "Eddie Burns, Snake Eyes" (Delmark 758)

Also available: This Is The Blues Harmonica (Delmark 746) with Little Walter, Junior Wells with Buddy Guy, Big Walter Horton, Billy Branch, Jimmy Burns, Billy Boy Arnold, Kim Wilson and others.

Compilation Producer: Scott Dirks
Album Production: Robert G. Koester and Steve Wagner
Mastering: Steve Wagner
Cover Design: Al Brandtner
Other Design: Dave Forte