Happy Hour Harmonica Podcast

Hermine Duerloo, Laurent Maur and Alexandre Piret join me on episode 150, for a retrospective on the great Toots Thielemans. Toots was born in 1922 to humble beginnings, in Brussels, Belgium, where his parents ran a cafe. His first instrument was an accordion, which he started playing at age three and showed great promise. He took up guitar and the chromatic harmonica around the age of sixteen. He then went on to tour Europe with Benny Goodman in 1950 before moving to the US in 1951 where he landed a seat in the George Shearing Quintet, mainly as a guitar player, but also playing some songs on chromatic. Toots made his first solo albums from the late 1950s, including the iconic Man Bites Harmonica. From the 1960s Toots was in great demand as a session musician, recording with many giants of the music industry, such as Bill Evans, Paul Simon and Billy Joel. He also made some notable musical collaborations, including with Jaco Pastorius and Quincy Jones, and recorded on numerous film and tv scores, such as Midnight Cowboy and Sesame Street. Toots had such a long and glorious career that it’s hard to do it justice, but this episode attempts to highlight some of the key moments from the undisputed giant of the chromatic harmonica, and one who has inspired pretty much every chromatic player that has followed. Links:Compilation of interviews with Toots put together by a Belgian DJ Nico Kanakaris: https://www.mixcloud.com/bluenote71/toots-thielemans-100/Articles on Toots from Roger Trobridge's The Archivist site: http://www.the-archivist.co.uk/tag/toots-thielemans/Videos:The story of Toots Thielemans by Steven De Bruyn: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ar7CnZS0m0kWith Paul Simon in 1975: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=q8v2j4lJJZY&list=RDq8v2j4lJJZYWith Billy Joel in 1983: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6Te0DB86-wY&list=RD6Te0DB86-wYThree Views of a Secret live with Jaco Pastorius: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yBhoDaS5SKQ&list=RDyBhoDaS5SKQToots Thielemans 100th Anniversary Official Concert: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=e4hqApO5BH8Podcast website:https://www.harmonicahappyhour.comDonations:If you want to make a voluntary donation to help support the running costs of the podcast then please use this link (or visit the podcast website link above):https://paypal.me/harmonicahappyhour?locale.x=en_GBSpotify Playlist: Also check out the Spotify Playlist, which contains most of the songs discussed in the podcast:https://open.spotify.com/playlist/5QC6RF2VTfs4iPuasJBqwT?si=M-j3IkiISeefhR7ybm9qIQPodcast sponsors:This podcast is sponsored by SEYDEL harmonicas - visit the oldest harmonica factory in the world at www.seydel1847.com  or on Facebook or Instagram at SEYDEL HARMONICAS--------------------------------Blue Moon Harmonicas: https://bluemoonharmonicas.comSupport the show

Episode 149 is the third compilation of the ten minute question answers from episode 112 to episode 148.Not every episode had a ten minute question, as there’s been quite a lot of retrospective episodes in this batch. So there are 27 episodes covered here.I hope you enjoy listening back to this collection as much as I did putting it together. And if you if you missed any of the episodes included then be sure to check them out. I’ll introduce each person before they respond to the question: “if you had 10 minutes to practise, what would you spend that ten minutes doing”.Links: MillionPodcasts Top 100 Music Interview Podcasts: https://www.millionpodcasts.com/music-interview-podcasts/Podcast website:https://www.harmonicahappyhour.comDonations:If you want to make a voluntary donation to help support the running costs of the podcast then please use this link (or visit the podcast website link above):https://paypal.me/harmonicahappyhour?locale.x=en_GBSpotify Playlist: Also check out the Spotify Playlist, which contains most of the songs discussed in the podcast:https://open.spotify.com/playlist/5QC6RF2VTfs4iPuasJBqwT?si=M-j3IkiISeefhR7ybm9qIQPodcast sponsors:This podcast is sponsored by SEYDEL harmonicas - visit the oldest harmonica factory in the world at www.seydel1847.com  or on Facebook or Instagram at SEYDEL HARMONICAS--------------------------------Blue Moon Harmonicas: https://bluemoonharmonicas.comSupport the show

Hank Shreve joins me on episode 148.Hank started playing harmonica at age eight, and that has remained his true love despite learning various other instruments. He explains how his drumming background shapes the rhythmic feel of his harmonica playing, and how blues opened the door to everything from Latin influences to funk. Hank reflects on opening for Paul DeLay, working with Curtis Salgado, leading The Hank Shreve Band with his father Bill on bass, and broadening his musical output across albums like Loosen Up, Trouble, and That Way. He also discusses teaching at festivals, exploring jazz standards, winning several music awards, and the importance of always making the audience want to dance.Links:The Hank Shreve Band: https://www.hankshreveband.com/Howard Levy’s Rhythms of The Breath tuition books: https://levyland.com/book-rhythms-of-the-breathZack Pomerleau playing rack harmonica with drums and guitar: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ke3XUN8agbAHank's Facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/hank.shreveThe Hank Shreve Band Band Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/HankShreveBand/Music Masters Teaching Studio: https://www.musicmastersstudio.com/teacher-roster/hank-shreve-guitar-and-drum-lessons-eugene/Videos:Hank’s YouTube channel: https://www.youtube.com/user/hankshreveMike Moothart: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ls6ZxhIU_es&list=RDLs6ZxhIU_esPodcast website:https://www.harmonicahappyhour.comDonations:If you want to make a voluntary donation to help support the running costs of the podcast then please use this link (or visit the podcast website link above):https://paypal.me/harmonicahappyhour?locale.x=en_GBSpotify Playlist: Also check out the Spotify Playlist, which contains most of the songs discussed in the podcast:https://open.spotify.com/playlist/5QC6RF2VTfs4iPuasJBqwT?si=M-j3IkiISeefhR7ybm9qIQPodcast sponsors:This podcast is sponsored by SEYDEL harmonicas - visit the oldest harmonica factory in the world at www.seydel1847.com  or on Facebook or Instagram at SEYDEL HARMONICAS--------------------------------Blue Moon Harmonicas: https://bluemoonharmonicas.comSupport the show

Santiago Alvarez joins me on episode 147.Santiago is a chromatic player from Buenos Aires, who has dedicated himself to the folk traditions of Argentina, including writing a thesis on the history of the Argentine chromatic harmonica under the guidance of his mentor Franco Luciani.Specialising in tango, he explores the close musical relationship between the chromatic harmonica and the bandoneon. Santiago has recorded with numerous Argentine artists, released his own album in 2019, performs widely across Latin America and Europe, and teaches internationally, including recently at The World Harmonica Championships at Trossingen in 2025. He has also created an online harmonica course for Argentine music.Links:Contact Santiago at: [email protected]’s Argentine Harmonica Course: https://www.facebook.com/share/p/1BiBYGXPf3/Santiago's thesis on Argentine chromatic harmonica: https://drive.google.com/drive/u/0/folders/1V_gnxR5abozV8DMCgDchYZvqtzzqxsjfProfile on World Harmonica Festival website: https://worldharmonicafestival.de/artist-profile-santiago-alvarez/Harmonica FEN festival profile: https://harmonica-fen-festival.com/artist/santiago-alvarez/Videos:Santiago’s Argentine Harmonica Course teaser: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OUSki-oljnI&lc=UgzKGo6ZbqoJ-RmJhKx4AaABAgA portrait of Santiago: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zTClyulss-0Tanino Duo: https://www.youtube.com/@taninoduo/videosCeltic Connections with Tanino Duo: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kuL_-npUniQ Argento Trio: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eKUTufuT1EE&list=RDeKUTufuT1EENew trio with piano and bass: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YCjG3mjq-yA&list=RDYCjG3mjq-yAPodcast website:https://www.harmonicahappyhour.comDonations:If you want to make a voluntary donation to help support the running costs of the podcast then please use this link (or visit the podcast website link above):https://paypal.me/harmonicahappyhour?locale.x=en_GBSpotify Playlist: Also check out the Spotify Playlist, which contains most of the songs discussed in the podcast:https://open.spotify.com/playlist/5QC6RF2VTfs4iPuasJBqwT?si=M-j3IkiISeefhR7ybm9qIQPodcast sponsors:This podcast is sponsored by SEYDEL harmonicas - visit the oldest harmonica factory in the world at www.seydel1847.com  or on Facebook or Instagram at SEYDEL HARMONICAS--------------------------------Blue Moon Harmonicas: https://bluemoonharmonicas.comSupport the show

Ryan Hartt joins me on episode 146.Ryan is a harmonica player, vocalist and songwriter from New England.After completing musical studies, he headed to Los Angeles in the late 1990s to immerse himself in the blues scene, learning from West Coast swing heavyweights, including sitting in with Rod Piazza.He returned to the East Coast in 2000 to form his long-running band Ryan Hartt and the Blue Hearts, releasing three albums along the way. Ryan has now put out his first solo record, Be About It!, showcasing plenty of expressive harmonica along with his songwriting and vocals.Links:Ryan’s website: https://www.ryanhartt.com/Bandcamp: https://ryanhartt.bandcamp.com/Videos:https://www.ryanhartt.com/video/Podcast website:https://www.harmonicahappyhour.comDonations:If you want to make a voluntary donation to help support the running costs of the podcast then please use this link (or visit the podcast website link above):https://paypal.me/harmonicahappyhour?locale.x=en_GBSpotify Playlist: Also check out the Spotify Playlist, which contains most of the songs discussed in the podcast:https://open.spotify.com/playlist/5QC6RF2VTfs4iPuasJBqwT?si=M-j3IkiISeefhR7ybm9qIQPodcast sponsors:This podcast is sponsored by SEYDEL harmonicas - visit the oldest harmonica factory in the world at www.seydel1847.com  or on Facebook or Instagram at SEYDEL HARMONICAS--------------------------------Blue Moon Harmonicas: https://bluemoonharmonicas.comSupport the show