Mouth Box: New Irish Harmonica CD

carrie · Post by **carrie** » Wed Oct 23, 2002 7:37 am

My whistle teacher here in the Chicago area, James Conway, just completed a project dear to his heart: making a CD that demonstrates the versatility of the Irish harmonica and its “blendability” with other traditional Irish instruments. The CD—with an impressive array of guest artists—is called Mouth Box, a name the late Gwen Sale gave to James because of the way he could make his harmonica sound like an accordion. (She died shortly after the CD was completed and the project is dedicated to her.) In fact, James makes his harmonicas match the other traditional instruments as well, proving the blendability of this humble instrument beyond question. At the same time, he shows the instrument’s unique abilities and its deserving place in ITM. It’s a great CD. I want to share my impressions of it here, partly just to give it some well-deserved attention. Since I’m not a harmonica player myself, though, I’m also hoping to coax out of the woodwork any harmonica players on the board who might be interested in sharing their experiences with this instrument, which, according to Brendan Power, is “very much a new kid on the block in a style dominated by the fiddle, flute, whistle and pipes….”

Each instrumental pairing on Mouth Box showcases a slightly different side of the versatile harmonica (also called a harp) and the way it can borrow from and blend with the style and conventions of the other instruments. For example, in the robust jigs (Young Tom Ennis, Brendan Tonra’s) with Keiran O’Hare on uilleann pipes, James mimics the pipes’ characteristic bleat with rhythmic cuts on his harp and meets O’Hare’s finger slurring with blow bends. His harp also mimics the pipes’ drone in another set of jigs (Tatter Jack Walsh, Knights of Saint Patrick, and Cook in the Kitchen) played with Gwen Sale on fiddle, Dennis Cahill on guitar, and Jackie Moran on bodhran (listen for the fresh sound of the Jaw’s Harp as well). And in a set of reels (Earl’s Chair, Humours of Ballyconnell, and Flowing Bowl), James creates an accordion-like sound by blowing from both sides of his mouth for octave richness. “I thought he forgot to list the concertina player in the credits only to find out it's all harp,” wrote Paul Davies, member of SPAH (Society for the Preservation and Advancement of the Harmonica).

But imitating other instruments, or at least picking up some of their stylistic conventions, is only part of the story. In a set of polkas, with nothing more than his tapping foot to accompany him, James shows the harp’s widest range, in my opinion: he becomes a whole band— complete with melody, boom-chucks, drones, and a good sense of humor—all with one diatonic harmonica in G and a block of wood to tap his foot on. In another jig set (Humors of Ballyloughlin and Mooncoin Jig), James picks up his bubbly whistle and turns the harmonica playing over to the incomparable Howard Levy, who leads off with a fun and bluesy introduction suggesting still more of the harmonica’s range.

In his liner notes James acknowledges that it was Chicago great Sugar Blue’s style—which to James sounded like a fiddle and accordion together—that got James “blowing Irish music on the harp,” but there’s no mistaking the traditional Irish roots of this CD. It has rhythmic bounce and swing; driving melodies “played as one” with the guest artists and enriched with the harp’s harmonic and droning possibilities; graceful, moderate ornamentation; lyrical sadness and bubbly joy. Through all the tracks, James blows a mouth-watering sound from his harps, crisp with Irish reediness yet surprisingly creamy as well. That remarkable bright sound, the satisfying couplings of the harp with other traditional instruments, and James’s virtuosity, swing, and musical bigheartedness, make Mouth Box a real treat for the ears.

CDs are available at http://www.jimmyconway.com and http://www.celticgrooves.com. For a full listing of tunes and guests, and another review, see http://celticgrooves.homestead.com/CG_Conway_James.html .

James has offered a few free review copies for harmonica-playing C&F’ers who would like to share their reactions to his CD with the board. If you are interested, please send me a private message on the board or an e-mail to carolski@aol.com.

--Carol

[ This Message was edited by: cskinner on 2002-10-23 09:37 ]

[ This Message was edited by: cskinner on 2002-10-23 09:39 ]

Alan · Post by **Alan** » Wed Oct 23, 2002 11:23 am

Having recently acquired a copy of the Mouth Box CD, I am listening to it now as I write this, I have to second Carol's comments wholeheartedly! This is wonderful music played with style and makes me smile each time I play it.

The harmonica does indeed blend well with the 'traditional' instruments and I would love to hear more of it, especially along with the pipes which is indeed a fine combination. The romping piano on the pipes track and some others is a joy also.

I think this CD should delight those who enjoy Irish music without offending traditionalists.

I don't often play CDs, mostly preferring my own modest whistling and fluting to listening to even very good recordings but I make an exception for this CD and wish Conway well with it and look forward to hearing more!

Bloomfield · Post by **Bloomfield** » Mon Oct 28, 2002 3:18 pm

Carol sent me a copy of Mouthbox a while back, and here are some impressions that I'd like to add to her wonderful review:

James Conway writes in the liner notes:

I made this recording because I love the harmonica and I love playing Irish music on the harmonica. Melodically, harmonically, and rhythmically the harmonica is ideal for Irish music and blends in beautifully with the traditional intstruments used in Irish music.

After listening to Mouthbox, I know that Conway has proved his point: The harmonica is great in ITM and Conway is a master on the mouth box. The music is rich and expressive, and Conway has an easy and impressive control of the instrument's voice. Great listening. But in striving to show of the strength and versatility of the harmonica, Conway has turned his CD into more of a programmatic effort than it needed to be, I think.

I feel that his mission to give the harmonica its due might have made Conway self-conscious. His music is terrific, and I've been listening to Mouthbox a lot. To me, somehow the CD seems not just about the music. This is apparent both in the selection of tunes and in the stylistic choices. The tunes selection reads like the standard American session list: Ash Plant, Black-Haired Lass, Wise Maid, Young Tom Ennis, Ballydesmond, Gurteen Cross, Battle of Aughrim, O'Neill's Cavalcade, Earl's Chair, Moooncoin, Delahunty's, O'Keefe's Slide, Denis Murphy's slide, Tom Billy's, Tar Road to Sligo, etc etc are all "top 100" session tunes. I am not saying every CD needs some arcane tunes dug up from dusty vaults in Dublin or gleaned from the trembling fingers of some half-dead Irish old-timer. But I hear Conway saying: "I can do what everyone else can do!"

He can, and he can do it very well. But I think he could do much more. I would like to hear more of what only James Conway can do. In his effort to blend in with the pipes and the fiddle, Conway's music seems held back. My favorite tracks are those where Conway doesn't seem out to prove something, but has fun with the music: The unaccompanied Polkas, the bluesy intro to Humors of Ballyloughlin/Mooncoin by Howard Levy, the harmonica-whistle duet Tom Billy's/Road to Sligo. (I also happen to like the old-fashioned Eleanor-Neary sound of Garry Aylward's piano accompaniment on the hornpipe set (Delahunty's [Wicklow]/Savannah).)

Worried that people will turn their nose up on the harmonica, Conway seems to have shunned the road less-traveled-by not only in his choice of instrument, but also stylistically. Here is guy who, after an adolescence of intense ITM whistle playing, fell in love with the Chicago blues and the blues harp and soaked it up for the next decade. I am not the Comhaltas Trad Enforcer, and I am curious where this development has left Conway musically. His style is very good, but I would love to hear a bit more adventure, either in the melodic variations of the familiar tunes Conway chose, or in the effect his background has had on his music. There are glimpses of that, for sure: In the way Conway slides into notes, bends notes and uses what might be double-stops on a fiddle, and the characteristic sound of quick runs on the harmonica. It's hard to describe the sound; but even the liner notes contain such delightfully puzzling tidbits as this: "harmonidrone (diatonic in Ab with blow 2 tuned up to Eb)". It's for the quirks and whimsical bits, for the fluidity and richness of the playing, that I will go back to Mouthbox, not for Conway's version of Harvest Home.

A few more little points:
I like Conway's sense of humor, who in proving that the harmonica is an instrument fit for ITM, does not let up before he has proven that it is an instrument for neo-Irish schmaltz, as well, such as Rory Dhall's "Give me Your Hand" or Carolan's Concerto. The other slow number, Humours of Tullycrine, is beautiful: expressive and touching.

I loved the Jew's harp on Tatter Jack Walch: A great sound if played as drones for the harmonica. (But what is it with the word "Jew"? No one seems to be willing to call the Jew's harp by its name any more: I've seen Juice harp, and now Conway adds "Jaws harp". Well, of course, maybe that's the right way, and I just have to get the image of a Great White Shark plucking Fanny Powers out of my head.)

I don't think that the harmonica is as new or unusual in Irish Trad as both James Conway and Carol seem to assume, at least when you take a broader view of it. I grew up on Andy Irvine's harmonica playing on Sweeney's Men (1969), an album that Dahiti Sproule has called "the Sergeant Pepper of Irish music". I haven't been paying attention, I guess, but I seem to remember several times I've heard harmonica in ITM records over the past years.

I just finished listening to Mouthbox again, and I love it. In fact, I can't wait for Mouthbox II, when the world and James Conway have accepted that the harmonica is in no need to prove it's worth and place in ITM. I think that will free Conway up a bit, and I look forward to hearing the result.

blackhawk · Post by **blackhawk** » Wed Oct 30, 2002 7:16 am

I love it.

carrie · Post by **carrie** » Thu Nov 07, 2002 8:01 pm

There's further interesting discussion of the role of the harmonica in IrTrad in the thread in the whistle forum.

http://chiffboard.mati.ca/viewtopic.php ... forum=1&17

Carol

Walden · Post by **Walden** » Tue Nov 26, 2002 7:00 am

I really enjoyed this CD. It is not just an example of how the harmonica can be used to great effect in Irish Traditional music, it is just plain good playing.

There is a lot of artistic range found in this album. This is not just "Celtoid" type material. It is good solid Irish music. Definitely a worthwhile CD to have in your collection.

jonharl · Post by **jonharl** » Sat Dec 07, 2002 4:03 pm

I've been interested in Celtic music because of the work of Brendan Power a virtuoso harmonica player. My main instrument is the diatonic harmonica. I took up the whistle to be able to connect the traditional melodies of the whistle with the harmonica. I concour with what has been posted about James' new CD. It sounds GREAT! The diatonic and chromatic harmonica playing is crisp and clean and not labored. The ornamentation is very tasteful and doesn't get in the way of the melody. This guy has got the chops. The support instruments are done very well especially the Irish Fiddle. I like James' whistle playing, especially the Bb. I hope we'll support this effort so he can do more great CD's

[ This Message was edited by: jonharl on 2002-12-07 17:04 ]

[ This Message was edited by: jonharl on 2002-12-07 17:04 ]

jim stone · Post by **jim stone** » Sun Dec 22, 2002 12:34 pm

I finally got to listen to the
CD Carol kindly sent me--I had
to move into a new apartment
and wrestle with the furnace first.
I'm very impressed. The mouthharp
is a like 'a fish in the water' of
celtic traditional music, the
selections excellent, the accompanying
instruments beautifully done. I've
listened 3 or 4 times now, and
I'm each time more impressed. Very good
stuff.

susnfx · Post by **susnfx** » Sat Jan 18, 2003 6:53 pm

Just received this CD today and have been listening to it this afternoon - it really is great! I like that many of the tunes are familiar - these are the tunes I've learned over the past year and am starting to play in our sessions and I found myself saying, "Oh, I know that one!" and playing along. I was afraid the harmonica might be a little "jarring" in Irish music, but it's not at all. It seems to be a natural. Very good CD that will get lots of play at my house.
Susan

DerryMan · Post by **DerryMan** » Sun Jan 19, 2003 1:36 am

Harmonica is a great instrument for Irish traditional music. A good friend, Robin Kane, and I (on the tin whistle) used to play a lot in Lerwick (Shetland) way back.
We never had to buy a beer so it must have sounded OK. Robin plays the box now, a natural progression, and sooner or later I'll get 'round to the pipes. I still prefer Robin on the harmonica.