EllerSoul’s Big Walter Tribute

Big Walter Horton has been called the greatest harp player that ever lived. It‘s fitting then that this tribute to him kicks off with another great harpist, Kim Wilson. Horton’s sound was big and bold, wrapping around the melody like a blanket but also fluid and graceful, Horton striding along easily but leaving a big foot imprint. Wilson fills Horton’s oversize shoes on “Someday,” blasting away with the Waaaah power of James Cotton while weaving in the fluid runs of Horton’s rival Little Walter.

EllerSoul must have put out a call to every stellar harp player in the biz for this session, and most of ’em responded. The set list here is a who’s who of blues harp royalty. The players all donated their time and music for this non-profit project with proceeds going to the Blues Foundation and HART Fund. Mark Hummel has a couple of entries, and both are outstanding. On “Hard Hearted Woman,” Hummel‘s blowing so hard you wonder how the reeds are staying in the harp. He’s got that thing talking in tongues. Its a live cut, lifted from ’08’s Mark Hummel’s Blues Harmonica Blow Outs on Electro-Fi. “Can you tell we love that kind of blues?” Hummel asks the audience, a rather unnecessary query to anyone within earshot.

Hummel pops up again backed by Sue Foley on guitar on Big Walter’s signature tune “Easy,” which is anything but. It starts off with single notes but soon goes off into trills, then by the third verse he’s playing everything as a trill. It’s a lip shredder that probably called for a blood bucket placed strategically on stage out of view of the audience.

EllerSoul co-founder and Lil’ Ronnie and the Grand Dukes leader Ronnie Owens steps up on “We’re Gonna Move To Kansas City.” Although his roots are in his native Virginia, Owens is fluent in KC lingo as well. He and the Grand Dukes punch up the tune bit- its still laid back, but even more bombastic than Walter’s. Owens is a great, versatile player conversant in bluespeak from Chicago to Texas to Texas to the Left Coast, always a pleasure to see and hear.

Relative newcomer Andrew Alli, who says he’s been plying harp about 7 years, turns in a stellar version of “Evening Shuffle.” Don’t be fooled by the laid-back title- it’s likely the most frenetic shuffle ever recorded, with Alli sounding like he has three sets of lips working simultaneously.

“Ramblin’ On My Mind” features a galaxy of blues stars, Robert Lockwood on guitar and vocals, the great Bob Corritore on harp and Henry Gray on piano. Lockwood steps back from the mic once in awhile, but Gray and Corritore keep at it, commingling without getting in one another’s way It’s a great tutorial on how to have a band conversation where everybody’s voice is heard simultaneously for a  perfect fit.

Owens says he hopes he gets to do a second volume because of the players he couldn’t fit on this 16 track project. With the material, the talent and the cause this good, that’s a fundraiser every blues fan should support.