Blues harmonica master Carey Bell died on May 6 of heart failure in his hometown of Chicago. He was 70. Bell – the 1998 winner of the Blues Music Award for Traditional Male Artist Of The Year – was a ...

My harmonica lesson is squeezed in between those for students far shorter and far younger than me, so waiting my turn is a weekly reminder not to aim for an octave I’m unlikely to reach. It’s not that ...

From a musical perspective, opposition to the status quo has been a driving force in Deborah Henson-Conant’s art and in her career. Though raised by musicians, she didn’t like taking lessons as a ...

When my music makes someone happy, helps them unwind, relax and have fun, it is a greater achievement and fulfillment than any award I can receive. Born and raised on the prairies in the small farm ...

Hear Brandon Bailey perform two songs live in the NPR studio. The harmonica is a staple of American blues, beginning with the Memphis jug bands of the 1920s. In the 1960s, blues-influenced artists ...

Back in 1991, East Bay bluesman Mark Hummel called on some of his fellow local harmonicats to help him put on a show at Ashkenaz in Berkeley. It wasn’t anything fancy — just a killer showcase for the ...

DECATUR — A heavy shot of fast-paced blues harmonica music made for a lot of happy, tapping feet Sunday at Rock Springs Nature Center. There was only one man on stage, harmonica virtuoso Deak Harp ...

Most musical instruments are not primarily associated with one particular style of music, especially in these days of cross-cultural collaborative adventures. Sure, notable harmonica artists can be ...

Bill Tarsha and the Rocket 88s led the 18th annual blues harmonica blowout last week at the Rhythm Room. More than 35 blues harmonica players performed. Tarsha and his band opened with a couple tunes.

Blues harmonica virtuoso and onetime Muddy Waters sideman James Cotton died on Thursday at a medical center in Austin of pneumonia. He was 81. A rep for the musician confirmed his death. Cotton, who ...

Every instrument has an image. The piano is largely synonymous with bourgeois respectability and the electric guitar with youthful rebellion. Perhaps more importantly, both of these devices has a ...