ChicagoBluesTour™

If you are a harmonica fan, this is a show not to miss, and it will feature some complementary styles, making it a real primer on blues harp, one of 3 special sets included in the Spring 2009 Chicago Blues Tour, and now, the battle’s got an international flavor with the addition of a third performer from Britain.

In the time-honored tradition of “cuttin’ heads”, Deak Harp will take on two youngish upstart Chicago harpslingers, Omar Coleman and Harpmonster, as well as a twentysomething British phenom, Giles Robson, from the UK band The Dirty Aces, whose high-energy interpretations of the Chicago idiom have gained a strong following overseas.

Deak is a solid Delta player in the heavy-tone James Cotton vein, and his band is a classic Chicago-style group that often includes local veteran drummer Twist Turner, so there is certain to be a solid rhythmic pocket for harmonica battles. Coleman plays primarily in the melodic, methodical Little Walter / Big Walter style, but occasionally veers into the busier style favored by modernists like Sugar Blue. Harpmonster is a flashy player who’s been known to pull out a chromatic from time to time, but has been off the scene for a while due to recent illness, so he will be marking his return to the performance circuit with this appearance. He seems to favor an approach that’s more countryfied, a la either of the Sonny Boy Williamsons. For blues harp fans, this is the show to see. (8:30 p.m. to 1:30 a.m.)

GILES ROBSON VIDEO: Click this link to see video of Giles Robson jamming with Sugar Blue