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Happy Hour Harmonica Podcast

Jason Ricci interview: part 1

September 15, 2023 Neil Warren Season 1 Episode 93

Chapters

Significance of the number 93 to Jason comes from his previous interest in the occult

Jason was born in 1974, and maybe isn’t the hot young thing of harmonica now

Born in Portland, Maine

Jason’s first played in a punk band at age 14, as vocalist with the other band members suggesting Jason add harmonica

Jason had previously played guitar and his teacher also played some harmonica and Jason took to it quickly

Uses guitar for songwriting

How harmonica fitted into a punk band: spoiler - not very well!

Started out learning the harmonica by listening to the classic blues players, and the nearby Boston blues scene

Mother was into blues and took a young Jason to blues concerts

Got serious about the harmonica age 17 or 18

Started getting gigs while at college, and he was focusing more on the music

John Nemeth lived close by to Jason around Idaho

Jason moved to Memphis in 1995, which was the start of his musical career really taking off

Started winning contests as soon as he moved to Memphis

First saw Billy Gibson playing in a club in Memphis, followed by Pat Ramsey

Jason was eager to learn the combination of fast licks and note selection from Pat’s playing

Pat Ramsey had previously played with Johnny Winter, which led to Jason playing on a Grammy winning album with Johnny Winter (Step Back)

Recorded harmonica for the Johnny Winter album in isolation, to scratch tracks

How Jason approached learning to play fast, including studying Pat Ramsey

Pat Ramsey was a father figure to Jason and the biggest influence on his playing

First album release was the self-titled ‘Jason Ricci’, which Jason is pleased has fallen into obscurity!

Believes a quality gate for releasing albums is a good thing, which may be one disadvantage of the internet these days

Almost took up the saxophone after coming out of a rehab detention centre, where he wasn’t allowed to play harmonica or even hear any music whatsoever

Fell in love with jazz, which prompted interest in the saxophone due to the limitations of the diatonic, but then discovered overblows

Heard the album UFO Tofu with Howard Levy playing with Bela Fleck, which turned Jason onto overblows

Jason doesn’t see a lot of valid comparisons between saxophone and harmonica

Understanding chords, arpeggios and scales is the key to developing

Dennis Gruenling (and Carlos del Junco) is the closest blues harmonica player to obtain a saxophone sound

Adam Gussow was the first influence for Jason taking up overblows, from a blues context

Have to really want the notes available via overblows in order to master them

Is able to play without overblows when the music calls for it (such as straight blues)

Overblow notes come out naturally during Jason’s playing

Use of overblows during fast runs

Learnt to set-up harmonica for overblows, especially before harmonica’s improved from 2011 onwards

Need to play overblows to emulate Jason’s modern blues and jazz approach, but some aspects are possible without overblows

Influence of Charlie Parker

Doesn’t read music

Left Memphis to move to Jackson, Mississippi, to Florida, North Carolina and then to Nashville

Formed Jason Ricci and New Blood band in the early 2000s

Continuous touring with New Blood for ten years

Some of the challenges the band faced as they became more successful

Jason made his name with New Blood

Blood On The Road album and lyrics drawn from Jason’s life experiences

Harmonica often overshadows Jason’s lyrics, which often mean more to him as they’re so personal

Doesn’t want to sing old blues songs that aren’t related to his own experiences, and writing contemporary lyrics is more appealing to a younger audience

Reasons for the success of New Blood

Done With The Devil album was nominated for Best Blues Rock album award, and some jazz songs on that

Classical influence on Jason’s playing coming from a fascination with the violin

Also a fan of free jazz

I have been learning the violin since the pandemic

What Jason has learnt most from listening to the violin

Jason created a harmonica caprice, inspired by the violin, and more classical inspired harmonica on his latest album

No plans to release a solo harmonica album of caprices!

Info

Happy Hour Harmonica Podcast

Jason Ricci interview: part 1

Sep 15, 2023 Season 1 Episode 93

Neil Warren

Jason Ricci joins me on episode 93 (and on episode 94)

In part one: Jason tells us how he started out in a punk band, with his bandmates suggesting he take up the harmonica. Of course, he took to it quickly, to become quite possibly the leading diatonic harmonica player of his generation.
After initially developing his blues playing via the classic players, Jason moved to Memphis and developed his signature fast licks under the guidance of Pat Ramsey. Then, after getting into jazz and a brief flirtation with the saxophone, he started playing overblows, inspired by Howard Levy and the more blues based approach of Adam Gussow.
Jason moved from Memphis for stints in various places, including Florida and jail, before settling in Nashville where he really made his presence known with his band Jason Ricci and New Blood.

To be continued...

Links:

Jason’s social media links::
https://mooncat.org/
https://www.instagram.com/jasonricci93/
https://twitter.com/jasonricci93

Patreon page:
https://www.patreon.com/jasonricci

Tip Jason:
PayPal.me/jasonricci

Bandcamp:
https://jasonricci.bandcamp.com/

Videos:

Jason's YouTube channel:
https://www.youtube.com/jasonricci

Baby Scratch My Back with the Nick Moss band:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TSGrzkcdiM0

Podcast website:
https://www.harmonicahappyhour.com

Donations:
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_GB

or sign-up to a monthly subscription to the podcast:
https://www.buzzsprout.com/995536/support

Spotify 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-j3IkiISeefhR7ybm9qIQ

Podcast 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

Support the Show.

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Jason Ricci joins me on episode 93 (and on episode 94)

In part one: Jason tells us how he started out in a punk band, with his bandmates suggesting he take up the harmonica. Of course, he took to it quickly, to become quite possibly the leading diatonic harmonica player of his generation.
After initially developing his blues playing via the classic players, Jason moved to Memphis and developed his signature fast licks under the guidance of Pat Ramsey. Then, after getting into jazz and a brief flirtation with the saxophone, he started playing overblows, inspired by Howard Levy and the more blues based approach of Adam Gussow.
Jason moved from Memphis for stints in various places, including Florida and jail, before settling in Nashville where he really made his presence known with his band Jason Ricci and New Blood.

To be continued...

Links:

Jason’s social media links::
https://mooncat.org/
https://www.instagram.com/jasonricci93/
https://twitter.com/jasonricci93

Patreon page:
https://www.patreon.com/jasonricci

Tip Jason:
PayPal.me/jasonricci

Bandcamp:
https://jasonricci.bandcamp.com/

Videos:

Jason's YouTube channel:
https://www.youtube.com/jasonricci

Baby Scratch My Back with the Nick Moss band:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TSGrzkcdiM0

Podcast website:
https://www.harmonicahappyhour.com

Donations:
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_GB

or sign-up to a monthly subscription to the podcast:
https://www.buzzsprout.com/995536/support

Spotify 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-j3IkiISeefhR7ybm9qIQ

Podcast 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

Support the Show.

Significance of the number 93 to Jason comes from his previous interest in the occult

Jason was born in 1974, and maybe isn’t the hot young thing of harmonica now

Born in Portland, Maine

Jason’s first played in a punk band at age 14, as vocalist with the other band members suggesting Jason add harmonica

Jason had previously played guitar and his teacher also played some harmonica and Jason took to it quickly

Uses guitar for songwriting

How harmonica fitted into a punk band: spoiler - not very well!

Started out learning the harmonica by listening to the classic blues players, and the nearby Boston blues scene

Mother was into blues and took a young Jason to blues concerts

Got serious about the harmonica age 17 or 18

Started getting gigs while at college, and he was focusing more on the music

John Nemeth lived close by to Jason around Idaho

Jason moved to Memphis in 1995, which was the start of his musical career really taking off

Started winning contests as soon as he moved to Memphis

First saw Billy Gibson playing in a club in Memphis, followed by Pat Ramsey

Jason was eager to learn the combination of fast licks and note selection from Pat’s playing

Pat Ramsey had previously played with Johnny Winter, which led to Jason playing on a Grammy winning album with Johnny Winter (Step Back)

Recorded harmonica for the Johnny Winter album in isolation, to scratch tracks

How Jason approached learning to play fast, including studying Pat Ramsey

Pat Ramsey was a father figure to Jason and the biggest influence on his playing

First album release was the self-titled ‘Jason Ricci’, which Jason is pleased has fallen into obscurity!

Believes a quality gate for releasing albums is a good thing, which may be one disadvantage of the internet these days

Almost took up the saxophone after coming out of a rehab detention centre, where he wasn’t allowed to play harmonica or even hear any music whatsoever

Fell in love with jazz, which prompted interest in the saxophone due to the limitations of the diatonic, but then discovered overblows

Heard the album UFO Tofu with Howard Levy playing with Bela Fleck, which turned Jason onto overblows

Jason doesn’t see a lot of valid comparisons between saxophone and harmonica

Understanding chords, arpeggios and scales is the key to developing

Dennis Gruenling (and Carlos del Junco) is the closest blues harmonica player to obtain a saxophone sound

Overblows

Adam Gussow was the first influence for Jason taking up overblows, from a blues context

Have to really want the notes available via overblows in order to master them

Is able to play without overblows when the music calls for it (such as straight blues)

Overblow notes come out naturally during Jason’s playing

Use of overblows during fast runs

Learnt to set-up harmonica for overblows, especially before harmonica’s improved from 2011 onwards

Need to play overblows to emulate Jason’s modern blues and jazz approach, but some aspects are possible without overblows

Influence of Charlie Parker

Doesn’t read music

Left Memphis to move to Jackson, Mississippi, to Florida, North Carolina and then to Nashville

Formed Jason Ricci and New Blood band in the early 2000s

Continuous touring with New Blood for ten years

Some of the challenges the band faced as they became more successful

Jason made his name with New Blood

Blood On The Road album and lyrics drawn from Jason’s life experiences

Harmonica often overshadows Jason’s lyrics, which often mean more to him as they’re so personal

Doesn’t want to sing old blues songs that aren’t related to his own experiences, and writing contemporary lyrics is more appealing to a younger audience

Reasons for the success of New Blood

Done With The Devil album was nominated for Best Blues Rock album award, and some jazz songs on that

Classical influence on Jason’s playing coming from a fascination with the violin

Also a fan of free jazz

I have been learning the violin since the pandemic

What Jason has learnt most from listening to the violin

Jason created a harmonica caprice, inspired by the violin, and more classical inspired harmonica on his latest album

No plans to release a solo harmonica album of caprices!