David Naiditch interview

David Naiditch joins me on episode 43. 

After starting out as a diatonic player, including having lessons with a touring Sonny Terry, David developed himself into possibly the sole exponent of playing Bluegrass music on the chromatic harmonica, and has recorded various albums with some of the stellar names from the Bluegrass world. 

David likes the clean, consistent tone that the chromatic brings.
He also plays Gypsy Jazz, a genre which he sees as having some similarities with Bluegrass. 
During the pandemic David recorded an album entirely remotely from the other musicians, and his delight with the results show the increasing potential of this, although it’s always nice to play along with others. 

David honed his craft live, and you might catch him jamming along at a festival in the US sometime soon. 

Links:
Website:
http://www.davidnaiditch.com/DavidNaiditch/Welcome.html

Steve Kaufman’s Bluegrass workout:
https://www.homespun.com/shop/product/steve-kaufmans-four-hour-bluegrass-workout-volume-one/

Videos:

David's YouTube Channel:
https://www.youtube.com/user/DNaiditch

David demos blues in 12 keys on chromatic:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=njLjIlYM02o

Jimmy Riddle playing chromatic on US TV show ‘Hee Haw’:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MO1xQ-TAF6k

Jackie Naiditch YouTube channel for house jams:
https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCRvo2hgdJVyz8o-CQgopjTA


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

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
and Blows Me Away Productions: http://www.blowsmeaway.com/

Chapters

• 0:57 David is based in Los Angeles
• 1:07 Started playing the oboe first, then guitar and harmonica
• 1:40 The Ashgrove centre in LA was where David was inspired by many great folk acts
• 2:53 Took lessons from Sonny Terry when he was 14, and David formed a country blues duo as his first act
• 3:58 What was Sonny Terry like as a harmonica teacher?
• 8:16 Learned a lot of his craft at jam sessions, playing acoustically
• 8:40 Switched from diatonic to chromatic harmonica because he preferred the consistency of tone on chromatic on style of music he played
• 9:32 Woke up one day after not playing harmonica for a spell and decided to try chromatic
• 9:59 Alternative tunings weren’t so common on diatonic at that stage
• 11:13 Picked up chromatic 30 years after starting on diatonic
• 11:43 David studied mathematics and philosophy and worked at Aerospace
• 12:46 Has written two books on the Ada programming language
• 13:07 Did skills in maths and computing help with music?
• 13:46 David didn’t use computing resources too much to aid his music learning
• 14:44 The folk music scene at the Ashgrove in LA which sparked his interest in this genre of music
• 15:45 Bluegrass music, which does not usually include harmonica as an instrument
• 18:13 Bluegrass music is typically played fast: and how David approached this playing on the chromatic
• 21:31 Learns Bluegrass melodies, with some embellishment, and a little improvisation
• 21:56 Other Bluegrass harmonica players, but they use diatonic harmonica
• 22:32 David has great fluency at speed on the chromatic, and playing in the sharp keys
• 23:23 Bluegrass does have elements of Blues as part of the genre
• 23:58 Has also recorded lots of Gypsy Jazz songs on chromatic harmonica, and similarities to Bluegrass
• 25:24 Chromatic harmonica can take place of accordion in Gypsy Jazz
• 25:57 Larry Adler recorded with famous Gyspy Jazz guitarist Django Reinhardt, and Max Geldray and maybe Toots Thielemans also played with Django
• 27:05 David’s first album was released in 2005: Harmonica and Guitar Duets, partly made to practise using Pro Tools recording software
• 29:12 High Dessert Bluegrass album in 2008
• 29:41 Has recruited some of the top Bluegrass players to perform on his albums
• 31:15 Used a small condenser microphone used to record chromatic harmonica
• 33:06 Third album: Bluegrass Harmonica, To Boldly Go Where No Harmonica Has Gone Before
• 35:49 Douce Ambiance album in 2012 is a Gypsy Jazz album, which has previous guitar player from Jason Ricci’s band
• 37:37 Lady Be Good song won runner-up award for best instrumental by the International Acoustic Music Awards (IAMA)
• 38:16 2014 album Bluegrass In The Backwoods, and how David got some of top Bluegrass names performing on his albums
• 41:03 Has second harmonica player on the album, Jon Kip
• 42:05 Bluegrass That Swings album in 2017
• 42:48 Playing with top players raises David’s game on his own playing
• 44:47 Latest album: David Naiditch Plays Bluegrass and Swing Instrumentals from 2020
• 46:48 No more albums planned quite yet, but likes possibility of more remote recordings
• 49:54 David uses AirPlay direct to get his songs played on Bluegrass radio stations
• 51:12 Recently appeared in HarmonicaUK magazine, interviewed by Tony Eyers from Australia
• 52:53 10 minute question
• 54:20 Chromatics of choice
• 55:06 Doesn’t play any diatonic these days
• 55:46 Embouchre
• 56:32 Plays almost entirely acoustically, if on stage uses vocal mic