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"Living in the City" - New Album by Big Harp George

Jump Blues for the 21st Century

By Richard L. BoyerPublished 3 years ago 9 min read
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Photo by Peggy DeRose

Chromatic blues harp virtuoso, Big Harp George, takes a giant leap forward with the release of his fourth album, Living in the City (Blues Mountain Records). Recorded at Greaseland Studios and expertly produced by Chris Burns, this album is a self-portrait of a mature artist demonstrating prodigious skills as a musician, singer, songwriter, and bandleader — and enjoying the hell out of himself in the process!

Fans expecting to hear blues harp pyrotechnics won’t be disappointed, but as we’ve learned from his previous work, George’s albums are not just a platform to showcase his monstrous harp skills. Even more so than his past records, Living in the City is a complete work in all respects, from vocals and instrumentation, to songwriting, arranging, and production; and a very satisfying piece of work it is. The album delivers a musical patchwork quilt with swatches of raucous West Coast Blues boogies, side-by-side with immersive, hypnotic numbers redolent of the perfumes of foreign lands, with added flourishes of exotic musical fabric beyond the ken of the average blues fan. Blues xenophobes may turn a deaf ear to a few of these songs, whereas blues adventurers willing to hear a blues pioneer at the height of his exceptional artistry regale them with boundary-pushing harp playing and genre-bending blues innovations steeped in exotic spices, will love this album.

Following his 2014 critically-acclaimed debut solo album, Chromaticism, which was nominated by both the Blues Foundation and Blues Blast Magazine as the Best New Artist Album, George built upon that promising foundation with the ambitious 2016 Wash My Horse in Champagne, and his 2018 Uptown Cool, each portraying an artist growing increasingly more confident and creatively adventurous. His new album, Living in the City, displays not just an incremental advancement from Uptown Cool; with this album, George leapfrogs artistic plateaus where most artists would be content to dwell for years — perhaps their whole career. Living in the City has the feel of a masterwork: the expression of an accomplished artist joyously celebrating his vast skills and creativity. The album features 13 new tracks, all written by Big Harp George, replete with sophisticated and layered instrumentation, substantial songwriting, and artful arranging. All songs (except the instrumental “Bayside Bounce”) feature George’s rich tenor lead vocals, with exceedingly effective backing vocals by Sons of the Soul Revivers, Loralee Christensen, and Lisa Leuschner Anderson.

For those few West Coast blues fans still unfamiliar with George’s story, his biography makes him a solid contender for the title: “Most Interesting Man in the World.” Big Harp George, aka, George Bisharat, holds both a Ph.D. in cultural anthropology and a law degree from Harvard. He writes and lectures extensively on cultural and social issues and is an international expert on the legal and political systems of Israel and Palestine. He was a full professor of law at Hastings College of the Law before deciding, at the mature age of 60, to pursue his lifelong dream of fronting his own blues band — much to the benefit of blues fans. While playing the common diatonic harp only sparingly, George is one of a rare breed of blues harmonica players who play the chromatic harp as their primary instrument.

To be clear, George did not begin learning the harmonica at 60. He’d been playing blues harp for almost half a century and was an accomplished musician long before dedicating himself to music on a fulltime basis. Over the years, George had a stint as the harp player for the Bliss Street Blues Band and can be found blowing harp on studio records by Otis Grand and Joe Louis Walker.

George traces his blues DNA through West Coast/jump blues greats like George “Harmonica” Smith, William Clarke, and more recent virtuosos Curtis Salgado and the late Paul DeLay. Much like those artists, George is not an imitator. Through his songwriting and harp arrangements he explores the frontiers of the genre, often ignoring the borderlines between blues, jazz, and Americana, and even trespassing into the exotic lands of bossa nova and reggae.

“…the girl from Ipanema ain’t here; if you want that, better go there…” Heading Out to Itaipu.

Of course, on Living in the City, as in his earlier work, you’ll hear George and his excellent band deftly handle familiar upbeat blues shuffles and boogies (e.g. “Build Myself an App,” “Try Nice,” “Copayment”). Those tracks alone are worth the price of admission and include George’s signature gobsmacking harp playing and the tasteful horn embellishments that signify the West Coast Blues. The title track, “Living in the City,” has a delightful noir, cool hipster feel, complete with finger-snapping in the moody bass intro by Kid Anderson, a revered regular on George’s albums, who authors some very tasty guitar licks on songs throughout the album.

But for my money, the album’s highlights — and there are many — are those songs that demonstrate George’s fearless inclusion of less-traditional blues stylings, as on “Heading Out to Itaipu,” which is an immersive journey into the authentic (i.e., not Rio de Janeiro) beach town of that name outside the city of Niterói in Brazil. In “Itaipu,” George paints colorful details of an indigenous Brazil town: “the girl from Ipanema ain’t here; if you want that, better go there…”. The song features incredibly beautiful violin playing by Carlos Reyes, who also plays Paraguayan harp on the track. The gorgeous arrangement lets the instruments flow seamlessly into each other, making it occasionally difficult to tell whether you’re hearing a violin, flute, or George’s harp.

Many of the excellent musicians on Living in the City have been with George since his first LP, which speaks to the level of musical precision heard in these songs. While the arrangements are incredibly tight, George knows when to drop the reins and let his band gallop, giving the album a spontaneous, honkytonk feel at times. Chris Burns, who has produced all four of George’s albums, plays keys on all tracks and takes some well-placed solos on several tracks. The aforementioned Kid Anderson plays guitars, and Michael Peloquin and Mike Rinta provide beautifully timed and executed horn punctuation throughout the album. The addition of horns by newcomers Ben Torres and Doug Rowan on several tracks adds a bigger and richer brass sound than on previous Big Harp George albums. Mr. Joe Kyle shares the bass duties on this album with Kid Anderson, and highly regarded blues drummer June Core provides impressively-understated percussion on every track. Blues guitar legend Little Charlie Baty lays down eyebrow-raising licks on roughly half the songs, and offers a blues guitar clinic on “First Class Muck Up.” Sadly, Baty passed away shortly after his work on Living in the City. George and Charlie enjoyed a close personal friendship, and George dedicated this album to his memory.

George is relentlessly original, and the uncommon sophistication of this album is prominent in the intelligent lyrics and lavish vocals, especially on the heartbreaking ballad, “Enrique,” and the album’s haunting finale, “Meet Me at the Fence.” These songs deserve to be heard far beyond the confines of the blues genre, not only for their lyrical and musical beauty but for their urgent social commentary. George’s songs are frequently sharply-pointed commentaries on life and politics— often conveying his message with wry humor and irony. Yet these two songs tackle two international tragedies happening in real-time, and are delivered with the solemnity they deserve. Both are written from the personal perspective of victims and their families. “Enrique” poignantly portrays the desperate journey of refugees from Central America who ride dangerous trains north through Mexico to the U.S., simply in search of a better life — often losing their lives in the effort: “My brother Enrique… rode that iron beast north when he was barely 13, fleeing fire and blood, pain and misery…”

“My brother Enrique…rode that iron beast north when he was barely 13, fleeing fire, and blood, pain and misery…” Enrique

The album closes with the compelling “Meet Me at the Fence.” Here George unflinchingly laments the bleak hopelessness of ordinary Gazans blockaded by Israel since 2007. The song is dedicated to Razan al-Najjar, the 20-year-old unarmed Palestinian medic who was gunned down by Israeli troops during the Gaza border protests in May 2018. The song is a beautiful, if unsettling, tribute to her and, per the album’s liner notes, “all the young Palestinians yearning for freedom in the Gaza Strip.” The authentic Middle Eastern flavor of the song is provided by Loay Dahbour, who plays two different iiqae, or Arabic percussion instruments (here, the durbekeh, and the riqq), and by Firas Zreik, who plays the qanun (somewhat like a zither). Palestinian singing star Amal Murkus adds achingly ethereal vocals in English and Arabic. I see this song becoming an international anthem for oppressed people everywhere.

George’s harp playing is featured to some extent on all but two tracks on the album — sometimes very prominently and other times as subtle, tasteful embellishment, demonstrating his dedication to the music instead of his ego. The sound George produces with his customized chromatic harps (credited to Steve Malerbi) is difficult to describe and must be heard to be fully appreciated. The chromatic can produce a wide array of musical sounds in the hands of a virtuoso like George. While always magical, George’s harp sound can be described variously as rich, sonorous, and orchestral, and even occasionally as raw and gritty. There are times when George makes his harp sound like a sax or clarinet. Regardless, with Living in the City, George solidifies his place among the best harmonica players in the business.

Living in the City is a lush, complex, and beautifully-produced work of art. If you love blues harp, this album will blow. you. away. Even if you don’t love blues harp, this album will blow you away. From start to finish it will make you smile, move, laugh, and cry. But most of all, it will make you a devoted fan of Big Harp George.

Living in the City (Blues Mountain Records) dropped on October 10, 2020, and can be streamed or purchased from all the usual sources.

WRITTEN BY Richard L. Boyer

Writer, poet, musician, curious traveler on the endless road of discovery; guided and misguided by my passions.

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About the Creator

Richard L. Boyer

A devoted student of life and its fabulous twists and turns. Trying hard to enjoy each minute of the journey. Expressing my thoughts, ideas, observations, and emotions through poetry, fiction, and the occasional essay. Feedback welcome!

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