Episodes

Hermine Duerloo, Laurent Maur and Alexandre Piret join me on episode 150, for a retrospective on the great Toots Thielemans. Toots was born in 1922 to humble beginnings, in Brussels, Belgium, where his parents ran a cafe. His first instrument was an accordion, which he started playing at age three and showed great promise. He took up guitar and the chromatic harmonica around the age of sixteen. He then went on to tour Europe with Benny Goodman in 1950 before moving to the US in 1951 where landed...

Episode 149 is the third compilation of the ten minute question answers from episode 112 to episode 148. Not every episode had a ten minute question, as there’s been quite a lot of retrospective episodes in this batch. So there are 27 episodes covered here. I hope you enjoy listening back to this collection as much as I did putting it together. And if you if you missed any of the episodes included then be sure to check them out. I’ll introduce each person before they respond to the question: “if...

Hank Shreve joins me on episode 148. Hank started playing harmonica at age eight, and that has remained his true love despite learning various other instruments. He explains how his drumming background shapes the rhythmic feel of his harmonica playing, and how blues opened the door to everything from Latin influences to funk. Hank reflects on opening for Paul DeLay, working with Curtis Salgado, leading The Hank Shreve Band with his father Bill on bass, and broadening his musical output across...

Santiago Alvarez joins me on episode 147. Santiago is a chromatic player from Buenos Aires, who has dedicated himself to the folk traditions of Argentina, including writing a thesis on the history of the Argentine chromatic harmonica under the guidance of his mentor Franco Luciani. Specialising in tango, he explores the close musical relationship between the chromatic harmonica and the bandoneon. Santiago has recorded with numerous Argentine artists, released his own album in 2019, performs w...

Ryan Hartt joins me on episode 146. Ryan is a harmonica player, vocalist and songwriter from New England. After completing musical studies, he headed to Los Angeles in the late 1990s to immerse himself in the blues scene, learning from West Coast swing heavyweights, including sitting in with Rod Piazza. He returned to the East Coast in 2000 to form his long-running band Ryan Hartt and the Blue Hearts, releasing three albums along the way. Ryan has now put out his first solo record, Be About I...

Josh King joins me on episode 145. Josh hails from Charlotte, North Carolina, and picked up his first harmonica at just six years old. By the time he was eight, he’d found an incredible mentor in the legendary James Cotton, after boldly sneaking into Cotton’s dressing room at a show. That chance encounter turned into a lasting mentorship, with Josh joining Cotton on stage numerous times during his teens. In 2025, Josh brought his talents to a national audience as a contestant on American Idol...

Shane Sager joins me on episode 144. Shane is from Boston. In his early teens, a hand injury forced him to give up drumming, so he turned to the harmonica and never looked back. At Berklee College of Music he studied drums, as harmonica wasn’t offered, but left after two years to focus fully on the harmonica, studying with top teachers — especially Mike Turk, who helped him shape his chromatic playing. In his early twenties Shane performed with Sting, later joining his touring band in 2019 an...

Kyle Rowland and Kenny Neal join me on episode 143 for a retrospective on James ‘Mr Superharp’ Cotton. Born in 1935 on the Bonnie Blue plantation in Mississippi, James Cotton received his first harmonica from his mother and learnt by ear, captivated by Sonny Boy Williamson II’s King Biscuit Time broadcasts. From nine to sixteen he lived with Sonny Boy, then played with Howlin’ Wolf before holding the harmonica chair in the Muddy Waters’ band for twelve years. Striking out solo in the late 196...

Victor Puertas joins me on episode 142. Victor Puertas grew up just outside Barcelona, discovering the blues in his early teens, splitting his passion between harmonica and keyboards. At 18 he traveled to the US and had the chance to meet his idol, Gary Primich. Back home, Victor formed The Suitcase Brothers with his brother Santos, who had given him his very first harmonica at age 13. For over 27 years the duo have been exploring acoustic country blues, with their latest album, a tribute to Son...

Yoonseok Lee joins me on episode 141. Yoonseok is from South Korea where he first took up the tremolo harmonica. He discovered the chromatic when he heard Sigmund Groven playing at the Asia Pacific Festival in 2004, and started taking lessons with Sigmund. This culminated in Yoonseok studying at the Norwegian Academy of Music in Oslo with Sigmund as his professor. Returning to South Korea in 2020, he enjoys a successful career as a freelance chromatic player, and returns to Norway to teach at a ...

Liam Ward joins me on episode 140. Liam is from the north west of England and first took up the harmonica in his late teens. His youthful zeal turned into his career when he chose to become a full-time harmonica player over becoming a school teacher. Liam plays in numerous bands, including his own band, two duos and in an Oasis tribute band. In addition to the harmonica he also plays various jug band instruments including the musical saw, washboard, spoons and the Irish bones. Liam runs one of t...

Tom Ball, Peter ‘Madcat’ Ruth and Michael ‘Mudcat’ Ward join me on episode 139 for a retrospective on Walter Horton. Walter was likely born on April 6th, 1918, in Horn Lake, Mississippi. He probably made his first recordings in 1939 with Little Buddy Doyle but it wasn’t until the early 1950s that he started recording regularly. After making some early cuts under the name Mumbles, he made numerous recordings as a sideman in the 1950s, including the blues harmonica classics Easy and Walking By Mys...

Richard Sleigh joins me on episode 138. Richard is from Pennsylvania and is a renowned harmonica customiser, player and teacher. He tells how his great uncle Bill inspired him to pick up the harp, before discovering Irish music during his travels in Europe. We hear about his first album Steppin’ Out, his recording with Dennis Gruenling, and his love for the Clifftop Appalachian festival. Richard also shares the story behind his involvement with the MB30 harmonica and his customisation collaborat...

Fabrizio Poggi joins me on episode 137. Fabrizio plays blues, folk and spiritual music. Hailing from near Milan, he took some time to find his way with the harmonica but since then he has performed at Carnegie Hall and been nominated for a Grammy. His first band was Chicken Mambo who played New Orleans music on their early album releases. Fabrizio traveled around the US where he made lots of friends and great strides with his musical development. This culminated with the making of an album in 20...

Giles Robson and Jim Basnight join me on episode 136 for a retrospective on Alex ‘Rice’ Miller (aka Sonny Boy Williamson II). Information on Sonny Boy’s early life is sketchy. Sonny Boy was likely born in 1912 and had a hard upbringing working on a plantation before becoming a travelling musician. Arriving in Helena, Arkansas, he found fame performing on the King Biscuit Time radio show before making his first recordings with Trumpet Records at age 38 in 1951. Sonny Boy made his classic cuts for...

John Sebastian joins me on episode 135. John had considerable chart success in the 1960s as part of the folk rock band, The Lovin' Spoonful, who were inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in the year 2000. John was also inducted into the songwriters Hall Of Fame. Probably better known as a singer songwriter and guitar player, harmonica was John’s first instrument, inspired by his father, also called John Sebastian, who was a renowned classical harmonica player. And we discuss some of his ...

Ronnie Schreiber joins me on episode 134. Ronnie runs The Electric Harmonica Company, producing the Harmonicaster, which is an alternative to the traditional harmonica microphone, using guitar style pick-ups to create “the first practical true electric harmonica”. Ronnie first came up with the concept some thirty years ago and has been developing it in earnest over the last ten years. Ronnie tells us the story of how he developed the idea, from the need to use steel reeds, the custom harps neede...

Kim Field joins me on episode 133. Kim’s 1994 book ‘Harmonicas, Harps and Heavy Breathers: The History of the People’s Instrument’ was the first book released on the history of the harmonica. And Kim has recently written the book: The Blues Dream of Billy Boy Arnold , telling the story of Billy Boy in his own words. Ever on the lookout to meet and learn from the great players, Kim shares the time he spent with Deford Bailey and also when he played on stage with Walter Horton. Kim has been in sev...

Tom Ellis joins me on episode 132 for another look into the life and career of the legendary Paul Butterfield. Butter gained access to the Chicago blues scene at a young age when his lawyer father carried out pro bono work for some of the musicians there. The black blues musicians took a paternal interest in Paul’s musical development, none more so than Muddy Waters who knew Butter from around the age of sixteen. Butter later returned the favour after having made his own name. He gave something ...

Rick Estrin and Nathan James join me on episode 131 for a retrospective on James Harman. James ‘Icepick’ Harman was born in Anniston, Alabama in 1946. After moving between various locations, including Florida, New York, New Orleans and Chicago, he settled down in Southern California in the early 1970s where he established himself in the vibrant blues scene there. Harman was a formidable song writer and had his own unique view on life which he delivered through his powerful singing voice. His ...

Mikael Backman joins me on episode 130. Mikael is from Sweden where he started playing blues harmonica, recording six albums with the band Ramblin’ Minds. He then joined the band John Henry. Initially a bluegrass band, they went on to play country, honky tonk and western swing. Mikael is truly a doctor of the harmonica, having conducted various academic studies with the harmonica at center stage, as part of his work at the Piteå School of Music. One of these resulted in a music thesis o...

Corky Siegel joins me on episode 129. Corky played was central in the emergence of the popularity of the blues to a white audience. His Siegel-Schwall band gained a residency at Chicago’s Pepper Lounge, sharing the stage with blues giants such as Howling Wolf, Muddy Waters and Little Walter. The band were also part of San Francisco’s 1967 Summer of Love, rubbing shoulders with the likes of Joni Mitchell and Janis Joplin. Corky has a unique place in harmonica history with his blues / classical...

Ross Garren, Rob Paparozzi and Liam Ward join me on episode 128, to discuss the harmonica playing of Bob Dylan. The early part of Dylan’s career is chronicled in the current biopic, A Complete Unknown. Ross and Rob were the ‘harmonica coaches’ for the movie. Ross recorded most of the harmonica used in the movie and the soundtrack, with Rob contributing one song and also providing support on the East Coast. Ross shares the painstaking process of recording for such a major music movie, how he stud...

Sigmund Groven joins me on episode 127. Sigmund is a chromatic player who is a household name in his native Norway. He was inspired to take up the harmonica after hearing Tommy Reilly on the radio. After taking some lessons with Tommy they formed a lifelong friendship, with Sigmund even becoming his manager. Sigmund has released over thirty albums in his own name through his illustrious career and has played in venues and orchestras around the world, including Carnegie Hall, throughout Europe a...