Dec. 9, 2022

Laurent Maur interview

Laurent Maur interview

Laurent Maur joins me on episode 75. Laurent is a jazz chromatic player from France. He first started learning diatonic before moving on to the chromatic to pursue his love of jazz music. He had some lessons with the French classical chromatic player, Claude Garden, helping to advance his technique. Laurent played with a few different bands, touring and recording albums with them before releasing two albums under his own name, and two with the Youpi Quartet. Laurent teamed up with the flute p...

Laurent Maur joins me on episode 75.

Laurent is a jazz chromatic player from France. He first started learning diatonic before moving on to the chromatic to pursue his love of jazz music. He had some lessons with the French classical chromatic player, Claude Garden, helping to advance his technique. Laurent played with a few different bands, touring and recording albums with them before releasing two albums under his own name, and two with the Youpi Quartet. Laurent teamed up with the flute player from this quartet to release his most recent album, of duets with flute. 

Laurent makes use of different harmonicas beyond the chromatic and occasional diatonic, playing the recently released Suzuki bass and chord harmonicas as well as being one of the leading exponents of the DM48 midi chromatic harmonica.


Links:

Laurent’s website:
https://www.laurentmaur.com/

JJ Milteau Method for Diatonic and Chromatic Harmonica tuition book:
https://www.melbay.com/Products/20588BCD/method-for-diatonic-and-chromatic-harmonica.aspx

Suzuki SSCH-56: Compact Chord & S-48B (Bass):
http://www.suzukimusic.co.uk/products/harmonica/orchestral.html

Children’s show: The true Story of the Tchepperpou
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ghtZ7VOmcus

Midi controller foot pedal:
https://www.keithmcmillen.com/products/softstep/

Videos:

La Cambiada with Orlando Pole:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CJEKPe64BH8&list=PL027E88A8BFFE8871

Duo with Emilie Calme in Sunside Jazz Club, Paris:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8t63za4K1Kw

Tuition video on using the Dorian scale:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0A4_M-LNy30

Roland Mobile Cube amp:
https://www.roland.com/au/products/mobile_cube/

Children’s show teaser:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ghtZ7VOmcus


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/


Support the show

01:33 - Laurent is a jazz chromatic player, originally from Paris, now living in Burgundy, France

02:37 - First influence of jazz harmonica was through the Toots Thielemans and Bill Evans album, Affinity, given to him by a maths teacher

03:32 - Bought first harmonica age 17 with Sugar Blue the first blues player he loved

04:22 - JJ Milteau Diatonic and Chromatic Method book was first instructional material he used to learn diatonic

05:13 - Started listening to the other diatonic players: with Sugar Blue and Big Walter his favourites

05:28 - Blues scene in France was mainly in Paris, but he met two harmonica players in his town, including Dutch chromatic player Tim Welvaars

06:40 - Spent a lot of time transcribing and essentials needed to learn jazz

07:44 - Decision to switch over to focus on chromatic harmonica age 24

08:24 - Blues is more accessible than jazz due to simpler chord structures

09:11 - Busked and was in several bands playing diatonic from age 19 to 24

09:26 - Switched to playing chromatic to learn jazz music

10:16 - Learning curve the chromatic from being a diatonic player

10:42 - Went to a jazz school in Paris

11:36 - Practised a lot to make rapid progress and was living on the breadline as a musician

13:15 - Moved from Paris to Bordeaux where he was able to perform more with jazz chromatic well received by jazz musicians

14:58 - Playing in different types of bands in Bordeaux helped develop skills

15:32 - Went to Trossingen in 2000 or 2001, winning the solo harmonica and jazz harmonica competitions

15:58 - First recording was with the Francis Lockwood trio, harmonica with strings, after playing in a big band

17:10 - Sent the album to Toots and JJ MIlteau and received encouraging responses back from both

18:03 - After attending another jazz school, started playing with Orlando Pole in an Afro Venezuelan Latin jazz quintet

20:16 - Playing with other bands, including Clem Cardenas and Yves Carbonne

21:47 - Plays some Gypsy Jazz with Mayo Hubert and approach to playing this on chromatic

22:59 - French player Vincent Bucher plays a lot with African musicians

23:28 - Spent some years in China and Korea after financial crash of 2008

25:07 - Popularity of people playing harmonica in China

25:46 - Spent time in Korea and problematic pollution in Beijing

26:23 - Played with a great Italian pianist in China and corporate gigs

27:46 - Laurent played at a Jazz club in Beijing where he found his confidence and voice to play the music he wanted to play

29:03 - Returned from the east and started releasing albums under his own name and with Youpi quartet

29:45 - The Last Dance album, recorded live

30:23 - Second live album: Chef Larry, with both albums including some French songs

31:40 - How Laurent developed his fast playing

32:17 - Had lessons with classical chromatic player Claude Garden, teaching him to use the pure sound with air, without lips or throat use

33:35 - Recoded two albums with the Youpi Quartet

35:08 - Great interaction between chromatic and flute

35:19 - Latest album from Laurent is a duo with Emilie on flute: Fantaisie Improbable Pour Flutes et Harmonicas

35:38 - Uses DM48 on this album

36:12 - Also plays the Suzuki SSCH-56 (Compact Chord) and S-48B bass harmonica on the album

37:48 - Plays harmonetta now

38:01 - More on the DM48, with Laurent playing synthesised sounds, rather than instrument emulators

41:07 - Has released some tuition videos on YouTube

41:34 - Next album to be released recorded in Greece

43:42 - 10 minute question

45:45 - How did he split his practise regime when practising 8 hours per day

46:39 - Switching from 12 hole to 16 hole chromatic, which was a challenge

47:44 - Advantages of 16 hole over 12 include playing octaves, making it sound like another instrument

49:30 - Chromatic of choice is Suzuki Fabulous, also the Sirius

49:54 - Still plays a little diatonic

50:09 - Has a show for children where he plays some diatonic

51:02 - Only plays C chromatics

51:22 - Embouchre: mostly puckers but working on tongue switching

52:10 - Amp used is a Roland Mobile Cube

54:03 - Set-up when performing with DM48

54:29 - Mic of choice is wireless Shure

54:59 - Effects and Ableton Live

55:26 - Future plans

56:21 - Wants to explore DM48 using a foot pedal

WEBVTT

00:00:00.322 --> 00:00:01.794
Lauren Moore joins me on episode 75.

00:00:02.802 --> 00:00:04.900
Lauren is a jazz chromatic player from France.

00:00:05.282 --> 00:00:10.146
He first started learning diatonic before moving on to the chromatic to pursue his love of jazz.

00:00:10.506 --> 00:00:15.871
He had some lessons with the French classical chromatic player Claude Gordon, helping to advance his technique.

00:00:16.210 --> 00:00:24.057
Lauren played with a few different bands, touring and recording albums with them before releasing two albums under his own name and two with the UP Quartet.

00:00:24.338 --> 00:00:30.064
Lauren teamed up with a flute player from this quartet to release his most recent album of duets with flute.

00:00:30.484 --> 00:00:43.115
Lauren makes use of different harmonicas beyond the chromatic and occasional diatonic, playing the reed and released Suzuki bass and chord harmonicas, as well as being one of the leading exponents of the DM-48 MIDI chromatic harmonica.

00:00:43.615 --> 00:00:46.198
This podcast is sponsored by Zeidel Harmonicas.

00:00:46.618 --> 00:00:55.648
Visit the oldest harmonica factory in the world at www.zeidel1847.com or on Facebook or Instagram at Zeidel Harmonicas.

00:01:01.594 --> 00:01:01.694
Music

00:01:27.554 --> 00:01:29.576
Hello, Lauren Moore, and welcome to the podcast.

00:01:30.037 --> 00:01:30.679
Hello, Neil.

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Thanks to invite me.

00:01:33.444 --> 00:01:38.412
So, Lauren, you're mainly a jazz chromatic player, and you're living in Paris now,

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yeah?

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No, I live in Burgundy.

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Not that far, but like two hour and a half drive by car from Paris, southeast.

00:01:46.947 --> 00:01:47.268
Okay.

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Are

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you originally from Paris?

00:01:49.852 --> 00:01:50.093
I was

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born there.

00:01:51.042 --> 00:02:13.741
and then I had different spots in my childhood and I lived in the south west of France and then Paris and then I went to I moved to Bordeaux and then went back to Paris a little and then I went to China for a while and came back to Paris and now Burgundy for I think till the end

00:02:15.302 --> 00:02:22.490
So yes we'll definitely touch on your time in China so yeah you moved around but clearly you're as we mentioned you're a jazz chromatic player mainly.

00:02:22.669 --> 00:02:25.252
And Paris is quite well known for its jazz scene.

00:02:25.312 --> 00:02:29.276
So was that something you drew on when you were younger, when you were getting interested in jazz?

00:02:29.757 --> 00:02:32.800
No, because I was living in the south at that time.

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I moved really, really quick.

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I moved to the south of France.

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My meeting, if you can say, with the jazz is like with the Toots and Billy Vance through the record Affinity.

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piano plays

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And so I was interested in harmonica.

00:03:00.736 --> 00:03:04.328
And I said that to a friend of my mother, who was my math teacher.

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And he brought me the week after for the math lesson, he brought me a cassette.

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with Billy Evans and Toots recorded on it.

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Great.

00:03:13.391 --> 00:03:16.796
So I think before you got interested in jazz, you were playing diatonic, yeah?

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I listened to this music, so I was really interested in harmonica.

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I don't know why, but each time I was in a movie or in advertising or something, harmonica, it was like a dog, you know?

00:03:30.580 --> 00:03:31.801
Yeah, the ears pricked up.

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Yeah, and I bought my first harmonica, I guess I was maybe 17, and it was a Daytonic.

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And I bought also some, my first LP record was Sugar Blue, Crossroads.

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I felt in love with Sugar Blue.

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I already had two worlds, like the jazz world with Toots and the blues world with Sugar Blue.

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Two very high standard plays.

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You set the bar very high to start off with.

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Yeah, I was listening to that.

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Playing was not my...

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I had an harmonica, but I was just fooling around, trying to play, but didn't understand nothing because I didn't have a musical background.

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The first real thing came with the Jean-Jacques Miltaud method.

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The very first one, the one is called, I don't know if it's known abroad, but in France it was released maybe in the 78, 80s.

00:04:37.762 --> 00:04:44.297
I was 16, no, 17, because I bought Harmonica and then I bought Method.

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Yeah, John Jack Milto is a fantastic player.

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So you learned your chops on diatonic and you were learning mainly blues at this time, were you?

00:05:06.862 --> 00:05:13.047
Yeah, in that method, a lot of information, a lot of good licks, good information on the players also.

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So I moved to, you know, Little Walter, Sonny Boy, also Charlie McCoy, Terry McMillan, you know, this kind of guy, and Big Walter.

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On diatonic, my two favorite players are Sugar Blue and Big Walter.

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Yeah, and so, you know, what's the blues, you know, sort of scene like in France I think, you know, there's a lot of really good players in France, isn't there?

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But outside of the country, you know, what's your kind of exposure to American blues?

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Sounds like it was very available.

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To buy records at that time, it was like very, very easy.

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But the blues scene was mainly in Paris.

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I mean, I was in countryside and I couldn't really hear or see players around my town.

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I was living in a little town called Carpentras near Avignon.

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There were like pubs there they were they were doing like live music and i was around 18 and i met i don't know if you know that guy he's from marseille his name is ange amadi great country player and i also met team welfare chromatic jazz player dutch dutchland and very good very good player so But he was playing chromatic and jazz already at that time.

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That's the two guys I met when I was in my hometown.

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Were

00:06:34.713 --> 00:06:37.036
you starting to perform live at their stage?

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I was doing some jam and learning mainly stay in my bedroom and studying like the greats.

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Transcribing Big Walter, Sugar Blue, Little Walter, Butterfield.

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I transcribed a lot of guys.

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And Jean-Jacques also.

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Jean-Jacques I transcribed and mainly two or three albums completely, everything by heart.

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It was a good school to do that.

00:07:02.559 --> 00:07:05.062
Yeah, transcribing is one of the greatest ways to learn, isn't it?

00:07:05.081 --> 00:07:08.725
And doing it yourself, I think, rather than learning from books or other sources.

00:07:09.305 --> 00:07:11.208
Yeah, it's the same in jazz.

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In jazz, you have to get some musical knowledge also, because if you transcribe, you can transcribe, but if you don't know what the guy is playing, you will never really understand how it's going on.

00:07:25.744 --> 00:07:43.822
how the music works etc so you have to I think you have to transcribe for sure but you have also to learn in the books or in the schools or workshops or something like that like how to play on a chord what is a chord how it is working like the basic of the harmony

00:07:44.283 --> 00:07:48.228
You then switched over to chromatic I think not until you were about 24 yeah?

00:07:48.627 --> 00:08:22.233
Oh yes I mean I had chromatic but I could not use it because I didn't have at that time some musical background so it was like a mystery i was listening to toots i had this this is a cassette like called harmonica jazz you know from 58 like so it's an amazing record so For me, it was like something beyond my...

00:08:22.713 --> 00:08:23.814
I could not reach that.

00:08:24.213 --> 00:08:30.699
And blues is, in a way, is very good for that because you don't have to get so much musical knowledge.

00:08:31.360 --> 00:08:35.724
Once you know there is a 1, the 4, and the 5 for the chords, it's a 12-bar blues.

00:08:35.844 --> 00:08:43.350
You have some minor blues, okay, but if you transcribe and you try to play and you experience, I think it's enough.

00:08:43.390 --> 00:08:46.413
You don't have to get a musical background.

00:08:46.854 --> 00:08:48.134
You're certainly more accessible, yeah.

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So that's why...

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I waited so long to go to the chromatic.

00:08:52.538 --> 00:08:55.221
I didn't have any clue about chords, about nothing.

00:08:55.543 --> 00:08:59.527
I was just playing by ear and blues was easy to do that.

00:08:59.907 --> 00:09:04.591
And jazz, chromatic, it was another system, another instrument.

00:09:04.952 --> 00:09:11.460
So I moved to the chromatic because I finished my learning on the blues.

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From 19 to 24, I was basking mainly.

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And then I had several bands.

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and I did several bands with more and more good players in Paris.

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I was living in Paris at that time.

00:09:26.669 --> 00:09:30.461
Yeah, so then you switched over to chromatic then to learn jazz.

00:09:30.522 --> 00:09:31.764
I take it was the main driver there.

00:09:32.097 --> 00:09:40.926
Yeah, and also I wanted to, I was like watching and listening to and also Charlie Parker, John Coltrane, etc.

00:09:40.966 --> 00:09:58.783
I discovered a lot of music after that because once you put the finger, you know, you discover a whole new world with a lot of players, Stan Getz, I mean, so many great players and I wanted to be able to play that music.

00:10:10.466 --> 00:10:12.438
And like you say, you were in Paris at this time.

00:10:12.519 --> 00:10:15.902
So did you then start tapping into the Paris jazz scene?

00:10:16.225 --> 00:10:20.068
No, because I was really like the beginner, you know, the chromatic.

00:10:20.109 --> 00:10:24.472
When you switch to chromatic, you are like a beginner on the chromatic.

00:10:24.653 --> 00:10:24.832
Yeah.

00:10:25.173 --> 00:10:31.198
Even if you can play, you know, a good level on the diatonic, chromatic is another story.

00:10:31.259 --> 00:10:41.707
So it took me time to understand the mechanic of the chromatic and also the mechanics of the music, the harmony, etc.

00:10:42.168 --> 00:10:46.491
So I went to a school in 1994 Four.

00:10:46.881 --> 00:10:53.288
I went to a school in the CIM, it was a jazz school, and I did a course for maybe six months.

00:10:53.629 --> 00:11:16.254
I had one hour harmony per week, one hour piano, one hour instrument, and I had a saxophone player as a teacher, and one hour like in workshop, you know, with the band, with the double bass and drummer, piano and guitar and harmonica and some trumpet player, etc.

00:11:16.481 --> 00:11:19.392
And so this is how it started for me.

00:11:19.714 --> 00:11:28.642
So you say you started about the age of 24 in chromatic and listening to your music, Laurent, you got to a great standard in that time.

00:11:28.721 --> 00:11:30.182
So how did you improve?

00:11:30.243 --> 00:11:35.607
So did you, you know, did you improve really quickly when you started learning and going to the jazz school and jumping into the jazz?

00:11:36.067 --> 00:11:37.469
I practiced a lot.

00:11:37.590 --> 00:11:42.274
Once I started the chromatic, I knew I was like late for my age.

00:11:42.293 --> 00:11:46.517
You know, 24, you're almost grown and I was a beginner.

00:11:46.878 --> 00:11:53.785
So I had to work like I worked maybe eight, 10 hours a day for a long time, very long time.

00:11:53.947 --> 00:11:54.648
It was my goal.

00:11:54.707 --> 00:11:56.691
I was only focused on that.

00:11:57.071 --> 00:12:02.580
And so when you work that time, you spend a lot of time with your instrument.

00:12:02.879 --> 00:12:06.466
You develop kind of affinity with it and with the music also.

00:12:06.765 --> 00:12:11.614
And so you can catch up the time.

00:12:12.129 --> 00:12:13.932
Did you have a day job at this point?

00:12:14.711 --> 00:12:18.075
No, I was basking till 25.

00:12:18.556 --> 00:12:29.044
Then I had some things from the French government, like the minimum to live, you know, and I had like a little room in Paris.

00:12:29.144 --> 00:12:32.768
Maybe it was six or seven square meters.

00:12:33.128 --> 00:12:37.511
No shower, no bathroom, no toilets.

00:12:37.812 --> 00:12:44.179
Toilets were downstairs on the restaurant, you know, when it was cold in the winter, it was like very tough.

00:12:45.442 --> 00:12:47.267
It was very cheap, but very basic.

00:12:47.567 --> 00:13:00.352
I was basking also, but I did also some summer job to get some money to be more comfortable with the money and just have to focus on music.

00:13:01.217 --> 00:13:15.289
yeah fantastic yeah and of course Paris is not a cheap place to live so you did well no you got good you got very good on the chromatic you know so then you started I think recording with other musicians were you playing around Paris with them and then got invited to play and record with them

00:13:15.470 --> 00:14:20.996
actually I moved from Paris to Bordeaux in 97 yeah because I had my first boy he was born in 1994 and I moved to join my father mother in 97 and then I began to play more because in Paris the level is very high I was like a good beginner if you want but still a beginner and I didn't have the level to play with the cats you know it was like very very high standard and in Bordeaux it was like pretty big city less musician and the level was less high but you could find some good musician and so an harmonica player you know it's always like people likes Toots they like Brazilian music with Toots they like the sound of it the jazz man I mean jazz man generally they like if you come and you say hey man I play harmonica but I play chromatic they say you're welcome play something with us because they like the instrument they like basically what Toots did with it

00:14:21.378 --> 00:14:31.508
yeah and I think you know I think they quite like the different sound only because there's obviously a lot of saxophones and you know and trumpets and things it's nice to get that different sound isn't it sure so yeah so it's good to hear you work received.

00:14:31.769 --> 00:14:34.912
Bordeaux, of course, is on the west coast of France.

00:14:34.951 --> 00:14:36.974
It's quite a touristy place.

00:14:37.014 --> 00:14:38.755
Did that help you getting some gigs around there?

00:14:38.855 --> 00:14:40.177
Was there quite a lot going on in

00:14:40.217 --> 00:14:41.158
Bordeaux?

00:14:41.339 --> 00:14:41.418
Yeah.

00:14:41.519 --> 00:14:44.282
Much restaurants and not so much musicians.

00:14:45.844 --> 00:14:57.135
I could play maybe two or three days a week easily from 1997 to 2000 and let's say 2008.

00:14:57.316 --> 00:15:03.503
It helped me a lot to develop my skills and My music, because I played in different contexts.

00:15:03.582 --> 00:15:06.365
I played in the Latin jazz octet.

00:15:06.725 --> 00:15:08.006
I played in a big band.

00:15:08.027 --> 00:15:11.230
I played quartet, in trio, in duet.

00:15:11.610 --> 00:15:13.653
I did a lot of stuff with a lot of musicians.

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So I think my musicianship was growing.

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Apart from my work, my daily work, practice, I was facing a lot of new music, new material, music to play, et cetera.

00:15:28.428 --> 00:15:30.991
And so it was really good.

00:15:30.991 --> 00:15:31.412
good for me.

00:15:32.092 --> 00:15:35.476
And did you go to Trossingen and take part in the competition

00:15:35.496 --> 00:15:36.037
there?

00:15:36.258 --> 00:15:39.500
Ah yes, I went there in 2000 or 2001, I don't remember.

00:15:39.760 --> 00:15:42.524
It was a great time because I saw a lot of good players.

00:15:42.884 --> 00:15:44.466
I met Brendan Power there.

00:15:44.866 --> 00:15:47.450
Okay, so did you win one of the competitions at Trossingen?

00:15:48.230 --> 00:15:55.298
Yes, I won the solo harmonica and the jazz harmonica.

00:15:55.577 --> 00:15:58.341
And this is when you started recording with other people, yeah?

00:15:58.701 --> 00:16:00.943
What was your first recording on an album

00:16:00.943 --> 00:16:07.472
I did some maquettes, some demos, and my first album was in 2001, Mano a Mano.

00:16:07.493 --> 00:16:27.519
Mano a Mano can't find it anymore but I want to put it on YouTube

00:16:28.142 --> 00:16:32.697
so this is with the Francis Lockwood trio yeah so what was the setup there

00:16:33.090 --> 00:16:43.979
I told you I was playing in a big band, and the arranger of the big band, the conductor, told me once, Laurent, I think you should record something, and if you want to do that, I can help you.

00:16:44.019 --> 00:16:48.543
I can write music for a string quartet, and I got a good trio in Paris.

00:16:48.643 --> 00:16:54.749
I can make them come down to Bordeaux, and we can find a cheap studio.

00:16:55.690 --> 00:16:56.931
Actually, it was not a studio.

00:16:56.990 --> 00:17:03.056
We recorded in a bar, but arranged in a studio, you know, like fixed to be able to record.

00:17:03.056 --> 00:17:05.442
and with the percussion also.

00:17:05.501 --> 00:17:10.032
It was like a very, very nice project and we had a lot of fun doing that.

00:17:10.433 --> 00:17:14.304
Have I got it right that you were encouraged to make this album by Toots Tillmans?

00:17:15.066 --> 00:17:17.291
Yeah, I sent it to him.

00:17:17.551 --> 00:17:18.835
My first album, I had to.

00:17:20.097 --> 00:17:22.221
After you recorded it, yeah.

00:17:22.260 --> 00:17:25.565
Yeah, I sent it to Toots and I sent it to Jean-Jacques also.

00:17:25.964 --> 00:17:34.476
And both, they called me back and they said to me, it's very nice, good music, good arranger, you play very good.

00:17:35.196 --> 00:17:38.500
I was very happy because it was my first thing, you know.

00:17:38.520 --> 00:17:42.625
And actually, when I listened to it, I think it's pretty okay.

00:17:42.806 --> 00:17:43.567
Pretty nice album.

00:17:45.549 --> 00:17:45.630
Yeah.

00:17:53.665 --> 00:17:58.986
The sound is not great, but the music my friend wrote at that time is very nice.

00:17:59.026 --> 00:18:01.916
And the trio, the jazz trio is very nice.

00:18:01.936 --> 00:18:03.060
I did the job.

00:18:03.394 --> 00:18:12.662
And then a couple of years later, you started playing with Orlando Paul and you were playing sort of Afro-Venezuelan, Latin, you know, sort of mixture genres.

00:18:13.202 --> 00:18:24.813
Actually, the story is like in 2005, no, 2003, I was like a little fed up with my playing and my knowledge.

00:18:24.873 --> 00:18:26.493
I wanted to, I wanted more.

00:18:27.035 --> 00:18:36.844
So I did another jazz school, you know, the jazz school, DJ Local opened maybe three or four years before.

00:18:36.864 --> 00:18:39.807
And I went to that school for six months.

00:18:40.146 --> 00:18:42.289
And then there, I did a lot of stuff.

00:18:42.470 --> 00:18:45.212
It was very, very complete and very high level also.

00:18:45.553 --> 00:18:53.121
I met some people and a lot of people went to do some workshop and to show us how to play, etc.

00:18:53.561 --> 00:18:59.268
And there, I met Orlando and he invited me to come and jam to one of his gigs.

00:18:59.488 --> 00:19:09.844
And then after a while, he phoned me and he sent me a If you want, I'm doing a project, a new project, and I would like you to play in it.

00:19:10.184 --> 00:19:11.727
And so I said, yes, of course.

00:19:25.953 --> 00:19:29.257
And so there's quite African sort of influence music, some of

00:19:29.737 --> 00:19:29.836
it.

00:19:29.856 --> 00:19:36.442
Yeah, I mean, South American, but based on the African percussion legacy.

00:19:37.023 --> 00:19:46.771
And I learned a lot with those guys because there were two Cubans, like Luc Mil Perez Herrera on the drums, Felipe Cabrera on the bass.

00:19:47.071 --> 00:19:50.756
They are two amazing players, still in France, playing with everybody.

00:19:50.816 --> 00:19:55.920
Gerardo Di Giusto on the piano, an Argentine guy, and Orlando on the percussion.

00:19:55.920 --> 00:20:02.973
and it was like a great school for me because I didn't have no clue about that music, you know, the percussion chords, etc.

00:20:03.295 --> 00:20:16.382
I still like, I'm not a specialist, but Orlando gave me some kind of keys, you know, some tricks, you know, and some ways to listen to that and to understand how it works and so on.

00:20:16.481 --> 00:20:20.592
And then you then played with some other, again, appeared on different people's albums.

00:20:20.652 --> 00:20:22.336
I've got Clem Cardenas.

00:20:22.777 --> 00:20:23.117
Ah, yes.

00:20:25.303 --> 00:20:28.671
Let us shine, sweet Albion.

00:20:28.691 --> 00:20:33.342
Just know first that my kiss is easy wine.

00:20:33.538 --> 00:20:38.224
Actually, at the same period, we were playing a gig with Orlando and Felipe.

00:20:38.484 --> 00:20:42.832
We were playing in Paris, in the French Embassy or something like that.

00:20:43.071 --> 00:20:49.922
And the girlfriend of Felipe saw the show and she said, I want Laurent to come and play on my album.

00:20:50.123 --> 00:20:52.185
And so that's how it started.

00:20:52.385 --> 00:20:55.329
and after we played a lot of gigs with that band

00:20:55.810 --> 00:20:57.752
and then with Yves Carbon

00:20:58.153 --> 00:21:18.520
Yves Carbon yes we recorded an album in duet we never released it really we recorded it it's very nice and I think all those the old stuff I should dig out those things and put it on YouTube because nobody listened to that and it's a shame because it's good music I guess Yves Carbon is like an amazing bass player

00:21:21.163 --> 00:21:21.285
I

00:21:22.266 --> 00:21:22.365
think

00:21:22.402 --> 00:21:29.915
so

00:21:29.955 --> 00:21:50.580
yeah so as well as the steward album then um they released a couple of albums which you played on as well so And then you started playing some gypsy jazz with Mayo Hubert.

00:21:50.980 --> 00:21:54.028
Yeah, it was a very nice project.

00:21:54.509 --> 00:21:57.476
Amazing music because Mayo is an amazing composer.

00:21:57.957 --> 00:21:58.898
We had a lot of fun.

00:21:58.939 --> 00:22:05.613
But after a while, we did the record, but it was not really, really well promoted.

00:22:05.986 --> 00:22:15.323
The producer was okay because he had the money, he paid for all the stuff, but it was not really his job to promote people and to promote artists.

00:22:16.064 --> 00:22:30.190
And we both know that if you release an album, if you don't know how to put it on the national radio or to send it to the good person on the press, it's like throwing a bottle in the sea, you know?

00:22:30.753 --> 00:22:35.345
you know, how did you take to playing gypsy jazz music as opposed to playing, you know, sort of more straight ahead jazz?

00:22:35.465 --> 00:22:35.967
It's great.

00:22:36.027 --> 00:22:37.490
And harmonica fits right in.

00:22:45.069 --> 00:22:45.150
Yeah.

00:22:51.713 --> 00:22:58.525
I mean, harmonica generally could be diatonic or chromatic, but harmonica fits in a lot of music, actually.

00:22:59.045 --> 00:23:00.086
You know Vincent Boucher?

00:23:00.426 --> 00:23:09.961
Vincent Boucher is a diatonic player from France, and he plays a lot with African guys, Boubacar Traoué, and music from the Mali, etc.

00:23:10.082 --> 00:23:12.486
And it's amazing what he's doing.

00:23:12.546 --> 00:23:13.106
It's very nice.

00:23:13.366 --> 00:23:15.310
And it's African music, you know, harmonica.

00:23:15.631 --> 00:23:16.251
But it works.

00:23:24.897 --> 00:23:37.525
So then I think around 2011 or so, after you played with Mayor Hubert, you mentioned early on you went to spend some time in China and Korea.

00:23:37.945 --> 00:23:46.853
Yes, because after the 2009-8 crisis, you know, Like in Bordeaux, we really felt the difference.

00:23:46.932 --> 00:23:51.396
Like restaurants were shutting down, no more clubs.

00:23:51.576 --> 00:23:54.900
It was like very difficult to make a living on music.

00:23:55.140 --> 00:24:06.029
And so I was like looking for solutions and I was looking to China and it was like it's crisis here, but there it's like it's a big boom economically.

00:24:06.250 --> 00:24:11.493
And so when you are a musician, you have to follow the money in a way.

00:24:12.996 --> 00:24:13.455
Definitely, yeah.

00:24:13.455 --> 00:24:22.786
Because if you are in a country where everything goes well, like business is good, et cetera, you know, hire an orchestra or band.

00:24:22.846 --> 00:24:24.887
It's like always fun and it's easy.

00:24:24.968 --> 00:24:25.368
It's fine.

00:24:25.828 --> 00:24:29.133
Okay, let's bring a gypsy band or jazz band.

00:24:29.212 --> 00:24:29.673
It's cool.

00:24:30.253 --> 00:24:31.615
And so I went there.

00:24:31.634 --> 00:24:34.357
We went there with my girlfriend, Emily.

00:24:34.578 --> 00:24:38.201
And just to check, you know, we took three months tourist visa.

00:24:38.423 --> 00:24:56.231
And the first week we began to go there to jam and we met a lot of musicians and after it went very well for us because the music seemed to please people there and there were no flute players or harmonica players at that time in Beijing so we were welcome.

00:24:59.137 --> 00:24:59.357
piano plays

00:25:07.298 --> 00:25:10.866
Yeah, but the harmonica is very popular in the East, isn't it?

00:25:10.906 --> 00:25:11.729
Did you find that?

00:25:11.769 --> 00:25:15.880
Were there a lot of other players, local players rather than foreign?

00:25:16.320 --> 00:25:22.857
You can see a lot of old people from Mao era playing in the parks.

00:25:23.201 --> 00:25:42.419
and they gather and they play like old revolutionary songs but like they maybe are 60 70 you see it's like tradition from that era but you can you cannot find really popular jazzman or bluesman player there

00:25:42.679 --> 00:25:46.541
you spent a few years then in what China and other places around the east

00:25:46.721 --> 00:25:55.631
yeah I went to Korea also I spent a lot of time there and great time because I met a good musicians and good friends.

00:25:55.931 --> 00:25:56.892
Food is also great.

00:25:57.192 --> 00:26:05.381
Because in China, in Beijing, it was a lot of fun, but it was like the pollution was like something very, very problematic.

00:26:05.740 --> 00:26:07.763
Yeah, you had to wear a mask.

00:26:08.183 --> 00:26:12.347
In Beijing, it was like you couldn't find your way.

00:26:13.088 --> 00:26:13.809
It was dark.

00:26:15.070 --> 00:26:18.115
Not good for a harmonica player to have all that pollution.

00:26:18.134 --> 00:26:19.175
No, for sure.

00:26:19.195 --> 00:26:20.877
For no one, for nobody.

00:26:21.617 --> 00:26:23.119
Breathing it all in, yeah, deeply, yeah.

00:26:23.119 --> 00:26:29.487
but yeah it sounds like you um you know you got a lot more um exposure gigging there and then playing and playing about in the east there

00:26:29.946 --> 00:26:54.574
yeah but i mean in beijing i had a good chance to meet very very great piano player called moreno moreno donadel and that guy was like living there since like maybe 15 years and he's a great player he's from italy but he is also a master of kung fu so he went there with the national team italian to train on kung fu he decided to settle there.

00:26:54.814 --> 00:27:04.003
And it was like a kind of boring musically because when you go to Beijing at that time, the scene was like you had small gigs for jazz.

00:27:04.364 --> 00:27:06.926
I mean, artistic gigs was like small.

00:27:07.146 --> 00:27:11.070
But if you want to make money, you have to do like event, corporate gigs.

00:27:11.491 --> 00:27:13.374
And it's not the same story.

00:27:13.394 --> 00:27:18.118
You know, you play one song between the magician and the juggler.

00:27:18.398 --> 00:27:19.881
And they say, stop, stop, stop.

00:27:19.901 --> 00:27:20.421
Okay, stop.

00:27:20.580 --> 00:27:21.402
Now the magician.

00:27:21.702 --> 00:27:22.143
Okay.

00:27:22.864 --> 00:27:23.023
Okay.

00:27:23.023 --> 00:27:37.419
go go go you play you play you play the singer the singer you know it's like entertaining like people who don't care very rich people so you are very well paid but when you go back to your home you say i didn't sign for that you know

00:27:38.140 --> 00:27:39.000
yeah yeah

00:27:39.461 --> 00:28:25.913
i'm making money but what's the point i just play like with bad musicians who are just only interested by money but there were like kind of a nice spot in beijing called east shore donha east shore is like the old jazz club in Beijing and there it was like a cheap gig but you could do whatever music you wanted to and the audience were very very hot and it was full every night and Moreno had a gig there every Sunday and he told me Laurent every Sunday I have a gig if you want to join me and you do the repertoire and you are in charge of the repertoire because I don't I'm not motivated anymore to find music and I see you are like kind of hunger to play etc so please help me I hire you on the gig and you do the stuff.

00:28:25.993 --> 00:28:34.009
And so for a long time, I was transcribing songs I would like to play or some composition or some arrangement.

00:28:34.270 --> 00:28:41.444
By that way, I developed a lot my leadership and I defined what I want to play really.

00:28:41.890 --> 00:29:02.508
because at some point when you are musician and jazz musician but at some point you have to talk and to play what you want to play deeply and so to find the repertoire find the song you really want to explore etc and so I did that by that way thanks to you Moreno

00:29:02.968 --> 00:29:13.779
and then you came back from China Korea and then you started releasing you know some more albums so you got some albums out with the with the UP quartet but also you Did you release some by yourself as well?

00:29:14.161 --> 00:29:22.499
Yeah, all that experience from China and Korea gave me some confidence to manage my own music and my projects.

00:29:24.242 --> 00:29:27.449
Here's a quick word from the podcast sponsor, Blows Me Away Productions.

00:29:28.034 --> 00:29:32.383
Hey folks, this is Charlie Musselwhite.

00:29:32.403 --> 00:29:39.737
If you're in an amplified tone like I am, the best and only place to start is a microphone from Blows Me Away Productions.

00:29:40.238 --> 00:29:42.461
Check them out at blowsmeaway.com.

00:29:42.962 --> 00:29:44.365
You know I ain't lying.

00:29:45.648 --> 00:29:47.491
Was the first one The Last Dance?

00:29:47.813 --> 00:29:50.397
Is that the first album you released when you came back?

00:30:04.162 --> 00:30:13.953
Yeah, it was recorded live near Bordeaux, in the south of France, with Mario Canonge, a really nice player from Antigua.

00:30:14.233 --> 00:30:18.858
And Felipe, still my old fellow man on the double bass.

00:30:19.220 --> 00:30:21.803
And Pierre-Alain Tocanier, a really fine drummer.

00:30:22.042 --> 00:30:23.163
We did the first one.

00:30:23.424 --> 00:30:27.869
Two years after that, we did another live album, Chef Larry.

00:30:41.377 --> 00:30:48.249
It was broadcasted on Mezzo, the video, and you can find some samples on YouTube, on my channel.

00:30:48.589 --> 00:30:52.316
And on the Chef Larry album, there's some French songs on there, yeah?

00:30:52.576 --> 00:30:53.538
Yeah, always.

00:30:53.678 --> 00:30:58.265
Even on the first one, I played like some Galliano stuff, some Birrelli La Grene.

00:30:58.546 --> 00:31:08.701
On Chef Larry, there is La Javanese and also Indifference, like really, really old valses.

00:31:09.377 --> 00:31:23.751
And the title of the album, Chef Larry, that refers to you serving up the music, does it?

00:31:24.593 --> 00:31:26.174
No, no, not at all.

00:31:26.194 --> 00:31:31.921
Actually, Larry, it was a tribute to a friend of mine who passed away.

00:31:32.580 --> 00:31:34.763
He was a cook from, he was a chef.

00:31:35.084 --> 00:31:37.246
He was from Chicago, Larry Spieth.

00:31:37.410 --> 00:31:39.853
And this album is like dedicated to him.

00:31:40.354 --> 00:31:43.577
So there's some tremendous fast playing from you on these two albums.

00:31:58.317 --> 00:32:01.021
How did you develop that high speed and fluency?

00:32:01.761 --> 00:32:13.096
I mean when you play jazz I mean you develop a lot of technique because you have to know all the scales, etc.

00:32:13.195 --> 00:32:17.142
And so I think it helps to play faster.

00:32:17.321 --> 00:32:24.613
And I didn't mention my first and last real teacher on the chromatic when I began when I was 24.

00:32:24.633 --> 00:32:26.195
I met Claude Gardin.

00:32:26.476 --> 00:32:26.695
Yeah.

00:32:26.856 --> 00:32:31.282
So Claude was an amazing, amazing player, like classical player.

00:32:31.443 --> 00:32:32.605
He could play jazz and so

00:32:32.644 --> 00:32:35.710
on.

00:32:46.306 --> 00:32:48.696
It was very expensive, the lesson with him.

00:32:48.737 --> 00:32:52.714
But I don't regret it because I took maybe six months.

00:32:53.237 --> 00:32:56.009
Like I went there like twice a month.

00:32:56.450 --> 00:33:06.278
for six months and he gave me some keys about the air column, you know, and the way to play really the sound, etc.

00:33:06.298 --> 00:33:06.578
Yeah,

00:33:06.798 --> 00:33:10.741
did he really help with your technique, you know, coming from a classical background, did he?

00:33:11.143 --> 00:33:17.949
Yes, because I was a blues player, so I was used to use my throat, my tongue, etc.

00:33:19.009 --> 00:33:22.613
And he told me, you should not do that with a chromatic.

00:33:22.752 --> 00:33:26.695
You have to learn to use nothing except your lips.

00:33:26.957 --> 00:33:32.162
And after, if you want to do some effects, you can from time to time use your tongue or something.

00:33:32.382 --> 00:33:35.065
But first you have to get the pure sound.

00:33:35.346 --> 00:33:39.048
And then you also play with a quartet called UP.

00:33:39.390 --> 00:33:40.250
UP Quartet, yes.

00:33:40.631 --> 00:33:43.775
So this is with your girlfriend Emily who plays flute.

00:33:44.295 --> 00:33:45.296
Yeah, indeed.

00:33:45.336 --> 00:33:49.220
And like an amazing rhythm section.

00:33:49.240 --> 00:33:58.955
So Curtis on the drums with like a groove machine and Oriel on the bass with also a groove machine and an amazing musician.

00:34:11.170 --> 00:34:13.811
And it's more like this band is a real band.

00:34:14.012 --> 00:34:15.753
We all compose equally.

00:34:15.914 --> 00:34:23.740
But unfortunately, Auriel cannot play anymore because of injury on the shoulder and the arm.

00:34:24.081 --> 00:34:29.865
And so UP Quartet is like going a little down now, which I regret.

00:34:30.246 --> 00:34:35.251
I regret it because it's very difficult for him because he had to stop music totally.

00:34:35.271 --> 00:34:36.192
It's very sad.

00:34:36.211 --> 00:34:48.447
And also, by the same way, the UP Quartet is kind of finished not refinished because we found another player but you know when you have a real band like that it's difficult to find the same thing

00:34:48.847 --> 00:35:25.230
Some fantastic music from that band the two albums I've listened to really are it's really tremendous great interaction between you and and emily on the on the chromatic and the flute there's there's quite a lot of unison playing isn't there you're playing yeah yeah it's really effective isn't it uh that sound together your latest album is a it's just a duo album with emily isn't it just you and her on on flute yeah

00:35:25.489 --> 00:35:36.474
yeah so It's

00:35:36.494 --> 00:35:37.755
just the two of you playing on that, is

00:35:38.016 --> 00:35:38.255
there?

00:35:38.275 --> 00:35:39.998
Yeah, and I play also the GM48.

00:35:40.018 --> 00:35:40.297
Yeah.

00:35:40.958 --> 00:35:56.574
So it helps to change the mood and the sound because I play like some background, you know, and she plays like Bansuri and I do some stuff there, some chords with a lot of reverb and it's like a synthesizer.

00:36:04.621 --> 00:36:04.702
Yeah.

00:36:09.313 --> 00:36:14.802
And she plays Bansuri, she plays alto flute, and I play bass harmonica from Suzuki.

00:36:14.822 --> 00:36:20.831
I play chord harmonica also, the SCH-X48, I guess.

00:36:21.371 --> 00:36:25.719
And always my 16-hole, my good old 16-hole.

00:36:25.838 --> 00:36:27.541
And then, like you say, you're playing the...

00:36:27.905 --> 00:36:38.514
Suzuki bass and the chord harmonicas the two different harmonicas from Suzuki which are in the form of a chromatic harmonica not the old orchestra bass and chords

00:36:39.576 --> 00:37:28.085
yes the bass is like that it's like a 12-hole regular except it's like two octaves below so it's like a cello same range as a cello and works very good and the other one the chord harmonica is like a 14-hole with a totally new way of tuning and you can get like every chord in all tonalities so it's very interesting difficult but very interesting it's not in a key the most low note is a B flat so you could say it's in B flat but not really it's very interesting and the people who did that very very clever because you can effectively on 14 holes have all the chords simple chords and even some more tricky chords chord.

00:37:28.565 --> 00:37:29.889
You can listen to it on...

00:37:30.650 --> 00:37:38.367
I play it on Madame Chaperon.

00:37:48.833 --> 00:37:51.777
But nowadays, I'm more into harmonica.

00:37:52.097 --> 00:37:53.117
I bought an harmonica.

00:37:53.697 --> 00:37:58.302
It's tricky also, but so fun to play rhythm and chords.

00:37:58.322 --> 00:37:59.402
It's like, wow.

00:38:00.123 --> 00:38:00.324
Yeah.

00:38:01.744 --> 00:38:06.789
And you mentioned there, obviously, that you play the DM-48 and you've recorded it on a few of the albums, as you've said there.

00:38:06.849 --> 00:38:10.193
So, obviously, you had an episode about the DM-48 a few episodes back.

00:38:10.233 --> 00:38:12.994
So, you're another leading player on the DM-48.

00:38:13.215 --> 00:38:16.918
So, how are you getting on with the DM-48 and what sort of potential do you think it has?

00:38:17.539 --> 00:38:18.380
I think it's...

00:38:18.800 --> 00:38:19.940
It's a great instrument.

00:38:20.001 --> 00:38:23.425
The potential is limited by your imagination.

00:38:23.605 --> 00:38:28.010
It's like you can do whatever you want with it because it's like a synthesizer.

00:38:28.289 --> 00:38:40.282
And you play with the computer and now the music with computers is like really, really high level and the possibilities are endless.

00:38:40.722 --> 00:38:44.047
So which software do you use with your DM-48?

00:38:44.067 --> 00:38:44.306
I

00:38:44.887 --> 00:38:48.751
use it with ReZone and Ableton Live

00:38:48.751 --> 00:38:52.197
Right, so you don't use a swarm of instruments through iPads?

00:38:52.998 --> 00:38:53.960
Not really.

00:38:54.440 --> 00:39:08.262
I have some, but so far, playing an acoustic instrument, for me, what interests me more in synthesized music is to play the synthesized sound.

00:39:08.623 --> 00:39:11.628
It's my taste, you know, but I can change.

00:39:12.028 --> 00:39:14.873
I will change, for sure.

00:39:18.402 --> 00:39:23.038
so

00:39:23.777 --> 00:39:28.862
So you're not playing then sort of other instruments like a saxophone, say, or a trumpet?

00:39:28.942 --> 00:39:29.043
No.

00:39:29.063 --> 00:39:30.923
You prefer the kind of synthesized sound?

00:39:31.043 --> 00:39:40.693
Yeah, I mean, but I think I will change because I think it's interesting when I see what Jason Keane is doing with it because it's very nice.

00:39:40.733 --> 00:39:43.114
For instance, it's not my path.

00:39:43.454 --> 00:39:43.956
I have one.

00:39:43.996 --> 00:39:48.239
After speaking to Jason and Eric, I have a DM-48 myself and I do love it.

00:39:48.318 --> 00:40:16.568
It's amazing potential, but I find that it's, I think I maybe have to improve on it, but I find it's hard to make it really fluent you know on certain instrument like a saxophone you can kind of hear gaps between the notes that you wouldn't get playing a normal chromatic and i know you can adjust all the settings so that you know how sensitive it is but i still can't really play in the same fluent way that i can a normal chromatic on certain instruments on some instruments it's better like the trumpet works really well i use i'm using the swarm instruments

00:40:16.929 --> 00:40:17.690
with the ipad

00:40:18.269 --> 00:40:26.818
yeah with the ipad yeah so i find that you know it's not really as fluid as i'd like it to be on mostly instruments, although it's still very effective and I do love it.

00:40:26.858 --> 00:40:28.942
It's got amazing potential and I think I've got to improve on it.

00:40:29.902 --> 00:40:30.362
Ah, cool.

00:40:30.682 --> 00:40:37.630
I think it's like the invention of the decades or the century for harmonica player.

00:40:37.771 --> 00:40:41.215
It's like, it's incredible like what Eric

00:40:41.235 --> 00:40:42.215
Lecombe did with that.

00:40:42.516 --> 00:40:44.978
It is incredible, yeah, and I think everyone should own one.

00:40:45.278 --> 00:40:53.648
The way I use it is that, yeah, you wouldn't use it on every song and absolutely, you still want to play chromatic or diatonic if you play diatonic, but to use it on some songs, it's just incredible.

00:40:53.648 --> 00:40:57.172
to have that tool in your armory

00:40:57.351 --> 00:41:04.719
sure to the audience also it's very nice to change the sound and even for you it changes your inspiration

00:41:05.199 --> 00:41:19.396
so ok so we'll move on a bit from your recording so you've released a few tuition videos on YouTube I think you've got one playing over a major 7th chord another one playing a Dorian scale so have you done much teaching is that something you're interested in doing more of

00:41:19.496 --> 00:41:26.563
yes I do it like sometimes because I want to help people but I don't do it regularly.

00:41:26.862 --> 00:41:27.844
Maybe I should, but...

00:41:28.264 --> 00:41:33.610
You've toured quite a lot around Europe, haven't you, with the different acts that we mentioned above and you played around various countries?

00:41:33.831 --> 00:41:38.835
Yes, my next album actually was recorded in Greece, in Athens.

00:41:39.157 --> 00:41:43.440
I think we will release it in 2023.

00:41:44.021 --> 00:42:23.398
It's with a Greek trio with a great, great player named George Kontrafouris, piano player and organ player, but on this one plays only piano and double bass and drums and i think it's very very nice album We did that in one day and we did a couple of gigs before and we went to studio one day and we recorded a very nice album.

00:42:23.438 --> 00:42:24.599
The sound is beautiful.

00:42:24.639 --> 00:42:26.041
The songs are great.

00:42:26.280 --> 00:42:31.985
It's a mix between Yorgos' compositions and mine and I'm very happy with it.

00:42:32.405 --> 00:42:35.429
So how did you meet up with the musicians in Athens?

00:42:35.909 --> 00:42:43.536
Wow, Yorgos is a long story because I met him in 2000, maybe three or four.

00:42:43.856 --> 00:43:40.956
in bordeaux there were a jazz festival there an american he was playing there with uh with rick margitza which is a great tenor saxophone player a trumpet player from america didn't get the visa or i mean he was in trouble to come to france and so uh the friend of mine who were doing the the gig at the double bass told me if you want we can do something with you and the saxophone and we we could play some song from affinity and and so that's what we did i was so being you know the trumpet player and we changed a little the repertoire and I met Yorgos and then I went to Greece maybe in 2011 or something like that and we played together also there and we had fun he's an amazing amazing character amazing people and so he told me two years ago he called me he said hey we should we should play together and we should record something just come to Athens and we

00:43:41.117 --> 00:43:47.724
do that so a question I ask each time Laurent is if you had 10 minutes to practice what would you spend those 10 minutes doing?

00:43:48.204 --> 00:44:16.137
I think it depends on where you are in the music because each period each era in your musical learning is different and appeals for different type of work of practice so if you are a beginner you should practice on simple things like major scale minor scale I mean if you want to play jazz it depends on what you want to play also

00:44:16.338 --> 00:44:17.000
yeah sure yeah

00:44:17.420 --> 00:44:42.025
and and rhythm and like try to mix the the work of the scale and both with the rhythm playing if you if you do like metronome metronome is like that the beat is there like that It's cool, but rhythmically you play which is not really fun.

00:44:42.224 --> 00:45:00.094
But if you change, if you do you change the accent instead of doing the first If you do it it's on the beat, but if you do it after Thank you.

00:45:00.226 --> 00:45:10.875
You start to play rhythm.

00:45:11.135 --> 00:45:11.876
You play groove.

00:45:12.175 --> 00:45:17.541
So I think when you are a beginner and even an advanced player, you should practice the scale.

00:45:17.900 --> 00:45:26.469
And a good way to have fun when you practice scale is to practice it with rhythms and good rhythms.

00:45:26.768 --> 00:45:36.730
And so when you are just practicing practicing a basic scale, you groove, you know, and you have the body is moving and you have something is happening.

00:45:37.090 --> 00:45:40.960
And I think it's a good way to approach the basic work.

00:45:41.346 --> 00:45:43.168
Yeah, make it more interesting, absolutely.

00:45:43.248 --> 00:45:44.789
And to have fun doing it.

00:45:45.048 --> 00:45:45.510
Yeah, great.

00:45:45.869 --> 00:45:51.295
So, I mean, you talked about, you know, when you went through periods where you're sort of playing eight hours a day.

00:45:51.394 --> 00:45:56.418
So when you were practicing, you know, that much, you know, how were you breaking up that sort of practice regime?

00:45:56.920 --> 00:45:58.820
I mean, there were a lot of topics.

00:45:59.402 --> 00:46:04.246
At that time, I was like doing some 20 minutes sessions for a topic.

00:46:04.646 --> 00:46:07.289
After 20 minutes, I stopped and doing a little break.

00:46:07.489 --> 00:46:11.992
So when I was doing like eight hours a day, it took me like very long time.

00:46:12.373 --> 00:46:25.766
And I was playing like everything, you know, transcribing, learn new songs, scales, break the scales, rhythm, and trying ways to play rhythm and scales together, composing also.

00:46:26.208 --> 00:46:28.489
And I think you're good if you do that.

00:46:28.670 --> 00:46:29.791
You're on the good path.

00:46:29.972 --> 00:46:30.472
Yeah, it's good.

00:46:30.972 --> 00:46:34.657
As you say, if you're practicing for so much, you cover a lot of different topics, don't you?

00:46:34.717 --> 00:46:36.878
That's one of the benefits of being able to practice so much.

00:46:37.059 --> 00:46:39.181
Let's get into the last section now, which is talking about gear.

00:46:39.222 --> 00:46:41.224
So you mentioned there's your...

00:46:41.264 --> 00:46:45.068
you play Suzuki's yeah I think 16 holes is it

00:46:45.467 --> 00:46:52.655
yeah I switched to 16 holes in 2000 maybe 10 or 11

00:46:53.356 --> 00:46:57.300
okay so quite recently then so how did you find the switch to 16

00:46:58.603 --> 00:46:59.603
holes it was tough

00:47:00.364 --> 00:47:02.827
yeah it is tough yeah I play 12 hole myself

00:47:02.847 --> 00:47:15.342
16 when you go from one to the other it's like very very I was like switching from one to the other at some point I said okay now I don't play 12 I just go to the 16

00:47:15.402 --> 00:47:15.822
hole

00:47:16.043 --> 00:47:31.726
because otherwise I will never be able to be confident with it it was very stressful because I was already playing gigs and good gigs and important gigs but for me it was the only way to be like very extreme and only play that

00:47:31.827 --> 00:47:32.206
one.

00:47:32.568 --> 00:47:34.028
So I did a lot of mistakes.

00:47:34.289 --> 00:47:37.291
I was very stressed because starting a gig.

00:47:37.552 --> 00:47:39.893
But now it's my instrument.

00:47:40.094 --> 00:47:42.516
The 16 is very in my body and

00:47:43.217 --> 00:47:43.356
my

00:47:43.416 --> 00:47:43.677
brain.

00:47:44.157 --> 00:47:49.141
So apart from obviously having an extra octave on the bottom end, what do you think the 16-hole gives you?

00:47:49.161 --> 00:47:54.306
It gives you a lot because I don't play so much the extra octave.

00:47:54.726 --> 00:48:05.677
I mean, sometimes when it's quiet, because if you play with drums and bass, etc., It's very difficult to play it like if it's going, a lot of things are going on.

00:48:05.938 --> 00:48:10.382
It's difficult to get heard because the low register is very low.

00:48:10.702 --> 00:48:13.885
But when you play octaves, you have the real benefit of it.

00:48:14.226 --> 00:48:15.507
It's like an accordion.

00:48:15.867 --> 00:48:16.628
If you play it from a...

00:48:40.769 --> 00:48:42.132
like another instrument.

00:48:42.291 --> 00:48:47.818
Yeah, and I noticed you do use a lot of octaves on your later albums, don't you?

00:48:47.838 --> 00:48:49.039
They're on the 16th hole, yeah?

00:48:49.199 --> 00:48:52.384
Yeah, because it's the same as the DM-48.

00:48:52.403 --> 00:49:10.646
It changes the thing, you know?

00:00:00.000 --> 00:00:00.000
...

00:00:00.000 --> 00:00:00.000
...

00:49:11.521 --> 00:49:29.157
for example, you play the two A's, like in single note, and for the B, up octaves, something is happening, you know, the sound changed, and you switch from bandoneon kind of to harmonica to bandoneon, so it's always interesting, I think,

00:49:29.237 --> 00:49:29.938
to do that.

00:49:29.998 --> 00:49:31.800
Which model of Suzuki do you play?

00:49:32.059 --> 00:49:35.663
I play, I have a Fabulous, which is fabulous.

00:49:37.724 --> 00:49:42.592
It's expensive, but worth it, because in the eyes, like, the sound is So crystal.

00:49:43.014 --> 00:49:46.391
And the serious are very, very serious also.

00:49:47.425 --> 00:49:49.007
It's a very nice instrument.

00:49:49.126 --> 00:49:53.010
I practice a lot on Sayus and play gigs with

00:49:53.351 --> 00:49:53.891
Fabulous.

00:49:54.271 --> 00:49:57.034
And do you play any diatonic harmonica still?

00:49:57.635 --> 00:49:59.295
Yes, I play from time to time.

00:49:59.396 --> 00:50:01.458
I play on any kind.

00:50:01.898 --> 00:50:03.900
I have some Suzuki, some Oder.

00:50:04.039 --> 00:50:05.280
Do you perform on the

00:50:05.402 --> 00:50:06.302
diatonics?

00:50:06.442 --> 00:50:08.864
Yes, I perform.

00:50:09.085 --> 00:50:11.547
We have a show for kids with my girlfriend.

00:50:11.706 --> 00:50:14.048
It's like an act, 45-minute story.

00:50:14.068 --> 00:50:15.010
Only music.

00:50:15.110 --> 00:50:15.690
We don't talk.

00:50:15.971 --> 00:50:17.391
And there is a scenario, etc.

00:50:17.391 --> 00:50:58.257
it's a kind of a chaplain you know kind of silent movie yeah silent movie yes but with music we do the music ourselves and we play it like a lot we played maybe 300 concerts with that show and it's very interesting because we play it in front of kids like maybe from 200 to 500 kids in front of us and discovering music and harmonica and flute and the story so it's very very fun to do that and so in that act I play at the beginning I am the blues player on the bench in the street Back

00:51:02.965 --> 00:51:06.849
to chromatics do you only play a C chromatic or do you play different keys?

00:51:07.329 --> 00:51:09.114
Yes, I play C chromatic.

00:51:09.876 --> 00:51:15.429
I mean, when you play 12 holes, I understand you want to get some lower register.

00:51:15.769 --> 00:51:20.000
But when you play 16 holes, there's no point to get some other keys.

00:51:20.260 --> 00:51:21.103
It's a chromatic, right?

00:51:21.724 --> 00:51:21.885
Yeah.

00:51:22.264 --> 00:51:24.190
And so you're embouchure...

00:51:24.322 --> 00:51:26.184
understand you're mostly a puckerer

00:51:27.106 --> 00:51:40.204
uh yes but i'm working on the switch corner and i do it on the last album there is a there is a song uh composed by emily and i uh and i do the backing with uh on switchcorning it's the first

00:51:40.224 --> 00:51:50.398
song so

00:51:51.905 --> 00:52:09.893
it's very interesting and I think switch corner it's like an amazing technique it was like when I switched to the 16-0 it's like brand new for me when you are a poker player like playing with the tongue like that it's like it's a mess but I still I still work on it I'm not a specialist but I use it

00:52:10.193 --> 00:52:17.184
and so I mean when you're performing again what about amplification what amplification do you like to use and microphones and so

00:52:17.443 --> 00:52:22.202
I use exclusively the Roland Mobil Cube amplifier.

00:52:22.443 --> 00:52:24.905
It's an amazing amplifier for a harmonica player.

00:52:25.144 --> 00:52:29.889
It's like very cheap, maybe 130 euros.

00:52:30.130 --> 00:52:30.710
It's amazing.

00:52:30.929 --> 00:52:32.411
The sound is amazing on this thing.

00:52:32.532 --> 00:52:34.213
I sold my AER.

00:52:34.413 --> 00:52:35.554
I used to play on AER.

00:52:35.894 --> 00:52:36.094
Yeah.

00:52:36.375 --> 00:52:41.619
But I sold it once because I found it was a little heavy, etc.

00:52:41.679 --> 00:52:42.760
And I wanted some batteries.

00:52:43.001 --> 00:52:47.023
And so I bought that thing, that very, very little thing.

00:52:47.284 --> 00:52:48.666
It's like a radio, you know.

00:52:49.085 --> 00:52:49.286
There

00:52:49.706 --> 00:53:05.224
are two HP, which is very weird because it's like 2 HP and it's written like 2.5 watts each but if I play with a drummer you can hear me with that piece

00:53:06.050 --> 00:53:09.592
put a microphone in front of it do you to pick it up if you're performing in a band yeah

00:53:09.992 --> 00:53:16.918
also if i do a big stage there is a microphone on the in front of my uh my my radio but

00:53:16.938 --> 00:53:19.101
you're always using the roller the roller microcube

00:53:19.342 --> 00:53:19.541
yeah

00:53:19.902 --> 00:53:21.864
yeah wow yeah yeah yeah

00:53:21.884 --> 00:53:26.307
every everything you you you hear recently it's like recorded with that with that amp

00:53:26.588 --> 00:53:36.777
well i'll have to try one of those i have a little practice vox um battery sort of amplifier which is similar but yeah i'll have to try the roller microcube it's the sound of it you like is it you think it really works with the chromatic well

00:53:37.197 --> 00:54:02.885
yeah and I think it works for both if you put it low low the sound is very natural very warm and natural and if you put it a little more loud there is big enough crunch which I like also because I have a blues background and so it fits for my test it's the best combination so far I mean this one is my I have my sound on it so I'm really happy

00:54:03.244 --> 00:54:07.369
yeah and what about when you're performing with the DM-40A what's your setup with that

00:54:07.730 --> 00:54:09.532
it comes from the computer

00:54:09.692 --> 00:54:13.956
yeah so you're playing through the laptop and then you're plugging that into what into the PA

00:54:14.157 --> 00:54:29.893
yeah and some people a lot of sound engineers said to me you should bring a sound card because it's more safe than the plug you know the jack in the ear plug of the laptop but I don't do it because so far I didn't have no issue and what about your

00:54:30.233 --> 00:54:31.554
microphone of choice

00:54:31.956 --> 00:54:45.137
I took wireless sure because wireless is very very convenient and the Shure is like it's not expensive I know I tried I think it's Sennheiser

00:54:45.539 --> 00:54:45.739
yeah

00:54:46.119 --> 00:54:58.315
and I think or AKG I don't remember but there is a brand which defines more the details of what you play but I still play the Shure wow It suits me.

00:54:59.175 --> 00:54:59.356
It's okay.

00:54:59.797 --> 00:55:00.898
And do you use any effects?

00:55:01.398 --> 00:55:06.186
Nowadays, not so much, but I want to explore it more with Ableton Live.

00:55:06.485 --> 00:55:09.349
I think it's amazing what you can do with the effect track.

00:55:09.449 --> 00:55:11.112
Amazing tool for musicians.

00:55:11.492 --> 00:55:15.918
You can create all the effects and chain of effects.

00:55:16.701 --> 00:55:26.134
And so I want to explore that with Acoustic Chromatic to expand a lot more sound design with harmonica.

00:55:26.434 --> 00:55:37.003
so final question then just about your future plans obviously you've mentioned that you're going to release an album next year with the piano player the Athens piano player yeah anything else lined up coming out

00:55:37.322 --> 00:56:12.938
I think I will record also with Gerardo Di Giusto next year I guess some composition from him and from myself like a duet I guess maybe trio with a percussion player I would like also to record something with guitar but I have to find the right person to do it and we are going to do the following opus of the duet with Emily so we want to do like a little more covers like French songs or songs we are working on the repertoire

00:56:13.557 --> 00:56:16.621
and any plans to explore the DM48 anymore

00:56:17.121 --> 00:56:39.885
no the same I mean the DM48 I still have now I want to explore it with a foot pedal you know midi controller but by foot so far I do it with like with the hand but it's not really convenient I have a controller you know and I can switch from one sound to other or declench or switch but I want to do it with by foot like guitar player

00:56:40.487 --> 00:56:57.184
yeah it's interesting I was talking to Jason Keane about that you know he uses a hand one doesn't he he kind of sticks on the bottom of his chromatic yeah yeah I was tempted to get one but I've held off so far it's interesting to think a foot one as well I'd be interested to hear what you get on that Lauren because I'd quite like a foot one might be more convenient yeah

00:56:57.545 --> 00:57:14.784
it's like it's a little expensive but it works very very well it's a little difficult to program I mean if you want if you want to get to deeper in the in the sanitizer world you have to to be like more like a technician

00:57:15.043 --> 00:57:15.244
yeah

00:57:15.384 --> 00:57:28.820
because it's very very accurate etc and you know you have to know what to do etc so you have to learn a lot about how it works and so this one is called Soft Step by Macmillan.

00:57:29.400 --> 00:57:30.282
Kiss Macmillan.

00:57:30.623 --> 00:57:32.726
And it's like maybe 300 euros.

00:57:33.226 --> 00:57:33.407
Yeah.

00:57:33.766 --> 00:57:35.108
And it's very, very nice.

00:57:35.148 --> 00:57:37.813
But to program it, you have to dive in it.

00:57:38.014 --> 00:57:38.534
Yeah, sure.

00:57:38.574 --> 00:57:39.755
Yeah, it's quite a learning curve.

00:57:40.597 --> 00:57:43.081
So thanks so much for joining me today, Laurent Moore.

00:57:43.581 --> 00:57:44.182
No problem.

00:57:44.222 --> 00:57:45.824
Thank you, Neil, to invite me.

00:57:45.905 --> 00:57:48.168
And I'm very happy to answer to your question.

00:57:49.371 --> 00:57:51.454
Thanks to Zydle for sponsoring the podcast.

00:57:51.713 --> 00:58:01.275
And be sure to check out the great range of harmonicas and products at www.zidel1847.com or on Facebook or Instagram at Zidel Harmonicas.

00:58:02.398 --> 00:58:04.081
Thanks to Lauren for joining me today.

00:58:04.121 --> 00:58:09.273
He's got to a great level in chromatic and I look forward to hearing what he comes up with on the DM-48.

00:58:10.146 --> 00:58:19.103
Thanks all for listening again, and please remember to check out the website happyhourharmonica.com and the Spotify playlist which contains most of the songs from the episodes.

00:58:19.643 --> 00:58:21.327
All these are linked on the podcast page.

00:58:21.887 --> 00:58:27.018
And now it's over to Lauren to play us out with one of his songs with the Yuppie Quartet, Newpie.

00:58:33.048 --> 00:58:33.469
Newpie