Jason Ricci is pushing the boundaries of the blues harp. Rather than depending on the time-worn riffs of another artist, he explores the outer limits of his instrument by borrowing from influences not often associated with the blues. This may not sit well with some of the purists, but it has been forty years since Walter Marion Jacob's passing, so there's no telling where he may have taken the blues had he lived.
Says Ricci, “I listen to all kinds of music, so I draw inspiration from all kinds of music and instruments, but more because there so much to study in the area of scales, modes and intervals, rhythmic patterns, and melody and harmony."
Cross Harp Chronicles' website publisher and AAJ contributor Dave King spoke with Ricci about the changing face of the blues and more in this in-depth interview with one of the genre's freshest new voices.
Check out Jason Ricci: A Different Shade of Blue at AAJ today!
For more information contact All About Jazz.
