Traditions: Ohio Heritage Fellows; 201; Larry Nager interview with Wallace Coleman, part 10 of 10

Ok, the thing that really makes Wallace unique and important, I think, is his entire background. He is the creation of these different experiences and these different traditions. Coming out of east Tennessee, he grew up in that very country, you know, as I say hillbilly, almost old timey, fiddle tune and banjo tune tradition. But then heard the radio. He was lucky enough to be a kid with his own radio, almost unheard of back then. And there was a whole world just as he spun that dial. So, he could hear the country music out of Nashville. He could hear the rhythm and blues out of Nashville, which is the thing that changed his life... music out of uh, you know, he could buy his harmonica from WCKY. And that’s...that’s a background that’s unheard of today, kids are buying there, you know, harmonicas off the internet. They’re learning off of YouTube. It’s a different transmission of information. And, on top of that, you have Wallace hearing that electric blues, hearing Little Walter when that was a brand new hit record on the radio. I mean, the soundness, the freshness of that we can’t recreate that. That’s like ground zero. All of a sudden this new world explodes... this instrument he’s owned, sounding completely different, sounding sophisticated and tough and sexy and loud. And, of course, as a kid you want to be that sound. And he followed that. You know, he was able to learn it, he was able to learn the details of it too, I mean, he wa—really was uh, uh, uh had a very keen ear. It’s one thing to play leads and it’s another thing to play the backup, to play the accompaniment. And that’s the thing that drew Robert Junior Lockwood to Wallace that did not draw Robert Junior Lockwood to other harmonica players. So, that was an important part of it too. And it—in that he exists in a very specific time. He exists in that 1940’s to 1950’s into the 1960’s time during his—the creation of him as a... as a musician early on. And, what we’re hearing today has a purity of sound to it, because that’s the sound he came up in. He wasn’t listening to John Popper, you know. He wasn’t listening to Eve and Paul Butterfield. He was listening to Little Walter and Sonny Boy. And, out of that, in the clubs, in the personal experience, even the jazz he heard as I say in the early sixties, would be very bluesy. The organ trios, as a harmonica player you would hear that, you would hear the sax. Every organ trio usually had a sax player. Those sounds all became part of... of who W—uh, Wallace is as a person and as a musician.

Q:

LARRY: Well, the harmonica, I think, is one of those instruments that is very easy to play badly and very, very difficult to play well. I... I play a lot of different stringed instruments and I don’t go near a harmonica. I can’t figure out any—anything about it. But, if you do play harmonica, you need a lot of them, because the standard harmonic is the Hohner Marine band harmonica. That’s what most every blues man plays oh, and blues woman. Uh, so but, you’re only able to play the Hohner Marine band harmonica for—in one key. Now, usually this is a thing called cross harp for harmonica players and you’re playing in uh, a different key harmonica to what key you’re playing in. So, just as an example, if you’re playing in the key of E, you need an A harmonica. Now, what Wallace does that really sets him apart, is that he’s one of the few players who also plays in what’s called third position. Cross harp is considered second position. Third position you use a different key of harmonica. So an E, I’ve been told you would play a D harmonica. So, that would mean that if you’re going to play in second and third position on a given tune and you’re playing an E, you need two other harmonica play—uh, two other harmonicas. Uh, so you need a lot of harmonicas and you’re switching a lot. So, if you see who— Wallace on stage, he’s going, maybe back and forth between the harps, because he just... it—that’s what—that’s the style he’s playing. But it’s not any harder to play a harmonica that’s in the key of A as it is in the key of E. It’s uh, it’s just difficult to play the way Wallace plays.

Q:

LARRY: What—what makes Wallace very special as a musician is what I call the four T’s... technique, tone, taste, and temperament. Now, he’s got the technique and he’s got the amazing Little Walter technique. Little Walter was the most sophisticated and advanced harmonica player in his time. And al—and.. uh, Wal—Wallace also has that tone... that deep rich, loud uh, beautifully distorted Chicago style blues tone. But he’s also got this taste. He’s not going to over play and that’s, what I think, what drew Robert Lockwood to him is he’ll play back up.

Q:

LARRY: Another thing that sets Walter apart is taste. He’s not playing lead... (PAUSED) Another thing that sets Wallace apart is taste. He’s not playing lead all of the time. A lot of harmonica players would just uh... (PAUSED)

Another thing that sets Wallace apart is taste. He’s not playing lead all the time. Lotta harmonica players just are constantly playing mayb—might step up to the microphone and take their solo, but when they’re not taking their solo, they’re kinda still playing the same stuff. Wallace knows how to play in a band. He backs up, he plays chords under the other lead players and that’s what really drew Robert Lockwood to him, was when Robert was taking the guitar solo, Wallace was behind him providing accompany that maybe the way a sax section would in a big band. That’s ta—and temperament’s the other thing, is Wallace is just a wonderful human being. He’s warm, he’s friendly, he’s the kind of person you want to share a bandstand with. And the chemistry in a band... it’s great to have the best musicians in the world too, but good people is really what makes a band great a lot of the time. And I think that’s what made... makes everybody want to play with him in the end.

END