From: Steven Levine Date: Fri, 29 Mar 1996 09:45:37 -0500 (EST) Subject: Billy Branch Show
I saw Billy Branch and the Sons of the Blues last night at Tornado Alley. I didn't see the entire show, but I saw all of the first set and the first two or three songs in the second set.
It was a damn good show. Branch isn't my favorite modern blues player (if I had to choose one it would be Paul deLay), but he has a very individual sound and he is definitely one of the best living blues harp players. He can take a boring old standard like "Mustang Sally" and make it a completely new and original sounding song. He knows all of the flashy harp tricks but he doesn't overuse them - he is a very tasteful player and a great singer.
He was using a solid state Peavey amp (which he sounded great through - further proof that the tone comes more from the player than the amp) with an old EV mic. He used a delay pedal and I believe a chorus pedal.
I don't remember all of the songs, but the highlight was probably "I'm Ready." He played chromatic on it, and had a very nice extended solo. He only used the slide a couple of times (mostly when he was being photographed), and mostly stuck to playing without the slide. But he played some amazing stuff without it.
There were a few harp players in the crowd (much less than I expected). During the break Phil wiggins, Mark Wenner and Paul Watson (a great local player who teaches at Blues Week in Augusta) were hanging out with Billy.
A few observations on Branch's style: He makes great use of octaves on both diatonic and chromatic. He knows the high end of the harp but doesn't overdo it the way Popper does. He does some very nice low end "chugging" effects. I didn't ask him about his embouchre, but I assume he both tongue blocks and puckers.
Overall it was a great show, both for his harp playing and the great band backing him up. See him if you get a chance.
