Brandon O. Bailey

July 31, 2011

The harmonica is a staple of American blues, beginning with the Memphis jug bands of the 1920s. In the 1960s, blues-influenced artists like The Rolling Stones and Eric Clapton brought the harmonica into the sound of mainstream rock and roll. These days, however, few young artists pick it up.

Twenty-year-old Brandon Bailey is an exception. His debut album, Memphis Grooves, brings a new take to traditional blues harmonica. As Bailey plays, he uses his mouth as a percussive instrument, a technique called beat-boxing. He also uses a loop pedal to layer and repeat the phrases he creates.

Bailey has his own name for his unique playing style: harp-boxing. "I sort of consider it a modernization of the one-man band," he explains.

Bailey's interest in the harmonica is rooted in family tradition. His great-grandfather was a harmonica player, who used to serenade the family with train songs — a style that mimics the sound of a speeding train, and was once considered the measure of a player's skill. Hearing his grandmother's stories about his great-grandfather inspired Bailey to take up the harmonica himself.

"I got a few books from the library, started watching some instructional videos on the Internet, and that really sparked my interest in the music, especially once I became exposed to the very large history," says Bailey. "Classic players like Sonny Boy Williamson and Big Walter Horton — that tradition of the instrument is extraordinarily important."

Bailey uses new technology as a window onto tradition in more ways than one. He says discovered his first harmonica mentor, Ole Miss University professor Adam Gussow, through a series of videos Gussow posted on YouTube. Bailey's new album features a duet with Gussow — a cover of Stevie Wonder's "Superstition."

As Bailey develops his innovative harmonica technique, the multi-talented young musician is also completing a pre-med program in pediatric neurology at the University of Memphis.

"I don't really know very many harmonica players-slash-doctors," Bailey says. "But I'm far too heavily invested in both fields to give either one up at this point."
- NPR

By
Suzanne Swanson
– July 12, 2011Posted in: Blues, Interviews, Memphis Blues, News
Brandon Bailey

While I had been aware of Brandon O. Bailey before I actually met him it was not until Memphis while I was walking through a breeze-way at my hotel that the familiar riffs of Jason Ricci’s “Snowflakes and Horses” caught my attention. In a park across from the hotel a young man sat playing a most compelling harmonica solo. Nothing doing but I had to check this out more closely. Before crossing the street to the park the familiar J. Geils “Whammer Jammer”, began followed by the Sonny Boy Williamson/Willie Dixon tune “Bye Bye Bird”. I was totally captivated as this tall, angular, handsome teenager as he shifted his effects and swung into “Billie Jean”, a Michael Jackson classic. Needless to say, that I hung around for the total performance so that I could learn more.

The following explains why Brandon has caught the attention of master harmonica players. In 2008 he rose through the ranks of several hundred contestants to make the finals of the Orpheum Star Search competition in Memphis winning it handily. The Blues Foundation has awarded scholarships to Brandon two summers in a row to assist in his further advancement and studies of the harmonica. Brandon adapted the post-modern harp-boxing style made famous by Son of Dave: blues riffs intertwined with beat-box rhythms. This brings the art form to a new level of awareness for a much younger generation of music fans. Although still in his teens, he’s already played with some of the best harmonica players and bands in the country including Adam Gussow of Satan and Adam, Jason Ricci and New Blood, Billy Gibson, Charlie Wood, and Blind Mississippi Morris. He has performed at B. B. Kings Blues Club in Memphis, The Rum Boogie Cafe, The Orpheum Theater in Memphis, TN the Arkansas Blues and Heritage Festival in Helena, The Mid South Fair, and the Jefferson Awards in Washington D.C.

How did you choose the harmonica, or did it choose you?

I began playing the harmonica after my grandmother told me that my great grandfather (her father) used to play harmonica train songs around the house to entertain the family. This prompted me to ask my mom to purchase a harmonica, and I started from there.

What prompted you to learn the looping technique? When did you first find out about that?

I was searching through some music videos on YouTube one day around two years ago, and somehow stumbled upon the work of a former member of “the crash test dummies” named Benjamin Darvill who now goes by the stage name Son of Dave. He was using a looping pedal to layer beat boxed grooves and bass hummed harmonies, and was playing harmonica and singing over the top. This style completely fascinated me, and I imagined that if I had a looping pedal, I would probably be able to play similar music. So fortunately some months later, I received a looping pedal from my aunt Lasonia Harris (who is also the executive producer of my album) and began studying EVERY Son of Dave video on the internet.

Jason Ricci admires what you play and I have heard you play his material. Has his Levy method had an influence on you in any way?

Although I am a HUGE fan of Howard Levy, he has never been one of my particular sound influences. The closest influential link that I have to Howard’s playing is from my friend and mentor, the late Chris Michalek. Chris was a friend of Levy’s and was one of the few master jazz harmonica players who could keep up with Levy’s technique.

When did you come under the tutelage of Adam Gussow?

I actually learned how to play from watching his series of instructional videos on youtube.com. We first met after I had progressed to the semi-final round of a mid-south talent competition held yearly called the Orpheum Star Search. Mr. Gussow attended that semi-final round and was became interested in my ability after seeing me play the J.Geil’s bands instrumental harmonica piece “Whammer Jammer”. When I progressed to the finale round of the competition, Mr. Gussow offered to come to Memphis to give me some stage coaching for the finals. Fortunately, the stage training worked, and I won the competition. We have been friends and he has been helping ever since.

Harp musicians are very devoted to their particular brand, and model of harmonica. Charlie Musselwhite praises Harrison harmonicas for giving him the quality he demands on the road. How did you happen to pick this manufacturer? What models do you prefer?

I was originally introduced to Harrison Harmonica’s through my friend and fellow harmonica player Jay Gaunt, who had purchased some of their customs, and is friends with the company owner, Brad Harrison. After playing his custom harmonicas for a while, Mr. Harrison informed me that he would be manufacturing his own brand of harmonicas in Chicago, and that he wanted me to be one of his endorsees. Currently, the Harrison Harmonica’s B-Radical - American Blues Scene

See Link - Living Blues

Brandon O. Bailey’s debut album, Memphis Grooves, offers a pleasant surprise and demonstrates the artist’s significant talent for the blues. Born in Memphis, Tennessee, this young harmonica master creates every sound with his mouth, hands and feet. His astonishing skills—which involve simultaneously playing his harmonica while beat-boxing and producing rhythms with his stomping foot, shaker, and looping pedal—entertain the listener throughout the album.
Bailey first drew people’s attentions when he participated in the 2009 Orpheum Star Search competition in Memphis at the age of 16. He won the competition with his performance of “Whammer Jammer,” which is introduced as one of masterpieces on this album:

Although still a teenager, Bailey has already performed at places such as B.B. King’s Blues Club in Memphis and the Jefferson Awards in Washington D. C.
Bailey’s greatest influence is Son of Dave, the famous creator of the postmodern harp-boxing style, which employs blues riffs intertwined with beat-box rhythms. Producer Adam Gussow states in his liner notes, “Brandon is equal parts historian and innovator.” He reflects the traditional blues forms in the depth of his harmonica sounds, while at the same time adds new flavors. For example, “Nine Below” and “Bye Bye Bird” are blues classics from Sonny Boy Williamson’s repertoire which Bailey successfully transforms into a modern blues idiom.
The varieties of songs on Memphis Grooves make it difficult to categorize the entire album as blues. But it may be Bailey’s intention to reveal the continuity of African American musical elements by ignoring the boundaries imposed by a single genre. His attempts to incorporate signature pieces by African American musicians from different genres interestingly function as a means to create a unique flow. Bill Withers’ “Grandma’s Hands” with Bailey’s smooth and deep vocals lets us feel the rural atmosphere of a blues groove. His harp-boxing interpretation of Michael Jackson’s “Billie Jean” makes this famous song original again. Likewise, Ray Charles’s “Hit the Road, Jack” and Stevie Wonder’s “Superstition” are not merely covers of these famous songs, but showcase Bailey’s ability to reinterpret and transform them into his own style of blues.
Brandon O. Bailey is a great presenter of the modern blues harp, and Memphis Grooves is layered with his groundbreaking ideas. It is truly an evolution of the blues by a teen musical master whose future will no doubt be an exciting one full of interesting productions.

Reviewed by Yukari Shinagawa - Black Grooves