Open Harp Blues

Description

Christoph Well: "How the OPEN-HARP-BLUES came into being "About 5 years ago I was driving home after a New Year's concert with the Giessen Synfonieorchester. While there, I listened to one of my relaxation plucks on the harp, which I record from time to time just for me after the daily practice program. During a blues improvisation I thought to myself that it is actually a pity if a blues is always over after a few minutes. How I would love to blues'n for half an hour or three quarters of an hour, quasi never ending ... and best of all play together with musicians I personally appreciate and admire. At home, the first thing I did was to call G. Ringsgwandl.

"He encouraged me and agreed to participate. At the same time I saw a documentary on Arte-TV about the OpenHeartProject in Sudan, where mainly children from all over Africa are operated on their hearts free of charge. This often involves valve replacements, since these usually break down because of the children's rheumatic fever. I myself received such a prosthesis at the age of 14 and owe 45 years of my life to this invention. Deeply impressed by the film about the great work of the people in this clinic, I decided to give the proceeds of my blues project, if it would come about, to this institution.

"After Georg Ringsgwandl, I asked Willy Michl, who as far as I know was the first to sing the blues in Bavarian, Conny Kreitmeier and Barbara Dennerlein, Nick Woodland (lead guitar), Manfred Mildenberger (drums), Luke Cyrus-G?tze (lap steel) and Tom Peschl (bass), as well as my friends from the Toten Hosen. All agreed enthusiastically. Inspired by this, I called Helge Schneider, Stefan Dettl, Alan Bern, Konstantin Wecker, ZitherMan? and Herbert Pixner. Each of them immediately agreed to record a contribution of two to four takes, without pay!

"The last ones to join were Christiane ?ttl and Andreas Rebers. With my siblings and relatives, as well as my long-time companion Gerhard Polt, everything was clear anyway. I thought to myself that a 12-bar blues, like a country dance, is a fixed form that can meander through all the keys like a brook. Each of them has a certain character that suits the musician or musicians best. The idea was to string the individual contributions like beads on a necklace. The continuous harp part would be the string that holds and connects everything together.

"To support the harp, Nick, Manfred, Luke and Tom joined in, more or less as The Band, preparing a foundation on which the players could then build their numbers. I was left with the very nice 'work' of playing various instruments on the respective takes, which is what I love to do anyway. But I needed help for that, because playing and recording at the same time is very stressful. Emergency provides free, quality health care to victims of war, poverty and landmines."