Jason Ricci and New Blood - Amazing Grace

[anotheraoluser]

I think U are the most awesome and powerful harp artist in the USA..love your version of this great song..

[wick5449]

Well done.

[willyboymega]

Jason Ricci God Bless you! you give me the chill everytime your art is amazing!

[FMwoodeye]

The passion is palpable. Truly a piece of art. You should be proud.

[janchesnutt]

i saw Ricci live', so keep bringing it Ricci in a bar in Beale St Memphis, had never heard of him here in New Zealand, but i was completely memorized by the man himself, his presence, his sound, the way he dresses and the way he wears his hair, there nothing about Jason that i didnt fall in love with and now Im a fan

[spideycar]

good vid. go jason

[FyzrFn]

Best harmonica version I've heard of Amazing Grace. Full of passion.

[yvelucia]

Wow!!! Through my ears and into my soul..amazing!!!

[suzyqblues]

Goose bumps for me at the very first note. I feel the passion, the grandeur, the magnificence, the virtuosity, the palatable enigma, and can imagine the palatal significance of each and every mouth muscle.

Aloha............SQB

[OldMotownFan]

A star!

[keepharpin]

Powerful stuff! The man's got it!

[022852]

I've seen you perform in Vancouver Canada in the Yale Hotel, I wish I could of heard you play that number. Makes me glad I play the harp, that was inspiring!

[Thelofis]

Jason, great playing. Your best playing is when you slow down and put feeling into the individual notes. The less notes, the more feeling is transmitted in the sound. John Lee Hooker, God rest his soul, was great because most often, less IS more. The brain has time to let the notes soothe the soul. One whole note is better than 64 64th notes in my book. We know you're fast. Give us more feeling.

[butterf1yz]

lame.

Go Jason, awesome style all the way.

[Iforgotmyusername123]

That's freakin' awesome Jason. Just freakin' amazing.

[dpmanu1]

DO you Guys have any clue what keys this song is in

[jasonricci]

Hey yeah the bands in A first I'm on a LOW D then a regular D harmonica. Thanks for watching!

[justmissjulie]

Boomshacka WHAT? Have you seen this guy live? I sat ten feet away and watched him play for more than four hours. If someone would have told me I would watch someone play the harmonica (of all things) for more than ten minutes, I would have laughed them out of the room. Jason Ricci has AMAZING presence. He flat-out blew the room away.

[boomshockalakalaka]

My comments weren't directed at his playing in general. I'm quite certain he gives a nice show, "blows people away", etc. I mainly have a feeling for this particular piece of music, that it has such inherent poignancy that it doesn't need elaboration for the sake of display. This kind of display speaks volumes about a person's motives, in putting on a show, rather than acting as a medium for the feeling of the musical piece involved. Think Whitney, Mariah, vs. Karen Carpenter or Dionne Warwick

[jasonricci]

I'll answer this against my better judgment. I could bring arguments to the table here about embellishment Aretha, Mahalia etc.Let me only say: Thanks for listening, Glad you love the song, sorry you didn't like my playing. I have LIVED the lyrics to this sacred piece and my motives were not to draw attention to technique over the message if thats all you got thats OK, People can say the same thing in different ways and then here the same thing differently, no? I admire your passion! God Bless.

[boomshockalakalaka]

That's okay, Jason. It's just my personal preference. To me, it's akin to listening to the bugler playing taps for the JFK funeral, and then going into dixieland jazz as an aside. There's some history. As to motive, it's not so much a matter of intent, as of your predictably amped-up nature. Playing like Miles, holding a note WITHOUT embellishment WITH soul can at times be even more challenging, and risky as well, no small feat, and no less expressive. But again, it's art, music, and personal.

[boomshockalakalaka]

I thought I'd add, I fight what I call "business" on a personal level, finding my tendency to play too many notes. If I let that tendency go, without reigning it in for the sake of expression, I end up the night dissatisfied with myself. As an accomplished artist, I think you know what I'm saying, though your personal style may be different than my own. To me, it's not about capacity, and the Guiness record for "most notes played". At my age, I need to feel it, to feel SOMETHING, 'fore it's gone

[ElizabethGS]

'predicably amped-up nature'? unbelievable. you have no clue about Jason. none. not even a wisp. take your nonsense back to harp-l.

[allumsayniz]

Okay Mom.

Nothing wrong with "amped-up". It's just a matter of one flavor over another. Don't be so defensive. It makes it appear that Jason can't speak for himself.

[GEMP59]

@jasonricci ; I'll answer this against my better judgment...:-)

don't love the song ...never did..but the way you're playing it....love it !

Am most glad and proud to C U soon for the first time live....!!!☼

Take my hat of and bow... for this is art...

Next to Toots (Thielemans)  and Magic Dick !

[phl1ag1983]

@jasonricci It's an amazing song played with feeling on a great instrument. If you want to talk about embellishment, check out Victor Wooten's version of Amazing Grace - I can't imagine anyone not liking it, but I guess our differences are what make us. What's important is that it's recognisable as the original and still moving.

[FergusonKaren]

@jasonricci I wish Jason was going to be at the Poor House Bistro in San Jose tomorrow night....sigh.....he rocks the house down. What talent!!!

Look at the cup as half full, not half empty.

Paul Delay would be proud!!

Hugs

Karen in CA

[5713sarah]

@jasonricci Jason....you are an inspiration:) I love this and I plan on sharing it with the women in the recovery program I work at. I hope you read this, I was watching alot of your work last night, and remembered our days at the Blues Bouquet in Boise, Idaho. I don't play anything, but I was a big fan...AND STILL AM! God Bless You♥

[ElizabethGS]

great comment julie. You hit on it; seeing Jason Live with New Blood - putting on their 4+ hour show, with one song/instrumental seamlessly blending into the next, changes the context. The guy you're talking to won't listen; is looking at it as if it's a 'video' made by the band. One has to hear what went before and came after - it's all brilliant and works. Jason's 'motives' are never about showing off, but about putting on the best show he can for the audience. So glad you got to enjoy it. :)

[joialove100]

@justmissjulie true that been there done that and loved it he is truly amazing live

[Parmella]

@justmissjulie

[fatheadblues1]

killer man, just amazing. thank you!! when are you guys gonna be in Orlando??

[unclesas]

I was wundering what breed of harp was used cause i can play it, but my version just doesnt sound right. The only way its close is through a cx-12 but i can see he's not using one.

[jasonricci]

Low D marine band...thanks!

[ElizabethGS]

unclesas...that's because us normal people who can't OB or OD on a diatonic have to use a chromatic (I play cx-12's too) to get the 'in-between' notes. Jason creates them out of whole cloth, lol..better than most other over-blowers. There are a few people around who can do it 'almost' as seamlessly as the way he plays. I have to use a chromatic to get even close in sound to 99% of his music. Brilliant stuff.

[DistantSoul13]

damn nice work

[12gagedan]

It's not busy or ANYTHING LIKE Popper. Man, it must be difficult going through life without the ability to appreciate instrumental phrasing. Maybe ignorance is bliss?

[boomshockalakalaka]

Au contraire, I come from a background of a family of professional musicians and people "in the business". If perhaps you and "Elizabeth" weren't tag-teaming to perhaps "protect" JR from constructive criticism, he AND his band could reach even greater heights. Who knows? Maybe he's already taken my heartfelt suggestion to heart? All's the better. If all you feed a person is honey, he'll be sick in no time.

[ElizabethGS]

au contraire 'Boom' I don't give a rat's ass what your family did. Clearly it didn't rub off. JR doesn't need protection from criticism, he gets enough out in the world 300+days gigging a year. Now he's produced a brilliant album with top-notch people 'real' critiques count, not dweebs looking for 30 secs. of fame, who think viewing one video on UTube tells them how Jason & Shawn interact. You've no idea what went before that song, nor came after. Listen to the downloads, see a show, get a clue.

[iralph4u]

Short but sweet, I've got this to say. Beautiful, but busy. This song is soulful, I mean SOULFUL. Keep it simple. Let Shawn do more. I could sense he could have gone another eight bars at least, and reached killer heights on this one. Don't be too "Popper" on this. Fewer notes, SOULFULLY played. It's not about the instrument. It's about the song.

[ElizabethGS]

oh please, 'Ralph'..were you at all hearing what the rest of us were? Shawn plays as much as he wants to..Jason never remotely restricts him..their symbiosis is incredible. Clearly you don't know this band. Go see them Live before commenting. You can't get much more 'soulful' than this, and, as Dan makes clear: there's nothing remotely 'Popper-like' about Jason's playing. Sheesh. This performance WAS all about the song, and it was beautifully done.

[boomshockalakalaka]

Ahhh, sounds rather "knee-jerk" a reaction. You his mom or something?

[beezinurbonnet]

I tend to agree. The "busi-ness factor" is about an "8", and almost as busy as that shirt he's wearing.

[ElizabethGS]

Lol! seems the bees are in your bonnet, wot? Checking him out were you, to notice his shirt? I found the video too dark to tell. Hey, boom/beez/ralph: jealousy isn't pretty. My reaction was no more knee-jerk than yours was intelligent and thought-out. Comparing Jason to Popper is nonsensical. Only someone who knows nothing about diatonic harp could find any real similarity in their styles. Nope, not his Mom either. But while I'm merely a good friend, I couldn't love Jason more if we were kin.

[greatholybejeezus]

I bet you don't like Simon Cowell either.

[blake46long]

Nice to see a JRNB vid where we get to see Shawn rip it up as well...., oh, and very nice Jason, of course... - B

[harpmac]

VERY GOOD GUYS AND MOVING. I bet the crowd would have been getting big goosebumps mid song.

[jasonricci]

Thank you all!

[pazzmanmusic]

That was great.. Very Dynamic.. Amazing grace amazing playing. Great post!

[Brunoaz2000]

Sky is the limit for Jason and Starski.Best Jam band I have ever heard.

[gmmsi]

WOW--that's awesome

[BlazingHarpSolos]

Stellar!  Deeply passionate.

[diabluz]

wow!!! thanks for the video, Jason is the one!

[harp2swing]

AMEN!!!

[ElizabethGS]

OHMIGOD! Thanks Garry! Freaking unbelievable...I'd use the other word, but how can I for Amazing Grace? lol..Jason just blowing me away - again. Raising the hair on the back of my neck..first time on a video, usually happens only when I see him play live. Seeing you Tuesday,J..can't wait! And I know you'll be just as good. Awesome! sound is outrageous, Garry! Thank you, thank you, thank you for bringing this to us..