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Fat
HARP
Al Lerman (front left) may be holding a sax in this FATHEAD promo shot but he is one of the country's top harp players and instructors and will host the TBS Harmonica Workshop on April 14 at The Silver Dollar. His band Fathead (l. to r. Omar Tunnoch, Hayden Vialva, John Mays and Darren Poole) will release a new CD next month.
Perennial Maple Blues Award nominee _ "Harmonica Player of The Year "_ and leader of the Juno Award winning band Fathead, Al Lerman returns to host The Toronto Blues Society Harmonica Workshop on Saturday April 14th from 2:00 p.m. _ 6:00 p.m. at The Silver Dollar Room. Backed by Tyler Burgess on drums, Alec Fraser on bass, Lance Anderson on piano and Lerman himself doubling on guitar as well as harp, the Workshop features standouts Paul Reddick, David Rotundo, Roly Platt, and Mike Stevens. The 2007 Harmonica Workshop should prove to be an outstanding demonstration of virtuosity, wide ranging styles, and varying technique.
Al Lerman, who has not only garnered critical recognition for his harp talents but has the street cred to back it up, is a logical choice for a second stint of hosting duties. He caught the Blues bug at an early age and is certain to not only impart some of his vast knowledge on the instrument but also entertain with stories like hanging in the alley of The Riverboat coffeehouse at age 11 to catch his hero Sonny Terry, or how he absent mindedly burned a cigarette hole in Walter "Shakey" Horton's pant leg while in conversation, or _ as an 18 year old _ sitting in with Chicago Blues icon Muddy Waters at the revered Colonial Tavern.
Setting his sites on being a Blues musician early on, Lerman has the proverbial "been there and done that"; and probably has on more than one occasion. He honed his now considerable skills with a number of Toronto outfits while rubbing elbows, gigging, and jamming with the best Canadian and International musicians. It's been a remarkable story with the current chapter of the account starting fifteen years ago when Lerman founded Fathead.
It's a not an easy task to keep a band together and focused but Fathead has endured. The band has withstood a few personnel changes along the way _ as well as a much publicized break-up that lasted only 2 months _ but with constants John Mays (vocals), Omar Tunnoch (bass), and Lerman (harp and sax), they've forged their place as one of the most highly regarded bands in the country.
And their stature isn't lost on their peers. Mississippi / Chicago Bluesman Jimmy Burns who followed them at The Distillery Blues Festival a couple of years ago was heard to remark: "…those boys can flat out play… and that fella singin' is good, man; he reminds me of a cross between Robert Cray and Johnny Copeland". In a similar situation a year later, after Memphis Blues diva Reba Russell led her band in impromptu backstage vocal backing of Fathead's rendition of a Gospel number "The Last Time", her keyboard and harp man Robert "Nighthawk" Tooms shouted out: "…these guys are soulful… there's some real Blues being played up here in the Great White North".
The band continues to add to its legacy and is now putting the finishing touches on their 6th release, Building Full Of Blues, that hits the street in April on the Electro-Fi imprint. (The disc will be released in U.S. and European markets in June). In addition, Fathead plans to support the disc with both regular gigs and some high profile festival appearances this summer.
Building Full Of Blues finds Fathead's long time songwriting force, Lerman and Tunnoch, taking their talents to another level. Covering a wide range of subject matter while providing streetwise commentary on the human condition, they offer up 12 strong originals. Newest addition, guitar player Darran Poole, weighs in with another original and proves throughout that he's not merely a replacement but an integral part of the band. He not only contributes a song of his own but adds to the mix of styles and textures found on the disc, (including a display of versatility by playing some Cajun-inspired fiddle on a heartfelt ode on the devastation of "Katrina"). The aforementioned "Last Time" rounds out a recording that the band views as their strongest to date.
Building Full Of Blues also boasts special guests Jesse O'Brien, (on piano), and Lance Anderson, (on Hammond B-3), each contributing on a few
tracks; and Shakura S'Aida joining John Mays on a duet on the R&B tinged, "What About Me". The result is the listener running through a gamut of emotions
as John Mays' sometimes world weary and oft times joyous vocals bring the stories to life; and Poole's and Lerman's solos take flight while Tunnoch and
Vialva on bass and drums respectively keep it steady _ rock steady.
Muddy Waters, upon hearing an expressive harp player for the first time once asked the question: "…how many harps up there?" He could have easily been asking the question about Al Lerman. Join him at The TBS Harmonica Workshop on Saturday April 14 and hear for yourself!
- Rico Ferrara
Paul Reddick (above) will be guesting at the TBS Harmonica Workshop Saturday afternoon April 14 at the Silver Dollar Room along with Roly Platt who was just in town playing with Matt Minglewood, local favourite David Rotundo and Mike Stevens (who is now a regular on the Grand Old Opry). Reddick is gearing up for a new release on Northern Blues, a "best-of" compilation gathering material from his 4 CDs with the Sidemen and other previously unreleased material including some tracks Paul recorded with the Rhythm & Truth Brass Band. Watch for Revue: The Best of Paul Reddick and hear him in person at the Harmonica Workshop.
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