MARY LOUISE KELLY, HOST:
Harmonica enthusiasts gathered in San Antonio this week for a convention, filling the River Walk with a bluesy sound. Texas Public Radio's Jack Morgan reports they are trying to breathe new life into the instrument in the hopes that the harmonica can reclaim its spot in American music.
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JACK MORGAN, BYLINE: It's about 95 sunny degrees on the patio of a near downtown bar as Claude "Butch" Morgan and Dave Moore lay down a groove. This is an ice breaking gathering for a few dozen harmonica fans, many from around the country. The organization putting this event on is called HOOT - Harmonica Organization of Texas. Justin Vasquez is producing the event.
JUSTIN VASQUEZ: What I find really interesting about the harmonica is the fact that you can take this with you and - (playing harmonica) - and just quickly put out an expression right out of your pocket.
MORGAN: Vasquez couldn't be a bigger fan of one of the world's smaller instruments. For tonight, a band has been put together, and one by one, harmonica players rotated all night, each playing with the band for the first time. Vasquez notes that the harmonica is very much an American story.
VASQUEZ: Yeah. I think over the years, the harmonica has had a very rich history, especially with the sort history with blues artists. I think it has fallen out a bit more as music has become a bit more, you know, probably a lot of the stuff is done a lot on computer.
MORGAN: But not at this event.
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UNIDENTIFIED MUSICAL ARTIST: (Singing) People, one of y'all got to move.
MORGAN: Vasquez seems to view this effort, like the Blues Brothers, as being on a mission from God to help harmonica get back its mojo and find its way back into musical culture. Jarred Goldweber came here from Cleveland, and his harmonica backstory was hilarious.
JARRED GOLDWEBER: My mom forced me to go to an arts camp when I was 12 years old. I did not want to go, kicking and screaming. And she goes, I don't care, kicked me out of the car, and they handed a kid each a harmonica. And they go, by the end of the five weeks, you'll learn how to play. And I'm like, great.
MORGAN: And in just that fashion, he became a harmonica player. And in the harmonica world, he has a fascinating subtalent.
GOLDWEBER: I do rock and metal solos on harmonica that are usually on guitar, and I convert those over and post them on Instagram and TikTok. So I've done everything from Primus to Metallica to Black Sabbath to Fleetwood Mac.
MORGAN: But tonight, he and the band create some killer grooves.
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GOLDWEBER: I think a lot of people underestimate what it's really capable of. There's some really incredible players that are doing very modern things that you don't really see out in the world all that often.
MORGAN: Goldpepper (ph) is a true believer in the instrument's potential. Hedging his bet, though, he went to college.
GOLDWEBER: I'm an electrical engineer. I went to school for that. 'Cause use of harmonica, I learned about pedals and amplifiers and made me really interested in electronics, and that's what I do full-time.
MORGAN: Turns out the news about harmonicas isn't all bad. According to the harmonica market report, sales are expected to be up by at least 4% next year - a fact that might keep harmonica players from feeling the blues. For NPR, I'm Jack Morgan in San Antonio.
(SOUNDBITE OF MUSIC) Transcript provided by NPR, Copyright NPR.
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