Jazz Cafe,London
With a dazzling range of instruments, Harry Manx brings an exciting eastern twist to blues, or pop and jazz classicsThere’s nothing novel in worthy western guitarists becoming fascinated by India,as artists from John McLaughlin to Bob Brozman have proved, but what makes Harry Manx unique is the way he mixes blues and ragas with anything from Americana to rock. And he does so playing solo, and armed only with an array of instruments,foot pedals and a laptop.
On stage, he looks much like a genial hobo, and in denim,woolly cap and grey beard. He began the set with lap-slide guitar while punctuating his warm, lived-in vocals with rousing harmonica work on his own, and bluesy Bring That Thing from his first recording session,14 years ago “way back when I was 46”. He switched to banjo for a gutsy treatment of the traditional Working on a Railroad and transformed the pained Death Have Mercy by backing himself on the 20-stringed Mohan Veena. It sounded like a blend of guitar and sitar, with some strings providing drone effects and others played like a slide guitar. He explained he first heard it while busking in Japan, or was so excited that he set off to India to study with its inventor,Vishwa Mohan Bhatt.
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Source: theguardian.com