new York city 2014-2017

After I left Microsoft I worked at REI for about three years. Then one day an email showed up in my inbox at work with this in the subject line: “HI, THERE. WANT TO MOVE TO NEW YORK?”

The e-mail turned out to be from my former boss at REI, who was now working for Ralph Lauren in New York City. After a flurry of emails and a trip out to the big city for a job interview, I took a position with Ralph Lauren and moved to Manhattan.

I hadn’t planned this change, but I was excited about it. I love New York City. Compared to my student days in the city, things had changed dramatically (for the better, for the most part) and this time I would have enough cash to afford and apartment and enjoy what one of the greatest cities in the world had to offer.

I ended up getting an apartment on the Upper West Side a half a block from Central Park, not too far from where I lived during my time at Columbia. The area (and almost all of Manhattan, actually) had become far more safe and human-friendly than it was in the 1970s. Being able to walk around Manhattan at all hours without having to constantly watch my back made my second New York City experience infinitely more enjoyable.

And I still had a lot of friends in the New York area, including friends from college, some folks I had worked with, and lots of musical acquaintances. I didn’t gig regularly during my time in the city, but I sat in with folks and did some much needed wood shedding on the harmonica.

I had known Wade Schuman for about twenty years. Right after “Harmonicas, Harps, and Heavy Breathers” came out Simon and Schuster forwarded me a rare piece of fan mail. It was a letter from a Wade, who not only had some very smart comments on the book (he was obviously smart because he loved it) but who explained that he was a former harmonica player who my book had helped inspire to pick it up again. I took a trip to Philadelphia, where Wade lived then, and discovered that Wade was an internationally known painter as well. When Wade later moved to New York I would see him whenever I was in town. When the second edition of my book came out in 2000, we launched it with a big wingding at a Soho bookstore and then Wade had everybody up to his loft on 38th Street for an epic jam session.

Wade started telling me about his ideas for a unique band that he wanted to put together. It would be focused on two front men who both played the harmonica—one (him) expert on the diatonic and the other a great chromatic harmonica player. There would be not one but two tubas. The group would play original music inspired by the blues, jazz, ragtime, klezmer, and world beat. It would be killer.

I’m pretty sure I kept a straight face, but it seemed pretty crazy. But damn if I didn’t watch over the next few years as Wade actually put that band together as Hazmat Modine and led them to fame not only in New York but around the world. When I moved back, Wade had moved to Harlem and Hazmat Modine played at least once a month in Manhattan, often at Terra Blues. I saw them many times and sometimes sat in for a tune or two. If you’re not familiar with Wade and Hazmat Modine, you need to fix that.

Wade Schuman with Hazmat Modine

I first met William Galison when I interviewed him for “Harmonicas, Harps, and Heavy Breathers.” I did that because many of the top chromatic players had told me that William was the best of the younger jazz harmonica players at that time. They were right, and he’s only gotten better since that time. (William is also an excellent guitarist.) William lives on the Upper West Side of Manhattan, so it was easy to hook up with him again when I moved to town. Some of the best musical experiences I had in the city were the concerts William hosted in his large apartment near Riverside Drive. Myself and about twenty other lucky people got the chance to hear William play with some of the best jazz players in New York. A particularly memorable house concert featured the phenomenal pianist Kenny Werner, who was Toots Thielemans’ musical partner for many years.

Randy Weinstein is originally from Kansas City, but he’s lived in Manhattan for many years. I met Randy through Wade Schuman; Randy was in the original incarnation of Hazmat Modine. Randy started out as an excellent blues player on the diatonic

William Galison, me, and Randy Weinstein

Rob Paparozzi, who lives in New Jersey, is probably the most versatile harmonica player I know. Rob started out playing blues on the diatonic (Paul Butterfield was a huge influence on him) and still kills that style—he tours worldwide with Steve Cropper and the Blues Brothers band. Rob studied the chromatic under the amazing Robert Bonfiglio and is a world-class musician on that instrument as well. Rob has been one of the top studio harp players for decades and can be seen often on television backing up people like Randy Newman, George Jones, and Dolly Parton. While I was in New York there was a brief revival of Roger Miller’s Huck Finn musical, Big River. I think this is the only Broadway musical with a harmonica part in the score, which was created by the great Donny Brooks, who is well known for his work with Waylon Jennings. Rob played the harmonica in the revival production and did his usual fabulous job.

One of the best things about my time in New York was being able to see one of my favorite harmonica players, Steve Guyger, play a couple of times each month at Terra Blues on Bleeker Street. Steve and I have known each other for a long time, but we hadn’t spent much time together until I showed up in New York in 2014. Steve has worked with all the greats and is one of the deepest blues players and singers anywhere. Steve often worked with just a guitarist (the great Filthy Rich) at Terra Blues, and it was a revelation and an inspiration to see Steve play acoustically and sing in an intimate venue. Steve, who is based out of Pennsylvania, is one heavy bluesman.

Steve Guyger