Search - Guitar Artistry of Harry Manx, Raga Meets the Blues on DVD

If you haven't discovered Harry Manx yet - this is best plac

Steven I. Ramm | Phila, PA USA | 01/25/2010

(5 out of 5 stars)

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Last year at an Arts Presenters conference a friend said to me "You must see Harry Manx perform!". Harry was just performing a 20-minute "showcase" and I set it on my schedule. In the short 20 minutes Harry engaged the audience with most unique style of guitar playing - and beautiful instruments to boot! Literally a world traveler, this Canadian singer/songwriter/musician spent 25 years living in Europe and 11 in India before coming back to North America. Originally a blues and rock player, Manx became fascinated with Indian Ragas and became a Master of the Mohan Veena (a 20-string instrument, played like both a Sitar and a Guitar.

I immediately seeked out Harry's CDs and love them all. Then I found this DVD. If you are already a Harry fan (or as he often says, "in the Harry Zone") and you haven't seen this 90-minute video, than it's a must. If you are new to Harry, check out some music samples on Amazon and then get this DVD. Producer Stefan Grossman invited Harry to come to his New York studio in 2007 and -using high-quality camera (with lots of close-ups) - he let Harry play a variety of instruments, sing a variety of songs and introduce each one, giving an oral autobiography in the process.

I'm not a fan of Indian and sitar music, but love the blues and any talented guitar picker. But Harry is not playing Indian music. He is playing acoustic folk music on an Indian-inspired instrument. The only thing missing here is Harry on banjo (and he has a beautifully decorated one. Maybe he left it home. And - with the video - you'll see Harry's unique lap style of playing.

Anyway, Harry will probably make you a fan, as he did me, in just a few minutes of listening - or watching - time. Big thanks to Grossman for making this DVD available!

Steve Ramm
"Anything Phonographic"
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