Professor Harp's Master Class: Narragansett Cafe, Sunday, 1/29/12

I knew I would like Professor Harp's music the minute my friend Sue and I walked into the Narragansett Cafe in Jamestown  last Sunday afternoon, mainly because he was right in the middle of "Don't Mess With Cupid ", probably my all time favorite Oris Redding tune. The Professor's mix of Wilson Pickett, Motown, and downhome Delta blues paying homage to legendary players like Roy Milton to contemporary greats like Robert Cray is definitely my kind of music, turning a laidback Sunday afternoon into a toe-tapping, finger-snapping good time.

Professor Harp is a one man band in his own right, using a chromatic with a pickup , a unique sound that at times suggested a Hammond organ ,punctuated by runs on a regular blues harp played Chicago style as he alternated between the two. The band was lean and mean, trading riffs with the Professor, effortlessly grinding out long and danceable jams much to the delight of the crowd. His rendition of "Shakey Ground" got us on our feet , coupled with standards like "Midnight Mover" by Wilson Pickett and another tune that sounded suspiciously like "Funky Broadway", not to mention paying tribute to an earlier musical era with tunes like "Flip,Flop and Fly," and vintage rock and roll to boot.

Professor Harp goes by the official moniker as the undaunted Professor Harp, but his real name is Hugh Holmes , originally from Boston. According to his bio, the Professor played drums as an "undergraduate" until he heard a performance by George "Harmonica" Smith and decided to trade the skins for blues harp. The Professor describes his distinctive downhome mix as "roots" music- "It's whatever makes me feel good and moves me, so to speak." He's played with Luther "Guitar" Johnson and Solomon Burke. but his best known mentor was Muddy Waters. Professor Harp was introduced to Muddy at the legendary Paul's Mall by a mutual friend who suggested Muddy should allow the Professor to sit in on a few tunes. Although the blues great was at first unresponsive, Muddy stopped halfway through his next set and brought Professor Harp onstage. Waters called Holmes "Hugh The Professor of Harp" , while Solomon Burke labelled him Professor Harmonica Holmes, both of which led to the Professor eventually adapting his official title.

Check out his newest CD "The Undaunted Professor Harp: They Call Me The Professor" which  you can order online at http://www.professorharp.com/  or - better yet - go see the Professor live for a seminar - majoring in the blues but minoring in rock, funk, swing and rthymn and blues.