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| Sunday, 30 October 2005 |
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Features |  |
| News Business Features Editorial
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Seemless
playing by Jean Jacques Milteau
"The harmonica is the instrument of the dreamer, an ideal companion for those who like to roam and travel. Its underrated qualities make it the key to the world of make-believe."
A consequence of his sincere modesty, his sincerity springs up as soon as one hears his studio work or sees him on the stage where he gives vent to his emotions with his inspired playing and high-soaring lyricism. Always attentive to the world around him, JJ is a gifted story-teller whose music echoes impressions and dreams brought home from his travels. Born in 1950 in a Parisian working-class family, Milteau spent the "rocking sixties" roaming across the planet, armed with the tiny harmonica he decided to buy after hearing the recordings of obscure, if inspired, blues wailers. The connivance between the man and his instrument was immediate and they've stuck together since, through thick and thin. In the long run, this association has been a fruitful one as JJ's modest "lip ruin" took him from South Africa to the Polar Circle, from Havana to Shanghai, from the Mississippi Delta to the Paris Opera. JJ sailed through the seventies sprinkling warm blue notes on dozens of recordings by the cream of French singers (Charles Aznavour, Eddy Mitchell, Yves Montand, Barbara...) before launching a series of personal explorations on record and on the stage. Although his original love of blues music has never waned, his influences encompass Louisiana zydeco, Zulu dances, Irish jigs and Mexican fandangos, as well as the rich music tradition of Memphis where he recorded in 2001 an eponymous album crowned by a Victoire de la Musique - the French equivalent of a Grammy. In his best-selling Universal sets, Memphis and Blue 3rd, JJ can be heard trading tricks with the likes of Little Milton Mighty Sam McClain, Gil Scott-Heron and Terry Callier, proving once again his deep-felt attachment to African-American music. Relentlessly inquisitive, the European harp master has much more to offer than sheer technique. Behind his instrumental know-how, JJ has both feeling and spirit: in Black America, they call it soul... A concert by JJ will be held on November 3rd 2005 at 7 p.m. at the Lionel Wendt Theatre. |
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| Produced by Lake House |
The many articles and features that glory him in the musical press and on
the internet are unanimous: European harmonica virtuoso J. J. Milteau is a
matchless player, and his breathtaking technique fills with envy his peers
who admire his impeccable taste and praise his seemless playing. For all his
dazzling virtuosity, JJ is much more than a Paganini of the diatonic. 
