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Piedmont Talent is pleased to announce the exclusive worldwide representation of Phil Wiggins and Corey Harris, together as the ultimate acoustic blues duo.
Phil Wiggins was born in Washington, D.C. in 1954 and spent his childhood summers at his grandmother’s home in Alabama, where he listened to old-time hymns sung in church in the traditional call-and-response style. Phil was attracted to the blues harp as a young man and began his musical career with some of Washington’s leading blues artists, including Archie Edwards and John Jackson, and attributes his style to his years spent accompanying locally noted slide guitarist and gospel singer Flora Molton. Wiggins' harmonica sound developed from listening to piano and horn players, as well as the music of Sonny Terry, Sonny Boy Williamson I, Little Walter, Big Walter Horton and Junior Wells. Phil also apprenticed with Mother Scott (a contemporary of Bessie Smith). Besides being a renowned harmonica player, Wiggins is also a gifted songwriter and singer whose material helped to define the duo’s sound. As a harmonica-guitar duo, Cephas & Wiggins were uniquely able to exemplify the synthesis of African and European elements which co-exist in the blues. Much of the melody and imagery is Western, of course. However, the call-and-response interplay between the harmonica and guitar, the complimentary rhythms, and the microtonal slurs generated by “stretched” guitar strings and “bent” harmonica notes are all quintessentially African.
Corey Harris is a guitarist, songwriter, and performer who is leading a contemporary revival of country blues with a fresh, modern hand. He is a powerful and compelling singer and an accomplished guitarist whose musical artistry is complemented by serious explorations of the historical and cultural conditions that gave rise to the blues. He demonstrates his respect for the past and his mastery of the Mississippi Delta blues tradition by interpreting the songs of early blues luminaries in new ways, while also creating an original vision of the blues by infusing his music with a broad range of sounds and styles. Beginning with his 1995 recording Between Midnight and Day, Harris has explored acoustic, rural blues styles with increasing success. Subsequent recordings, such as Greens from the Garden (1999), Mississippi to Mali (2003), and Daily Bread (2005), reflect Harris’ reinterpretations of the African influences on American blues through ethnographic research and musical collaborations in Mali, Guinea, and elsewhere. He has demonstrated the boundless expressive power of blues music by weaving traditional styles together with elements from jazz, reggae, gospel, and African and Caribbean folk music. Maturing from interpreter to creator, his imaginative compositions spark renewed interest in the musical potential of the blues. Sometimes forgoing the traditional 12-bar structure and mimetic repetition common to most blues music, Harris forges an adventurous path marked by deliberate eclecticism. With one foot in tradition and the other in contemporary experimentation, he blends musical styles often considered separate and distinct to create something entirely new for the 21st century.
Corey Harris received a B.A. (1991) from Bates College in Lewiston, Maine. His additional recordings include Fish Ain’t Bitin’ (1997), Vu-Du Menz (with Henry Butler, 2000), Downhome Sophisticate (2002), and Zion Crossroads (2007). He has performed at venues and in festivals throughout the U.S. and abroad.
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