D.C.'s Premier Harmonica Wizard!
Our Phil Wiggins concert planned for two years ago was snowed out, so we?ve booked him again, and he?s bringing friends!
Phil is D.C.-born and bred, with childhood summers in Alabama, where he absorbed old-time hymns from his grandmother?s church. As a young harmonica player, he was mastering his craft working with noted Washington-area musicians Flora Molton, Mother Scott, Archie Edwards, Chief Ellis and John Jackson. He met blues guitarist and singer John Cephas at the 1976 Smithsonian Folklife Festival. They soon became a successful duo, playing the acoustic Piedmont style blues that?s native to Virginia and North Carolina, mixed with Delta blues, gospel, ragtime, even country, and original songs. They played across the U.S. and toured the world for the State Department, including an appearance at the Russian Folk Festival in Moscow. Their recordings were well received, and their work recognized with several W.C. Handy Awards from the Blues Music Foundation, which named them 1987 ?Blues Entertainers of the Year? (an award usually given to electric blues artists).
Over the years, Phil has written a number of songs recorded by the duo (and others). He?s appeared in several films, including documentaries and the award-winning Matewan. He served as artistic director of the 2007 Port Townsend (WA) Country Blues Festival. Scores of blues harp students have been captivated by the instrument as taught by ?Harmonica? Phil Wiggins, whether at intensive music camps or at informal workshops for local blues clubs. What his students hear ? and what we?ll hear at this month?s program ? are harmonica techniques that go beyond what we heard from Sonny Terry, Little Walter or Junior Wells, because Phil Wiggins draws on sounds from the whole band ? from the piano to the horns.
Since John Cephas? death almost three years ago, Phil has collaborated with a number of fine musicians, and he?s asked two Washington-area performers to join him for this show.
Rick Franklin has been active singing and playing Piedmont blues locally for about 30 years, working solo and partnering in duos and trios, including Phil Wiggins. Rick and his Delta Blues Boys are regulars at Cassatt?s Caf? in Arlington, VA. He performs at area festivals, in Arlington County schools, and beyond ? from Port Townsend, WA to Kastav, Croatia.
Eleanor Ellis grew up in Louisiana and played some bluegrass there. Moving to Maryland for performing opportunities, she sang and played a bit of everything. A video editing job immersed her in the D.C. blues scene and led to her producing the Blues Houseparty documentary about Piedmont masters. Her blues education included working with Flora Molton and Archie Edwards. She is a founding and active member of the DC Blues Society and Archie Edwards Blues Heritage Foundation.
Join us at the Washington Ethical Society Auditorium, 7750 16th St., NW, Washington, DC 20012. General admission is $15, free to Folklore Society members.
