JOHN SEBASTIAN PLAYS BACH (Arrangements of Bach for harmonica & piano)

john sebastian plays bach liner notes

Don't, for Heaven's sake," said John Sebastian, "write that here is a man who has taken a toy instrument and raised it to the level of the concert hall!" Such an attitude, he carefully explained, would not be in keeping with the facts, for the four-octave chromatic harmonica is no toy. Furthermore, such a remark would suggest that there is a general prejudice against playing great music on the harmonica, and this is not at all true if you take the world view of it. Mr. Sebastian should know, for he has just been around the world -- in 82 concerts, if you please -- and has first hand reports of the easy, complete and enthusiastic acceptance of his harmonica recitals from enough corners of the globe to constitute a quorum -- among them Japan, Singapore, Bangkok, India, Persia, Germany and Italy. That the harmonica he plays is no toy is demonstrated both by the fact that it is the musicians the world over who are his biggest boosters, and by the rapid rate at which he is gaining new compositions from first-class composers in this country and abroad. Already in his repertoire are concertos by Villa-Lobos and Tcherepnin, concertinos by Hovhaness and Dello Joio, a suite by Milhaud, and the Street Corner Concerto by Kleinsinger. In preparation are works for him by Tom Scott, Werner Egk, Camillo Togni and Carlos Surinach.