90 Harmonica Players You've Never Heard of (But Should Have)
- Liam Ward
- 4 days ago
- 11 min read
When people search for great harmonica players, they tend to see the same handful of famous names again and again - and rightly so. But the harmonica world is far bigger than that. There are players out there doing amazing things in local scenes, niche genres and smaller online communities - people who might not have worldwide fame but deserve to be heard.
This article is all about giving some love to the harmonica players you might never have heard of. Musicians just as expressive and inventive but somehow flying a little more under the radar. Some of the players featured here are people I know personally - friends and musicians I've admired for years. But a lot of them are completely new to me. I reached out to harmonica players and enthusiasts around the world and asked for nominations, and the response was incredible. It reminded me just how deep and diverse this community really is.
I listened to every suggestion I received. Some of these players have an online presence of sorts, even if it's just a few fan videos thrown onto social media after a gig. For obvious reasons I have only included players for whom I could find a YouTube video, so I'm sure there are even more obscure players that I will never hear. What follows is a celebration of all the players that I think should be known more widely than they are.
Note: If you're a harp nerd like me, then at least some of the people on the list will be familiar to you. However it is highly unlikely you will have heard every single player on the list.
What all of these players have in common is a unique voice on the instrument and something worth listening to. I'm listing them in alphabetical order by surname. I hope you find something fresh and inspiring to listen to!
A:
Crispy Aguirre
Crispy Aguirre is an Argentinian musician, educator and producer. On his YouTube channel you'll find him playing all sorts of instruments including bass and chord harmonicas as well as accordion!
Kyren Allen
Kyren posts videos of some pretty cool and experimental harmonica playing, like this one of distorted Neoclassical/Metal-style harmonica. I think if he keeps experimenting then he may hit on some really innovative stuff.
Andrew Alli
Swing and tone on the blues harp, from Virginia, USA. Great stage presence too.
Dustin Arbuckle
From Kansas, USA, Dustin Arbuckle plays crisp and melodic harmonica as well as fronting his own band playing originals in a blues/country style.
B:
Ben Balmer
Originally from Michigan, USA, Ben Balmer is a great singer-songwriter and a mean rack harp player too!
Chris Bauer
A tasteful jazz chromatic player from New York.
Benny Bostrom
Based in the Pacific North West of the States, Benny Bostrom is accomplished on both diatonic and chromatic harmonica.
Ben Bouman
Dutch bluesman Ben Bouman is a rock solid player with big tone. I enjoyed this slow blues (harp solo comes in around five minutes in)
Big Leon Brooks
Recorded in Chicago in the 1950s, then disappeared from the music scene for twenty years before playing again late in his life.
Alessando Brunetta
Italian Alessandro Brunetta lives in France where he makes uplifting pop music on piano and saxophone while adding texture with the harmonica. Definitely something different from the usual blues stuff!
David Burgin
Carlos del Junco introduced me to the music of David Burgin many years ago, and I am very grateful that he did. I still think he should be better known. Wild Child is a truly original album - here it is in full.
Pierre Beauregard
Boston-area harpman Pierre Beauregard was a founder of the Cambridge Harmonica Orchestra and invented some harp tuning systems along wit Magic Dick of the J. Geils Band.
C:
Marcos Cabrera
Venezuelan chromatic and diatonic harmonica player who lived and studied in Brazil with virtuoso Pablo Fagundes. Some pretty cool harp-switching in this video.
Tony Cagnina
Tony Cagnina led his own band and recorded with Luther "Snake Boy" Johnson, all the time showcasing a funky, Junior Wells-esque groove.
Jeff Carp
Jeff Carp has recorded with many blues legends - most notably Muddy Waters - so he was never in the margins as such, but I think he deserves a mention because he is much less well-known than many of Muddy's other players. I believe in the recording below he is playing chromatic to Paul Butterfield's diatonic (I am happy to be corrected if you know better).
Otávio Castro
A virtuoso on the diatonic, I'm sure Otávio Castro could play pretty much anything on the humble harmonica!
Eric Chafer
Fantastic French harmonica player using the augmented harmonica tuning to great effect.
Nic Clark
Nick Clark is certainly not unknown amongst harmonica nerds but I still think he deserves more attention for his sweet, controlled playing and impressive songwriting and singing too. Here's some really tasteful accompaniment to a David Dondero performance.
Al Clarke
I met Al Clarke a few times when gigging down in Kent. I feel a little bad because I was busy and probably didn't give him the time of day. He was deep into tongue switching technique and played blues-based but progressive music, using experimental techniques in the 1980s and ‘90s. He died recently, at which point a family member or friend started sharing lots of his recordings on YouTube. Here is one of them but do check out everything on the channel.
Tom Cocks
I'm not sure how much Tom is performing these days but I remember being mightily impressed hearing him for the first time when I used to live up in the north-east of England. Great style on the old school blues stuff.
Steve Cohen
Milwaukee-based Steve Cohen gigged with the group Leroy Airmaster for years and put out a few instructional books. I bet you've never seen a video of a man playing harmonica whilst doing pottery.
Ian Collard
Australian harp player and guitarist Ian Collard has a sweet acoustic tone and also plays some nice rack stuff while fronting his band the Three Kings.
Kurt Crandall
Kurt Crandall is based in Virginia, USA. He sings and plays diatonic and chromatic blues as well as writing songs.
Anthony Cresci
Welsh harmonica player Anthony Cresci is one of my favourite players for rich, acoustic tone and supportive backup playing. Very much in the Joe Filisko / Grant Dermody mould. Check him out!
D:
Julien D'Imperio (aka JD Harmo)
London-based JD Harmo is all about those old-school blues!
Ramon Figueira Dieste
Spanish harmonica player adding his joyful, punchy sound to the songs of Andhrea & the Black Cats.
"Big" Al Dorn
Powerful Milwaukee-based blues harp player and showman.
E:
Dave Earl
California-based one man band Dave Early plays some nice rack harp in the Jimmy Reed style.
KC Elstun (aka Cincinnati Slim)
Cincinnati Slim is an American bluesman now based in France. Check out this smouldering version of the track Same Thing.
F:
György Ferenczi
Perhaps the most popular harmonica player in Hungary, but not known so much outside of his home country.
Jake Friel
Deservedly respected amongst the harmonica community, I think Jake should get even more attention!
G:
Paul Gillings
Paul Gillings was a winner of the World Harmonica Championships in the Youth Blues/Rock section, and has performed and taught at various harmonica events across the UK.
Ñaco Goñi
Spanish harmonica player Ñaco Goñi is a devotee of original blues music.
Will Greener (aka Captain Bliss)
I've enjoyed discovering the old-school acoustic playing of Captain Bliss. I love this video of him playing in the country-blues fox chase style.
Flavio Guimaraes
Hailing from Brazil, Flavio Guimaraes had played the blues with legends such as Buddy Guy, Charlie Musselwhite, Sugar Blue and Taj Mahal.
H:
Anthony Harkin
Australian harmonica player Anthony Harkin played with the ironically named World Famous Hoochie Coochie Boys. Check out the flutter sound at around 2:55 in this video!
Patrick Hazell
Iowa native Patrick Hazell plays sweet rack harp solos along to his blues and boogie piano!
Michel Herblin
French harmonica player Michel Herblin has a love for both blues and jazz, leading his music to sit betweenthe two. He is a two-time winner of the Hohner International Harmonica Contest and was also once a professional American football player!
Johnny Hewitt
Johnny played for many years on the UK blues scene with Tommy Allen. He was one of the first blues harp players I saw live, stumbled upon him playing in my home town of Macclesfield. If I remember rightly, I even subjected him to some of my playing on the street outside the pub!
Pete Hogie
Pete is a great player and one of the best proponents of the JDR Game Changer/Trochilus harmonica.
Justin Holly
Justin Holly is a great British blues harp player. Check out this video where you can see him waving his hand in James Oliver's face to tell him the changes!
Dave Holtzman
Singer and harpman who played with the Little Red Rooster Blues Band for many years in and around the Philadelphia area.
Clint Hoover
Hailing from Minnesota, Clint Hoover is comfortable on both diatonic and chromatic and has recorded for TV and radio and been working as a professional musician for over 30 years. I've picked a bit of an oddity for the video, check out his 4th position playing.
Rildo Hora
Brazilian composer and mainly chromatic harmonica maestro has worked with artists such as like Martinho da Vila, Beth Carvalho and Roberto Carlos.
Jacob Huffman
Memphis-based blues harper Jacob Huffman has got some chops. Here he is going head-to-head to with Aki Kumar!
I:
Greg Izor
American Greg Izor, now living in Spain, has some nasty tone! Here he is jamming with Ronnie Shellist.
J:
Andy Just
Andy Just has played with The Ford Blues Band, and he definitely knows how to get down and dirty as much as he knows how to keep it nice and sweet.
K:
Dan Kaplan
New York-born and Texas-based, Dan Kaplan is really great at solo harmonica pieces, like the lovely spacious piece in this video.
Jeremy Keyes
I don't know much about him, but this guy plays some tasteful and tasty blues!
Giles King
British harmonica player Giles King can smash his way through classic Rhythm & Blues. Here's a nice example of some slow blues played nice and clean.
TJ Klay
American TJ Klay is a smart harmonica player with great control and chops.
Mark Koenig (aka Madison Slim)
Mark replaced Cadillac Pete in the band Reverend Raven & The Chain Smokin' Altar Boys. He's got a big sound!
Serg Kuznetsov
Russian bandleader, composer and multi-instrumentalist Serg Kuznetsov plays jazz and classical on chromatic harmonica. I really enjoyed this bit of Bach. Check out his YouTube channel to hear lots more.
L:
Martin Lang
Another great blues harp guy from the States who is a new name to me. There are just so many of them!
Tomi Leino
A Finnish bluesman with a big fat tone on the harp!
Al Lerman
Canadian musician who plays both rack and solo harp.
Jim Liban
Perhaps Jim is "the harmonica player's harmonica player". I think it's the way he gets so much tastiness into his playing while still humbly serving the song.
'Westside' Andy Linderman
Great dynamic control and some tasty phrasing from Wisconsin, USA. Plays with Reverend Raven and the Chain Smokin' Altar Boys.
M:
Steve Marriner
Steve is one of my favourite Canadian harmonica players and a very talented multi-instrumentalist. He can rock out but also play soft and gentle. This one's kinda funky.
Chris Maunders
Chris Maunders is one of Australia's best jazz chromatic players. Check out this lovely session with his band.
Lee McBee
Lee McBee was from Missouri and played with Mike Morgan & The Crawl.
Dave Morris
Dave Morris of Michigan, USA, played big swinging blues with his band, Dave and the Ultrasonics.
O:
Dima Osych
I don't really know anything about this guy but I do know he's posting some pretty cool stuff on YouTube. This one is a solo performance but he's also uploaded some fun ensemble pieces including bass/chord harp etc.
P:
Adam Pritchard
Adam plays with Cheltenham's local legends The Charlton Blues Kings, and he's got big tone and a real respect for blues harp tradition. Catch him playing around the south-west of England.
Joe Bennie Pugh (aka Forrest City Joe)
Forest City Joe was influenced by the country blues of John Lee Williamson and was Muddy Waters' first ever harmonica player, but he died in 1960 at the age of just 33.
Gene Pittman (aka Birdlegg)
Austin-based Birdlegg, recorded good time blues from the 1990s until the 2010s.
R:
Mike "Shrimp Daddy" Reid
Bandleader of Canadian blues band Shrimp Daddy and the Sharpshooters.
Danny Russo
A blues traditionalist active in New York City in the 1970s.
S:
Jumpin' Johnny Sansone
Really entertaining New Orleans harpman. I have his album Crescent City Moon which is great.
Andy Santana
Smooth and solid, Andy Santana has that tone and the chops to go with it!
Shakin Smith
Shakin Smith (I can't seem to find his real name?) recorded with Robert Lockwood Jr. and apparently turned down an offer to join the Muddy Waters Band.
Randy Singer
Randy Singer is a versatile harmonica player from Florida, primarily in the chromatic jazz mould but also playing nice blues harp and crooning his way through some classics too!
Joe Strouzer
My buddy Joe plays jug band music so sweetly with his band the Clay Bottom Jug Busters and also writes some great solo stuff. He hails from Newcastle in north-east England and has spent a lot of time over in New Orleans, where we once played together in a bar on Frenchmen Street.
Little George Sueref
An exciting new discovery for me, Little George is originally from Wales and based in London. He plays a relaxed style of blues, plays guitar and sings with real soul too. His album with the Blue Stars also features the guest harp playing of Lazy Lester.
Marta Suñé (aka Sweet Marta)
Female harmonica players are rare in Spain, but Sweet Marta is definitely blazing a trail and can lead a blues band like nobody's business!
T
Greg "Fingers" Taylor
Really solid Kansas blues harmonica player, best known for his work with Jimmy Buffett's Coral Reefer Band.
Tom Townsley
Tom Townsley is a longstanding bluesman who has played with the Cold Shot Blues Band and The Backsliders, and has opened for many major blues acts. There's a nice version of Comin' Home Baby on this album that reminds me of Charlie Musselwhite.
Gareth Tucker
Another great British blues harp player I didn't know about until recently. Really lovely tone both amplified and acoustic.
Mike Turk
Born in New York, Mike Turk was inspired by Toots Thieleman and has a great love for jazz and blues.
V
Jon Vaughan
One of my favourite blues harmonica players, Jon has strong phrasing and big tone. His wife Yuki also plays great harp in the style of Sonny Terry!
Fede Vaz
Fede Vaz is from Uruguay and I have seen videos of him playing diatonic and chromatic blues, classical pieces and Latin jazz too. Very cool!
W
Yuanmao Wang
JDR endorser and classical harmonica player, I believe originally from Shanghai, with lovely tone and technique.
Billy Watson
I like what I've heard of Billy Watson. He has clearly studied the blues tradition but he has his own phrasing - combining quite staccato bits but long sweet swells to make himself sound a little bit different.
Jordan Webb
Brownie McGhee's first harmonica player. Understandably overshadowed by the unique sound of his replacement Sonny Terry, but a solid country blues performer.
Sandy Weltman
A disciple of Howard Levy and predominantly a jazz guy but also plays very well within the realms of blues, Celtic, Klezmer, Latin and much more. Has won international awards and also plays banjo and ukulele!
Ben White
Ben is a young multi-instrumentalist from the south of England. He plays guitar and nice classic blues harp in the Blue Hokum Boys with Thomas Lucas, as well as playing bass and keys with other groups.
LC Williams
Fantastic blues tone and a great interpreter of classic material. Here's a slick version of Little Walter's Rocker. To hear more great female harmonica players, check out this guest post by Lisa 'Rocketgirl' Presland: 50+ Great Female Harp Players to Listen To & Learn From
John Soden Winkler (aka Juke Joint Johnny)
Juke Joint Johnny is a blues harmonica player and vocalist based in South Carolina, USA, active since the 1980s. Here's a nice version of Fly Me to the Moon. Also, check out that crazy guitar!
Y
David York (aka Rock Bottom)
Florida-based Rock Bottom was a staple of the local scene in the 1970s and '80s.
Z
James Zavala (aka Jimmy Z)
Jimmy Z is not a household name but played harp on Missionary Man and 'Thorn In My Side by the Eurythmics as well as doing lots of other recording work. He can certainly shred the thing! To find out who played harmonica on your favourite hit record, check out Who Played Harmonica On That Song?
I hope this article has introduced you to some harmonica players you hadn't heard before. Enjoy!
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