Produced in San Jose by long-time music teacher David Barrett, this sixth year marks the last time he plans to offer the weekend workshop format in Northern California, at least for a couple of years.  [The large artist seminars will be replaced by smaller school-like classes.]  The focus will remain on education, but the Masterclass itself will travel to various cities such as Austin, Texas.

Another outgrowth of these workshops has been the smaller Teacher Accreditation Program and school, where twenty-one students spend an entire week in an extended course on music/harmonica theory, training and education. This offers students a more advanced degree of training than the weekend itself could provide. These sessions were sold out for the duration of the week.

Another acoustic player, Phil Wiggins, traveled from his home of Washington, D.C., to share his techniques and insights into playing in primarily a folk-blues duo setting. His fast playing and clear note articulation opened a few eyes and a few more ears.

More locally based Mark Hummel, R.J. Mischo, and workshop surprise hit Sonny Jr. [from Connecticut] all provided the classes with wonderful wit and tips, as well as great playing with guitar accompanist John Garcia. These folks are all wonderful Bay Area resources that director Barrett taps to share their collective knowledge and experience.

Wherever the Harmonica Masterclass Workshop finds itself in years to come, it will have a home in the San Jose area. With growth comes change, and while the classes might hit the road in search of new students and audiences, the focus with remain firmly fixed to education as long as David Barrett continues to guide the organization.

Article by Participant Michael Handler - Thanks Mark!

Testimonials from the 6/2000 Harmonica Masterclass Workshop

"I just got back from Dave Barrett's Masterclass in San Jose and want to give you the highlights (many) for me. First, Dave is a truly nice guy and does a fantastic job organizing this event. The entire weekend ran smooth as Teflon. At least from the participants side. I'm sure Dave and the staff had their hands full.  Dave is an excellent teacher. His method is straight forward and very easy to understand. Plus it was fun. At one point there were 125 harmonica players playing the blues together under Dave's direction. Pretty groovy.

I took Mark Hummel's Chromatic seminar and not only learned a lot but, had a ball doing it. I envy you guys in the Bay area being able to get one on ones with Mark, Dave, R.J. and the like.

The concert on Saturday was absolutely jaw dropping. Lee Oskar somehow managed to get a pipe organ in a ten holer. It was so low, the reeds had to be sticking out the back. Sonny Jr. and his young protégé blew the house away. Sonny is one of the strongest players I've ever heard.  Tom Ball and Kenny Sultan gave a great performance ending with "Chicken ala Blues" off of "Too Much Fun". These guys have an overdose of happy karma. Their personalities are just like their music. Kenny smiles the entire time he's playing those incredible guitar licks. You can't help but feel good around those two.

Paul Oscher played guitar and harp in a rack. He also played the melodica. Listening to him is intense. I'm his seminar on Sunday, he told a great story about rehearsing in Muddy Waters' basement. Also he kicked butt on a bass harp, bends and all.  Marc Hummel always gives a great show and his set was squarely in the groove and swingin'.  R.J. Mischo came on with only a bass player and burned the place down. The whole set had this "beatnicky" feel to it. It was a masterstroke of showmanship.  Other sets by Phil Wiggins, Brendan Power, Annie Raines, and Dave Barrett all had their moments too. I'm not tryin' to slight any of them but I'm running out of superlatives.

All in all, this was a fantastic weekend. Everyone was friendly and helpful.  Especially the guest artists. Without having them over for dinner, it was as good as it gets as a way to talk and learn from them.