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Hermine Deurloo joins me on episode 42.
Hermine is a Dutch female chromatic harmonica player who grew up to the sound of master jazz player Toots Thielemans. After studying saxophone at the Amsterdam Conservatory, she picked up the chromatic and transitioned over to the harmonica being her instrument of choice.
Her first album was of Brazilian music, and she has gone on to record several jazz albums in her own name. Her more recent album, Riverbeast, delves into 70s funk. She has appeared as a guest artist on numerous albums and is famous in her native Netherlands for playing the advertisement music for sausages!
Hermine won the SPAH harmonica player of the year award in 2018 and hopes she can inspire other females to pick up the harmonica.
Links:
Website:
https://www.herminedeurloo.com/
Strangely In Love film music: The Stalker
https://soundcloud.com/awintory/dostoevsky-in-love-the-stalker?utm_source=clipboard&utm_campaign=wtshare&utm_medium=widget&utm_content=https%253A%252F%252Fsoundcloud.com%252Fawintory%252Fdostoevsky-in-love-the-stalker
Ambleside festival:
https://www.amblesidedays.co.uk/
Saed Haddad harmonica composition, performed by Hermine:
https://soundcloud.com/dr-saed-haddad/melancholie-for-chromatic-harmonica-orch-extract-1-2017-18
Bernie Bray SPAH award winners:
https://www.spah.org/content.asp?contentid=61
Blows Me Away Productions harmonica equipment:
http://www.blowsmeaway.com/
Videos:
Studio work videos:
https://www.herminedeurloo.com/studio-work/
Sausage advert on Netherlands TV:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ghXe6Y75RGs
Podcast website:
https://www.harmonicahappyhour.com
Donations:
If you want to make a voluntary donation to help support the running costs of the podcast then please use this link (or visit the podcast website link above):
https://paypal.me/harmonicahappyhour?locale.x=en_GB
Spotify Playlist:
Also check out the Spotify Playlist, which contains most of the songs discussed in the podcast:
https://open.spotify.com/playlist/5QC6RF2VTfs4iPuasJBqwT?si=M-j3IkiISeefhR7ybm9qIQ
Podcast sponsors:
This podcast is sponsored by SEYDEL harmonicas - visit the oldest harmonica factory in the world at www.seydel1847.com or on Facebook or Instagram at SEYDEL HARMONICAS
and Blows Me Away Productions: http://www.blowsmeaway.com/
01:37 - Hermine is a chromatic player from Amsterdam, Netherlands
01:49 - Originally played saxophone but put that down for the chromatic, and plays a little diatonic
02:22 - Decision to drop saxophone for chromatic
03:31 - Started playing chromatic at the end of saxophone jazz course Amsterdam Conservatory, inspired by Toots Thielemans
06:46 - The transition from saxophone to chromatic
08:29 - Hermine played with Toots as he sat-in at one of her concerts in the 1990s
09:01 - Recorded first album in 1997, Brazilian music
11:12 - Then joined avant-garde jazz band in Netherlands fir 12 years, playing saxophone while keeping up chromatic playing
11:49 - 2001 album I Say Jazz
12:30 - Doesn’t play saxophone now as decided to focus on chromatic
13:29 - Hermine isn’t a singer
13:46 - Played on a famous advert in Netherlands, which is still well known 20 years later
15:12 - First solo album in 2005, Crazy Clocks
15:51 - Hermine spends a lot of time in New York, and has recorded there
17:35 - Soundbites album released in 2007
20:14 - Glass Fish album in 2012, with a modern jazz sound
22:30 - How Hermine composes songs and need to learn a chordal instrument
25:15 - Welling album in 2015 with jazz string quartet
27:50 - Living Here album in 2016, influenced by Toots Thielemans and also baroque music
29:06 - Hermine uses an SM58 to record in the studio, which Toots often did as well
31:00 - The winning combination of chromatic with the piano
32:32 - Most recent album is Riverbeast, from 2019, and playing harmonica underwater
36:36 - Has written songs for various family members on the album
38:00 - More recent albums have been a move away from jazz for Hermine
38:45 - The appeal of instrumental harmonica albums
39:51 - Approach to accompanying a singer
40:30 - The place of albums in today’s music industry
41:47 - Hermine played on Dutch Harmonica Band Fata Morgana’s album
43:11 - Performed with Al Jarreau
43:31 - Played with various orchestras, mainly of film music
45:09 - Appeared at festivals around the world, and will be playing in UK this Autumn
45:43 - Harmonica composition written for Hermine to play
46:56 - Teaching at University of Rotterdam
47:18 - Does other teaching
47:23 - Won Bernie Bray Harmonica Player of the Year in 2018
47:30 - How to get encourage more female harmonica players
49:19 - Ten minute question
50:51 - How Hermine developed her lyrical sound
52:41 - Harmonica of choice is Hohner Toots models
53:26 - Tried out Suzuki chromatics and some other models tried
53:44 - Mainly plays 12 hole chromatics, but a little 16 hole
54:01 - Embouchre is mainly pucker
54:16 - Amp is mainly Fishman Loudbox mini amp
54:59 - SM58 mic with volume control from Blows Me Away Productions
55:27 - Future plans
New to the Happy Hour Harmonica podcast? Try one of these episodes for starters:
