[Harp-L] Michael Polesky

[David Fairweather]

I'm very sad to inform you all that Michael Polesky passed last night
around 10:30 pm on November 25, 2011. As many of you know, Michael was
very sick with lung and liver cancer. Although he was unable to attend
SPAH 2011 in Virginia last August where he received this years Award of
Merit, Michael and his family did make the trip to the Garden State
Harmonica Festival in New Jersey last month where he delivered his last on
stage performances and received a nice round of applause. He wanted you
all to know how very grateful and proud he was of the SPAH Award of Merit
and spoke frequently of his gratitude for it. Michael is survived by his
wife Sherri and his daughter Marilyn. In coming days and weeks I will
try to post links to his musical legacy, and I invite you all to do
likewise if you have any of his performances recorded.

Peace.

[The Iceman]

this news felt like a punch in the gut. didn't know about his illness.

Michael is one of the original dudes from the golden 90's of SPAH. He will be missed.

Larry

[W B]

We have lost another magnificent human being. Michael was a special
person. I am honored to have been able to spend some "harmonica free"
quality time with him at a few SPAH conventions. His spirit has a
special place in my heart.

WB

[Michael Easton]

Geez, that comes as a shocker. Mike was one of the first ones I met on
harpl back around 1997.
He gave me a copy of his cd when it came out. The only time I got to
meet him in person was at the
SPAH convention in Columbus around 2001.

Besides being a great chromatic player he played many other wind
instruments as well.

He was also a past owner of harp-l.

I might load one of his tracks on my website to finish out the month
of November.

On Nov 26, 2011, at 3:34 PM, harp-l-...@harp-l.org wrote:

Message: 11
Date: Sat, 26 Nov 2011 11:41:23 -0800
From: David Fairweather <dmf...@gmail.com>
Subject: [Harp-L] Michael Polesky
To: "Har...@harp-l.com" <har...@harp-l.com>
Message-ID:
<CAHZ5whYO0sBG7YOiZ3hG12oz...@mail.gmail.com>
Content-Type: text/plain; charset=ISO-8859-1

I'm very sad to inform you all that Michael Polesky passed last night
around 10:30 pm on November 25, 2011. As many of you know, Michael
was
very sick with lung and liver cancer. Although he was unable to attend
SPAH 2011 in Virginia last August where he received this years Award of
Merit, Michael and his family did make the trip to the Garden State
Harmonica Festival in New Jersey last month where he delivered his
last on
stage performances and received a nice round of applause. He wanted
you
all to know how very grateful and proud he was of the SPAH Award of
Merit
and spoke frequently of his gratitude for it. Michael is survived
by his
wife Sherri and his daughter Marilyn. In coming days and weeks I will
try to post links to his musical legacy, and I invite you all to do
likewise if you have any of his performances recorded.

Peace.

Michael Easton
www.harmonicarepair.com

[Tom Stryker]

Michael was a fine man, friend and great harmonica player. He will be
missed..

Stryker

[Peter Madcat Ruth]

I fondly remember a couple of occasions when Michael and I shared a taste of single malt scotch whisky...
He was a fine fellow...
And yes, he will be greatly missed...

Peter Madcat Ruth
Musician - Grammy Award Winner
mad...@madcatmusic.net
www.madcatmusic.net
www.youtube.com/user/petermadcatruth

[Craig Milo Rogers]

I'm saddened to read of Michael's passing. He was a fine
person, and I treasure my memories of playing with him. I
particularly remember a NAMM party he asssembled -- what a wild time
that was.

Craig Milo Rogers

[PT Gazell]

I am deeply saddened by this news... Michael was always a hoot to be around,
and in my opinion embodied what SPAH was all about. His performance on Slide
Man Slim¹s DVD, ³West Coast Jazz Harmonica Summit 2009² shows what we have
all lost. My deepest condolences to his family.

PT Gazell

p...@ptgazell.com

http://www.ptgazell.com
http://cdbaby.com/all/gazell
http://www.youtube.com/gazell

[Mick Zaklan]

Horrible news. Michael was one of the nicest, sweetest guys I ever met
at a SPAH convention. Always up for playing. He would roll into the blues
jam after the jazz jam closed down and lay down some very hip chromatic.
Always positive, upbeat, and as cordial as you could get. Terrible loss.

Mick Zaklan

[Slim Heilpern]

Words just can't express it, but I will say he was brilliant, one of a kind, and made beautiful music on that thing.

Here's a cut from the jazz harmonica summit dvd of Michael playing "Old Folks" that I hadn't previously posted. His playing on this says it all, at least for me:

http://youtu.be/xJGwKxaiArI

RIP my friend.

- Slim.

[MANFRED WEWERS]

Th harmonica community has again been diminished by the loss of Michael.  Over the years,  many of us were delighted with his presence and by his playing at the conventions.
 
Manfred from Toronto the Sad

[jro...@comcast.net]

I am shocked to hear about Michael's passing.

So many of my fondest memories of convention going involved Michael. He was a joy; his infectious humor and spirit filled all around him. He was always up, always active, amazingly energized and it was impossible not to absorb those feeling off him.

This is very sad, and far far too soon.

Jonathan R Ross

[michael rubin]

I loved Michael, sorry to hear it.
Michael Rubin
Michaelrubinharmonica.com

[Robert Paparozzi]

A few weeks ago we had our Garden State Harmonica Festival in Hanover, NJ
and Michael came with his wife & daughter with his good friend David
"Jazmaan" Fairweather all the way from Los Angeles. At Trumpets Jazz Club
Michael told me he was dying of Cancer and wanted to make one more harmonica
event...I was so devasted by this news...

On the Sat Nite show after Bucky Pizzarelli and Enrico Granafei played I was
to close the show. I knew I would never see Michael again after that night
so I asked David if he would join me with Michael on stage....You were a
loving friend and family man Mike...I miss you already.......thank you for
your soulfulness....til we meet again,,,,,goodbye my friend.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=slmmurexJbI&feature=youtu.be

Rob Paparozzi

PS,,,,Slim, that rendition of OLD FOLKS brought me to tears tonite...Thank
You for sharing that with us

PSS .....Michael, you can now ask Doug Tate to tune up your Renny and add
some wings to it!,-) Love you........

PSSS David....I loved your Vocalese on SATIN DOLL....you slayed it!,-)

[EGS...@aol.com]

Dear David,

Thank you for letting us know. I'm just devastated, thinking he had more
time and am sitting here flooded with tears by this News.

As you already know Michael played as much as he could at the GSH Festival
- and I focused on getting a lot of footage of him during the several jazz
jams - some included you singing with him. It's to be treasured. I was in
the process of compiling my dvd's to send to Danny G - so he could make
them into one master DVD for Michael. Now we'll do it for Sherry and Maylin -
hopefully they'll derive some small comfort from seeing him again
surrounded by friends and in his element. He told me he couldn't play for long at
each session because the disease process made his nose run - so it was
difficult to play, but he'd gamely recoup and go back up. What he did play was
wonderful...he hadn't lost anything to this awful disease. Michael was still
Michael.

We sat together at the last jazz jam and talked quite a bit. He was holding
himself so stiffly - I knew he was hurting so rubbed his back some and he
said that helped. As he said his final goodnights and goodbyes to Chris
Bauer afterwards I saw him finally cry...and as we hugged goodbye I couldn't
hold back my own tears and telling him he was breaking my heart. I now
realize he knew how close his time was, but kept hoping against hope he'd
somehow survive this. To lose him now is so terribly sad and damned unfair.

So many of us genuinely loved Michael. People just naturally felt this way
about him because of the kind of person he was and those feelings encompass
his family who are also special. I will miss him deeply.

Elizabeth

[Bob McGraw]

This is very sad indeed. I never met Michael but thanks to harp-l I
feel like I knew him. Several years ago Jazmann posted something about
Michael explainning ways to approach "Round Midnight," a tune I was
struggling with. I emailed Michael and asked if he would give me some
suggestions..he generously responsed, and proceded to help me with a
number of tunes...this amounted to email lessons. He was so kind....I
regret that I never got the chance to actually meet him.
RIP, Michael, RIP.
WVa Bob

Sent from my iPhone

On Nov 27, 2011, at 1:57 AM, Robert Paparozzi <chro...@earthlink.net>
wrote:

[Richard Hunter]

I'm very sorry to hear of Michael Polesky's death. He was a good guy, cheerful and generous, and dedicated to his music and the harmonica.

RIP Michael.

Regards, Richard Hunter

author, "Jazz Harp"
latest mp3s and harmonica blog at http://hunterharp.com
Myspace http://myspace.com/richardhunterharp
Vids at http://www.youtube.com/user/lightninrick
more mp3s at http://taxi.com/rhunter
Twitter: lightninrick

[The Iceman]

Mike was the epitome of ego less playing. the music was the thing. this clip speaks louder than words....

not bad for a number crunching accountant during the day.

[Robert Loomis]

Sorry to hear this news. I saw Mike play at the Jazz Harmonica Summit and
enjoyed it very much. Thanks, Slim, for posting the video. Though I did not
know Mike, I know how his family and friends feel ... I've lost several
close friends to cancer. It is indeed an evil disease. My condolences to
all who are feeling the grief of this loss.

Bob Loomis
Concord CA USA

[Rick Epping]

Sincere condolences to family and friends of Michael Polesky.

Without the unflagging enthusiasm and support of his likes, our community,
as all communities, would be much the poorer.

Thanks Michael.

Rick

[David Fairweather]

Just wanted to say thank you to all who have posted their condolences and
memories of Michael. I believe Michael was one of the most "underrated"
jazz chromatic players around. I have personally seen him sit in with the
best of the best jazz pros and never be at a loss even when playing the
most complex charts. I think Iceman hit the nail on the head when he
said Michael was an egoless player. For him it was always all about the
music, not about his own technique or impressive abilities. Way back when
I first met Michael I was asking him about his approach to music and, with
absolutely no ego involved at all, he demonstrated that he always knew the
names of each note he was about to play and the harmonic underpinings of
why he was going to choose that note! My own ear-playing was a world
away from that, but right up until his last days, he was infinitely patient
and eager to teach me his approach.

I will write more about his music in the coming days and weeks.

I miss him tremendously and hope he is at peace now.

[fss...@yahoo.com]

I first met Michael Polesky at a SPAH convention where he had organized a
group social hour for harp-L subscribers. I believe it was my second SPAH
at Denver in 2001, and in those days only a small fraction of SPAH attendees
were on harp-L. So it was great to meet and put faces to names and
opinions. Michael greeted me like a long lost friend and made me feel like
the most important person at SPAH, although I was only an occasional poster
and not much of a player. I was to realize later that Michael had a great
gift of making even passing acquaintances feel very special.

At SPAH 2003 in Denver, we renewed our acquaintance and we found a common
liking of Belgian beer. One of my great regrets at Dallas was not taking
him up on his offer to do a chromatic-diatonic duo with him at a special
open mic for such combos. I wasn't much of a player then, and didn't want
to drag him down. I didn't realize it at the time, but that would have
meant nothing to Michael ... he was just all about getting people involved
and connected, including bridging the chromatic-diatonic gulf. I'm sorry I
passed on that opportunity.

Each SPAH was a special opportunity to connect with Michael again. One of
my everlasting memories was at a recent SPAH (which one escapes me) where I
was fortunate to sit with Michael and Bobbie G at the Saturday dinner. It
was there that, during a performance by an elegant and proper classical
European chromatic player, the performer turned to blow his nose, not
realizing the stage was miked so well that an enormous honk went out over
the PA. After a few seconds of stunned silence, Michael broke out in
applause - which brought down the house and left me with tears streaming
down my face for the rest of the night. Unforgettable.

Thanks for all the laughs, Michael. I sure will miss you, but will remember
all the great times with gratitude.

Fred S

[Joseph Leone]

So I arrived home, turned on the computer, and immediately turned it off. Head hung low, I slinked to the garage.
>From the very first time I met Michael, I immediately felt a megnetism. A warmth. A graceful caring person. Someone whom wasn't too good to talk to you.
And it didn't matter what your race, religion, creed, condition, status, talent, I.Q., nor education was. To him we were all God's children and worthy of respect.

To me Michael was like the Christmas that I got my Red Ryder bb gun. He was like the first time I held a girl in my arms, felt her heart beat, and smelled her hair, and kissed her. Electricity. Why do I feel this way? I lost my own best friend Michael Wisniewski at age 39. We shared all our dreams, fears, and secrets. Yes, Michael Polesky was out of the same mold. He was warmth. He was magnetism. He was life. He was love. He can NEVER be replaced.

I would have been proud to have had Michael as a brother. So that's the way I'm going to remember him. I lost a little brother. I grieve for his family. What a loss.

smokey-joe

[Vern]

After her mentor, Ray Tankersley, died; Michael played second harmonica with Cynthia Dusel-Bacon on SPAH open-mic jazz duets. He was a cordial and generous contributor to the harmonica community.

Vern

[David Fertig]

David, thanks for letting us know of Mike's terrible and premature death, he was such a good guy, laid back, no egotrips, just thoughtfulness and a smile, natural brilliance and sweet music, and a beautiful little family whom I had the great pleasure of meeting at your house.   If you could post an address to which cards may be sent, or send me directly, that'd be great, Sherri (& someday Marilyn) might appreciate the flood of kind sentiments that would come their way.

And David, I know MIchael was was close friend and musical collaborator whom you must feel a great loss of, Louisa and I send you our warmest thoughts.

-Dave

--- On Sat, 11/26/11, harp-l-...@harp-l.org <harp-l-...@harp-l.org> wrote:

[Harp-L] Michael Polesky
Saturday, November 26, 2011 11:41 AM

From:
"David Fairweather" <dmf...@gmail.com>



To:

"Har...@harp-l.com" <har...@harp-l.com>I'm very sad to inform you all that Michael Polesky passed last night

[Bob McGraw]

David Fairweather wrote of Michael Polesky:
.... he demonstrated that he always knew the

> names of each note he was about to play and the harmonic
> underpinings of
> why he was going to choose that note!

---That's impressive for any improviser, but especially so for such a
lyrical player as Michael Polesky obviously was. Wow.
WVa Bob
>
>

[James Gordon]

I am so sad to hear of Michael's passing.He was an amazing player, friend, and runnin buddy at SPAH.
I send condolences to his family and friends.

Michael and I once got into a friendly exhibition at a SPAH on C chromatics in the key of E. E is not typically a
preferred jazz key and not Michael's favorite. I could get around ok and E is a favorite for me. So what does he do?
Michael commissioned and showed up with a B! He was invinceable!

Once Michael was interested in trying to play a diatonic chromatically. He had me make an overblow/overdraw Harmonica
so he could see. He contacted me afterward and not only coined a Michealism, but reported that he had achieved his first "overblah"!

I, and we all, will miss him terribly.

[Tim Moyer]

Words cannot express my sadness at the news that Michael Polesky has passed
away. I knew Michael from harp-l originally, and back in about 1997 when I
visited the Los Angeles area on a business trip, Michael was kind enough to
drive down to Long Beach and pick me up to take me to one of his jazz jams. It
was thrilling hearing those guys play, and I also had the privilege of meeting
David Fairweather. I only saw Michael a couple more times at SPAH conventions
over the years, but he always treated me like a life-long friend. He was a true
gentleman and a talented played, and the world is better off for having had him
in it, worse off now for his loss.

-tim

[Ken Deifik]

While reading through all the heart-felt tributes to our Michael, I started
planning what I'd say about his tenure as the Harp-l list owner. Then I
saw Winslow's post. Luckily, he said everything far better than I could have.

We were in contact a great deal during those years. I remember chatting
with him about his decision to take on the responsibilities. I agreed to
help him where my help would be of value. I did very little, and he
credited me far more than I deserved. Mike was as important as the
original owner, or FJM in keeping this wonderful list alive. He worked is
butt off for us. I saw him do it. This list would have evaporated 12
years ago if it wasn't for Mike.

Back in 1998 Mike threw the greatest LA harmonica party I can
recall. Players were in from all over the world for the NAMM show. Since
I am never able to get to SPAH, that party was the only way I was ever able
to get to meet many of the folks on this list.

I admired Mike's playing 13 years ago, but was completely blown away by the
astonishing musician he grew into over the years.

Thanks for everyting, Mike.

Ken Deifik

[Michael Peloquin]

>From: kenn...@roadrunner.com
> Subject: [Harp-L] Re: Michael Polesky

>
> Back in 1998 Mike threw the greatest LA harmonica party I can
> recall. Players were in from all over the world for the NAMM show. Since
> I am never able to get to SPAH, that party was the only way I was ever able
> to get to meet many of the folks on this list.
>
> I admired Mike's playing 13 years ago, but was completely blown away by the
> astonishing musician he grew into over the years.
>

> Thanks for everything, Mike.
>
> Ken Deifik

Sad news indeed Ken... beautiful posts from you and everyone. Michael was a
bright light and an inspiration to me, so giving was Michael P.

Humbly, I am only that OTHER Michael P.
Jazzmaan and Michael were good friends, that party in 98 was at David's house, I was at there with Winslow & Damien and was thankful for a chance to meet a lot of great players there. Thanks David and Michael!.

Hey David... any way to maybe throw another party during NAMM in Michael's honor?

I was thinking of going to NAMM as was my trusted assistant, Mr. Malerbi.

... would be great to
see how many of the original cast of characters from that night could
show up.

Michael Peloquin
The West Coast Harmonica Summit DVD has been released-including the great Michael Polesky!:

http://www.jazzharmonicasummit.com/

http://www.amazon.com/West-Coast-Jazz-Harmonica-Summit/dp/B003UL1BPY

It was an amazing night of harmonica, and now you can witness it even if you weren’t there! Buy your copy today!
http://harpsax.com

[Mojo Red]

News of Michael's passing is hard news indeed. 

The man was too young, too talented and too bright of soul. My deepest condolences to his wife and family.

I was never super close with him, but whenever we spoke he always made me feel like we were really good friends who simply hadn't seen each other in a while. People with that ability are rare in this world, and too few. 

One of the stories posted earlier reminded me how I met Michael. He had helped me via e-mail a few times with the protocol of Harp-L and urged me to attend SPAH as there would be a Harp-L gathering there where I could meet some of the regular posters. I had never attended a SPAH, but in 2000 I came to Michigan for the event, not knowing what to expect. Michael introduced himself and somehow made me feel like I was a member of his family. He put me at ease, pointed out some of the hot-shot harp players and introduced me to several Harp-L posters. When I heard him play at the jazz jam I was amazed as his precise yet fluid style. 

At a later SPAH event (I forget which) he came and sat by me at the blues jam. I said, "Hey Michael, you're a jazz guy, what are you doing here?" He gave me that quirky grin of his and said.... "I"m slumming, of course." We laughed, and he admitted that he loved to play blues. He played magnificently, bringing his cool jazzy chromatic chops to the party, upping the bar considerably whenever he took a turn. 

He always encouraged me to sit in at the jazz jam (I know a couple of tunes), but I never did as that crowd plays so far over my head. I think now that he's gone I will have to, just to honor his memory. I know one thing for sure. SPAH won't be the same without him.

Harpin' in Colorado,
--Ken M.

[William Lifford, CP]

Hello Harp-L,

I have never had the pleasure of hanging out with Michael, but back when
I was putting together the Harp-L IV compilation CDs, he sent me a copy
of his CD "Unindicted Jazz" and it really blew me away. I've listened
to it many times since and I still enjoy it thoroughly. I'm sure that
the hundred-or-so people that got copies of the Harp-L IV compilation
were similarly impressed with his playing... his selection was one of
the real highlights of the compilation.

Did Michael record anything else since that CD? I'd love to get a copy
of it if he did. And please give my sincerest condolences to his family.

Thanks,

Bill Lifford

--
William Lifford, CP Progressive O&P, Inc. 1111 Willis Avenue Albertson,
NY 11507 516-338-8585 www.progoandp.com

[Bob McGraw]

Is that cd still available?
WVa Bob

Sent from my iPhone

On Nov 29, 2011, at 11:09 AM, "William Lifford, CP" <william...@gmail.com

[Winslow Yerxa]

Michael can be seen and heard on the 2009 West Coast Jazz Harmonica Summit DVD, along with Slide Man Slim Heilpern, Steve Malerbi, Michael Peloquin (the other Michael P.), Damien Masterson, Pete Blasberg, Jon Eriksen, and yours truly.

You can get it here: http://www.newharmonica.com/shopping/index.php?act=viewProd&productId=193

and here: http://www.filmbaby.com/films/4996

and here: http://www.amazon.com/West-Coast-Jazz-Harmonica-Summit/dp/B003UL1BPY/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1322586972&sr=8-1
 
Winslow Yerxa
Author, Harmonica For Dummies ISBN 978-0-470-33729-5
Harmonica instructor, The Jazzschool for Music Study and Performance
Resident expert, bluesharmonica.com
Columnist, harmonicasessions.com

________________________________
From: "William Lifford, CP" <william...@gmail.com>
To: har...@harp-l.org
Sent: Tuesday, November 29, 2011 8:09 AM
Subject: [Harp-L] Michael Polesky

[rob paparozzi]

This DVD is simply amazing and well worth it....all that jazz harp talent in one room...I highly reccomend it and enjoyed every song...very professionally done too!

Rob Paparozzi
Sent from my Verizon crackberry phone!

-----Original Message-----
From: Winslow Yerxa <winslo...@yahoo.com>
Sender: harp-l-...@harp-l.org
Date: Tue, 29 Nov 2011 09:18:06
To: william...@gmail.com<william...@gmail.com>; har...@harp-l.org<har...@harp-l.org>
Reply-To: Winslow Yerxa <winslo...@yahoo.com>
Subject: Re: [Harp-L] Michael Polesky

Michael can be seen and heard on the 2009 West Coast Jazz Harmonica Summit DVD, along with Slide Man Slim Heilpern, Steve Malerbi, Michael Peloquin (the other Michael P.), Damien Masterson, Pete Blasberg, Jon Eriksen, and yours truly.

You can get it here:�http://www.newharmonica.com/shopping/index.php?act=viewProd&productId=193
and here:�http://www.filmbaby.com/films/4996
and here:�http://www.amazon.com/West-Coast-Jazz-Harmonica-Summit/dp/B003UL1BPY/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1322586972&sr=8-1�Winslow YerxaAuthor, Harmonica For Dummies ISBN 978-0-470-33729-5Harmonica instructor, The Jazzschool for Music Study and PerformanceResident expert, bluesharmonica.comColumnist, harmonicasessions.com

________________________________ From: "William Lifford, CP" <william...@gmail.com>To: har...@harp-l.org Sent: Tuesday, November 29, 2011 8:09 AMSubject: [Harp-L] Michael Polesky Hello Harp-L,

I have never had the pleasure of hanging out with Michael, but back when I was putting together the Harp-L IV compilation CDs, he sent me a copy of his CD "Unindicted Jazz" and it really blew me away.� I've listened to it many times since and I still enjoy it thoroughly.� I'm sure that the hundred-or-so people that got copies of the Harp-L IV compilation were similarly impressed with his playing...� his selection was one of the real highlights of the compilation.
Did Michael record anything else since that CD?� I'd love to get a copy of it if he did.� And please give my sincerest condolences to his family.

[Slim Heilpern]

I don't know, Bob.

But Michael had chosen three cuts from it to post on his jazz harmonica summit page here:

http://jazzharmonicasummit.com/MichaelPolesky.html

- Slim.

[Mund...@aol.com]

Michael Polesky was an "internet friend" of mine for some 15 years... And
YES I met him in person in Detroit at a SPAH back in the nineties....
He will be sorely missed!
A true gentleman.
As a fellow "Renny" owner... The guy sure had good taste <grin>
God bless Michael....
R.I.P.
John "Whiteboy" Walden
Just now in England...

[Michael Peloquin]

Mojo Red posted:

> News of Michael's passing is hard news indeed.
>
> The man was too young, too talented and too bright of soul. My deepest condolences to his wife and family.

> At a later SPAH event (I forget which) he came and sat by me at the blues jam. I said, "Hey Michael, you're a jazz guy, what are you doing here?" He gave me that quirky grin of his and said.... "I"m slumming, of course." We laughed, and he admitted that he loved to play blues. He played magnificently, bringing his cool jazzy chromatic chops to the party, upping the bar considerably whenever he took a turn.

This was so true Red! I remember a SPAH (in Denver BTW) where Michael was so proud of his new 16 hole chromatic that he had tuned to the Key of B (natural!)
This was so he could play it in F and Bb positions when they were playing in E and A at the blues jams. He told me it was very much like playing an A clarinet. Very clever.

Michael Peloquin
The West Coast Harmonica Summit DVD has been released:

[Chris Bauer]

Sad news indeed. One of the most genuine people I have ever met. I had the honor of playing his wedding.

He will be missed.

CB

[David Fairweather]

As many of you know, one of Michael Polesky's most endearing qualities was
his hospitality. Whenever any harmonica player was in town and needed
someplace to stay, or just wanted to drop by and jam, Michael's door was
always open. Damien, Slideman, Winslow, Bobbi, and many others know what
I'm talking about. In that regard, I would like to endeavor to do my small
part to help fill the gap that his passing has left. So you harp-l'ers
please drop me a line whenever you happen to be passing through L.A.
Thanks.