Interview with God 　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　 Ｐｒｅｓｅｎｔｅｄ in Ｈａｒｍｏｎｉｃａ Ｒｅｖｉｅｗ No.29（1996/spring） 　In 1995, as I was working at Yokohama International Harmonica Festival as a worker by the stage, I could observe almost all players of the gala concerts. Every harmonica player performed so wonderfully that young workers mentioned that they were gods. I said it really confused me that there were so many gods. Younger said it wouldn't be trouble since theｙ worship many godｓ system anyway. How dry are they ! 　In such situation, I could luckily interview to Mr. Larry Adler, the god of the gods, for two hours by a chance, and got very many interesting stories. I hereby introduce them as the part of the records in the International Harmonica Festival. 　The story started when I said good-bye to the grand office of the festival after cleaning up the stage where the awarding ceremony had taken place. The president Mano suddenly asked me, "Will some one be able to go to Narita air port with me tomorrow? I will bring Mr. Adler there. How about you? You speak English." I felt that the rest time of the next day was going away. I was so tired after I performed in six categories of competitions at the festival, and got awarded only in one category, which was actually the very satisfactory result to me. How can I resist to him, because he was my successor of the harmonica club in my university. I finally agreed to him. Because he said he had to take care of a handicapped chair for Mr. Adler after he brought Mr. Adler to the airport with his car. He also said he couldn't be only the sender because Mr. Adler was our main guest at the festival. 　When I was waiting at the hotel Pacifico's lobby on 10 o'clock in the next morning, Mr. and Mrs. Lee Oscar and Mr. Chen Bur-Hung came down and I got an another chance to talk to other gods. Anyway we went to Mr. Adler's room to pick him up and started to the airport by Mr. Mano's car. While I tried to talk to Mr. Adler a little, assuming he wasn't very frank because he had refused signing last night at the awarding ceremony party, we entered into the famous Tokyo cloudiness. As the result, I could have a long interview with him for two hours. Mr. Mano also tried to have a lot of questions during driving, with awareness about the departure time. Mr. Adler was in a very good mood in the morning and answered to many questions. That was very good to us ! Here, I introduce most of the topics we talked, in the conversation style. Conversation 1 YM（President Yasuharu Mano）: The performers of the festival will have a concert in cities of Iwai and Hamamatsu tonight. Then they will perform in various places in Japan. SS（Shoji Sanada, myself）: The city of Hamamatsu is the home town of Yamaha and Suzuki. LA(Mr. Larry Adler）: Yamaha made a very good silver harmonica. I borrowed it and played with it at the concert on October 11th. SS: Is that right ! How was it? LA: I tried the exhibited one. It could express the rich feelings and sounded loudly. I asked them to let me use it at that night. It was wonderful. SS: （Wow, I will have to buy one as long as Mr. Adler says it is good. It will be very expensive.) Well, Yamaha does not make 4 octave ones, instead they are trying to make 14 holes one which has up to G note. YM: He used it only at later part of his performance. Do you think you need 4 octave one? LA: The 3 octave one is sufficient to me. It is hard to get good sound with the lower notes. SS: （It's the same opinion with Mr J..S. I need 4 octave one....) By the way, how do you make your delicate vibration on the sound? Mr. Claude Garden uses the belly, Mr. Chen Bur-Huang uses hand cover with two fingers and Danny in the Adler Trio uses the throat. LA: I use my tongue for single notes. In case of octave play, I use my hand. I don't use a belly, though many people uses it. SS: （Hey, it's the tongue technique ! Last time I tried my tongue, you know, it sounded like Mr. Adler's. I should try once more ! Mr. Kimura of New Clean Up Ensemble is using his tongue. Let him know about this. He might have sound like Mr. Adler's.) YM: Mr. Mitsuaki Shimize used to like Mr. Adler's sound very much and made his sound very close to that of Mr. Adler, though he had passed away. LA: Mitsuaki Shimizu used to get notes from my LP records. Once I mistouched a note. Then he always play mistouched exactly.（Burst out laughing） Conversation 2 YM: Mr. Adler, you had a contact with Gershwin and Rabel, aren't you? What is the story that you were told you need not to pay for the copyright fee to Rabel's Bolero? LA: Rabel didn't like me playing Bolero at all. SS: What? Didn't he like your play? LA: Not at all ! We once met at cafe in Les Champs-Elysees. He seemed not to like me. I asked his signature upon farewell, but he said he couldn't sign because his hands were so trembling. I was sorry and said good-bye. But two days later, I received his signature. He took two days to write a signature in his dark room. When he was dead, a note was left to describe that Larry Adler can play Bolero any time, anywhere without copyright fee. Only me alone in the world. YM: Aha, Rabel does not like you, Mr. Adler. LA: Most possibly he dislike me at all (laugh). YM: Is there any interesting episode with Gershwin? LA: Oh sure. We two love the same girl, called Simon Simon. SS: Who did win? LA: He did. SS: How old were you two at that time? LA: Gershwin was 23, I was 15, and she was 20, I guess. SS: Did Gershwin merry with her? LA: No, he was single in his whole life. SS: （Who married with her? I found later that Gershwin was dead at age of 38.） YM: How did you perform Gershwin's play with Yamaha auto piano? LA: There are roles of paper for auto piano and they can be converted for Yamaha auto piano. YM: Roles of paper means punched paper roles. Do they represent the strength and feelings of the real play? LA: Sure they can, completely! When I was playing with backing auto piano in New York, Gerswin's sister visited me and cried, "Larry, I could see my brother's figure !" I was performing on October 10th with looking at Gershwin. I also have roll of papers of Rafmaninov. Conversation 3 SS: How about other harmonica players, such as Borrah Minevitch? LA: He refused me because he thought I was very poor player. SS: Is that right? Were you trying to enter to the Rascals? LA: Yes, I was fourteen years old. So, I didn't entered. Next year, however, he asked me to have a harmonica sales company together. He didn't notice I was that boy. I rejected because I remember him.(Laugh) There was a black harmonica player in the Rascals who has very clear sound. I asked my manager that we should have a contract with him. My manager refused him just because he is a black guy. I don't like such opinion at all. Do you have such experience? SS: I used to live in Minnesota where there is our computer factory. Everything was very good there. But, when I traveled to other state, some kids contempted me from the car at a corner of the street. Look, we are just besides Tokyo Disney Land ! LA: Say, it remind me that Disney had a strong prejudice. During the world war, Japanese Americans were forced to enter to the camp..That's unbelievable. During the war, we moved among islands. The commander asked me if I play some instruments. I answered I play a harmonica. He said he play too. Then he asked if anyone pay money for listening to harmonica, ha, ha, ha. SS: Did he assume it's a toy? LA: Oh, yes. It's a toy. SS: About harmonica's naming. Mr. Lee Oscar and Mr. Chen Bur-Huang were talking interesting story at the hotel lobby in the morning. When Mr. Chen visited Denmark, a harmonica means an accordion. LA: Same is true in German. SS: The conductor came to see him to the dressing room of the hall, thinking he is an accordion player. He was very surprised to see a mouse harmonica player. LA: There was such an experience when I was in Italy. YM: Once I wrote a letter to German Harmonica Organization, and I felt something strange. Later I found that is an accordion organization. (laugh) SS: Next, Mr. Lee Oscar said the word "harp" causes the similar situation in USA too. He visited a town to play his harp. Someone said there was a very famous harpist in the town. He took a taxi to visit the house. When he opened the door, he saw a beautiful lady sitting with a large harp instrument.(laugh) LA: I don't like the word "harp". YM: We call "blues harp" after a diatonic harmonica "blues harp" was sold. Country players objected the word because they don't play blues. SS: I heard a word "Mississippi Saxophone" recently. LA: I don't like it. I like "harmonica". YM: When Mr. Leo Diamond visited Japan at the first time, his first words was to let him introduce a girl friend. I used to kid him about that every time he visited Japan then. LA: Is it true? I don't need that. I could find by myself. Actually, i found a girl friend Ms. x who was a pianist at my first visit. SS: Did she visit you this time? LA: No. The story I always remember is that Mr. Lee Oskar is a very good guy. Once I was stolen a purse in Los Angels. It was found later. He brought it to the air port for me. Whenever we meet, we talk about it. He is a nice guy. SS: Is there any story about Mr. Chen-Bur Huang? LA: I didn't know him at all. One day I received a letter from him. I responded to it. Then he brought the letter and showed it at the ambassador when he entered to USA. SS: Did you teach harmonica to him? LA: No. He must have studied himself. SS: Mr. Hidero Sato played harmonica until he got be 94 years old. Who is younger, you and Mr. Richard Hayman. LA: How old is he? SS: He seemed to be 85 years old. When I returned from USA in 1990, The harmonicats would play at party for his 80th birthday. LA: I played with his conduction several years ago. I'm only 81, though I might be seen like 94. SS: The wife of Mr. Nanbu visited the dress room of the hall with the picture of you upon your first visit to Japan. I was surprised your wife was so beautiful and cute. LA: I was so too.(laugh) SS: There are many harmonica players who started a chromatic harmonica after your first performance in Japan, such as Mr. Tsuruta of Japan's famous harmonica trio, and Mr. Yokoyama, the bass player of my trio. LA: Is that true? SS: The younger persons were seemed to be affected by Mr. John Sebastian. LA: His sound was very beautiful. SS: I haven't heard both. But, I have a Sebastian's CD which contains "Harmonica concerto" by Villa Lobos. LA: Villa Lobos composed the music just for me. I was surprised when I heard Sebastian playing it. I asked Villa Lobos why. He said he needed money. SS: Some music sheet taken from your record are being used in Japan. "Hora Staccato", "Le Grisby" and etc. LA: "Le Grisby" took Grand Prix with my performance. Did you see the movie, Jean Gavan acted. SS: I saw only a little bit. It was black and white movie. Do you know Tommy Mogan? He played a lot in the screen musics. LA: I don't know. I might hear about him though. SS: Mr. Claude Garden will not eat anything before the performance. Once he had a cold ramen noodle which looked so nice. Then he had failed to play "Romanian Rhapsody." LA: Ha, ha, ha. In case of me, I eat the meal. SS: There is a good harmonica repairer, Mr. Tanaka. Mr. Claude liked him very much and he brought 40 broken harmonicas to ask him repair. How do you fix harmonic, Mr. Adler? LA: Surprising ! I only have three harmonicas. There is a good repairer in London too. I myself can not repair at all. SS: （I heard Mr. Adler brought a trankfull of harmonicas upon his first visit to Japan. Did he change the way of playing harmonica?) Conversation 4 SS: Did you listen to the jazz and popular gala concert? LA: "An American in Paris" played by Pete Pederson was very good. But, nobody told me where was and what was in this festival. YM: I gave the manager Sharitt the schedule. Didn't you hear from him? LA: I didn't,. Nothing. YM: Did he returned after received the guaranteed fee or the fee of other cost? SS: （Manager only manages about money.） YM: I was very sorry. LA: It's not your fault. He took care of me very good upon making the CD, "Glory of Gershwin". Four other CDs had been released since then, because the reputation of "Glory" is so good.. "Glory" is a very good CD. SS: I bought it yesterday. I have another two CDs. YM: I have all of them. SS: I used to have "Golden Jerusalem" and I like it very well. I like the vocal song too. LA: That music won the first prize at the contest in Israel. My solo is included in the other side of the record. SS: Of course I know. I like both side and I listened to the record so many times that it had been damaged.. YM: Approaching to the air port. I call BTA to take care of a handicapped chair. LA: The telephone is one of the most easy to be stolen in a car in some countries. By the way, I should apologize to you, Mr. Mano. I complain it's too early for starting at 10 o'clock to reach to the airport at 1:30 pm. You are right. It really takes that much. Very sorry. SS: Do you have any sons or daughters who play harmonica? LA: Peter Adler used to play it. Recently he does not play because he is busy to make a lot of money from African art. We together performed at radio in London recently. I was so glad that he told about me very good. LA: Is Japanese language difficult? SS: I thought it is difficult before. Recently many people from other countries such as Iran, India and Slilanka came to Japan and speak Japanese very well in a year or so. It may be a simple language to learn. The subject is omitted frequently. The verb came last like German past sentence. We only have five vowels. You can pronounce them like Italian. Now we passed the city called Sakura. You pronounce sa-ku-ra. LA: I know the song Sakura. SS: Oops. How about Sukiyaki? LA: I know it. SS: This is tenth anniversary that Mr. Kyu Sakamoto, the singer of Sukiyaki song had been dead on the air plane accident. LA: Where? In Japan ! Hundreds of people died ! Very sad. 　After we arrived at the airport, the handicapped chair came. We passed him to BTA stuff safely. LA: Mr. Mano, you are a very good boy that I give you Larry Adler model 4 holes harmonica as my memory. YM: You call me a boy, ha, ha, ha. LA: You are a boy, really boy. Mr.Sanada、I don't give you any, since you are a bad boy. Thank you. I will speak in Japanese next time I visit Japan. I have an appointment to play tennis the day after tomorrow in London. Bye, Bye ! 　The God departed to London safely. He wasn't in a good mood at the awarding celemony and some people were refused to get his signature. He spoke very frankly this morning and talked a lot. Mr. Manor wanted me to record the conversation and I wrote them down. His memory was so clear that he mentioned exactly the years when topics happened. I couldn't memorize them and omitted in the description. At last, I here show the figure of Mr. Adler's signature I got at the dressing room for people who didn't get his sign.

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