Harvey Mandel

Nato a Detroit, ma cresciuto musicalmente a Chicago Harvey Mandel (n. 1945,USA) impara a suonare il blues alla stessa scuola di Mie Bloomfield e Paul Butterfield. Nel 1966 suona con la Barry Goldberg Blues Band (nll'album BLOWING MY MIND) e con la Southside Band di Charlie Musselwhite (in STAND BACK!) L'anno successivo segue Musselwhite in California e dal 1968 inizia a registrare come solista (ottimo l'esordio CHRISTO REDENTOR (Philips, 1968 USA)) diventando nel contempo un apprezzato sessioman dal tocco di chitarra molto jazzy. Nel 1970 sona per breve tempo con i Canned Heat (nell'album FUTURE BLUES), e poi finisce in una delle mille edizioni dei Bluesbreakers di Mayall (appare in USA UNION). Nel 1972 forma i Pure Food & Drug Act, con Don "Sugarcane" Harris e Paul Lagos reduci anch'essi dai Bluesbreakers con loro registra PURE FOOD & DRUG ACT/CHOICE CUTS (Epic, 1972 USA), disco essenzialmente orientato verso il jazz. Nel 1974 , con una nuova edizione del gruppo (questa volta con un cantante), va in tournèe come "spalla" dei Canned Heat. Nel 1975 voci lo vogliono candidato a sostituire Mick Taylor negli Stones; alla fine si limita a partecipare alla session di BLACK AND BLUE. Dopo un altro breve ritorno con i Canned Heat pubblica con FEEL THE SOUND OF HARVEY MANDEL (Janus, 1974 USA) uno dei suoi migliori dischi dei '70. Come sessionman Mandel appare in numerosi dischi: dai Ventures ai Love, a Graham Bond, Ron Carter, Sugarcane Harris, Jimmy Witherspoon.

Harvey Mandel performing hammer ons and pull offs at the Golden Bear in Huntington Beach CA, 1977

Vance Salisbury, Bo Salisbury - Own work

Harvey Mandel (born March 11, 1945, in Detroit, Michigan, United States) is an American guitarist known for his innovative approach to electric guitar playing. A professional at twenty, he played with Charlie Musselwhite, Canned Heat, the Rolling Stones, and John Mayall before starting a solo career. Mandel is one of the first rock guitarists to use two-handed fretboard tapping.

Early Life

Mandel was born in Detroit, Michigan, and grew up in Morton Grove, Illinois, a suburb of Chicago. His sister, Rose Mandel, lives in Chicago and is Director of Mandel Productions Events & Entertainment.

Career

His first record was the album Stand Back! Here Comes Charley Musselwhite's Southside Band in 1966 with Charlie Musselwhite. Described in Legends of Rock Guitar (1997) as a "legendary" album, it was influential in bridging the gap between blues and rock and roll, with Mandel's "relentless fuzztone, feedback-edged solos, and unusual syncopated phrasing." He relocated to the San Francisco Bay area, performing often at The Matrix, a club where local favorites like Jerry Garcia or Elvin Bishop would sit in and jam. He then met the pioneering San Francisco disc jockey and producer Abe "Voco" Kesh (Abe Keshishian), who signed Mandel to Philips Records and produced his first solo album, Cristo Redentor, in 1968. Mandel recorded with Barry Goldberg on a bootleg from Cherry Records and recorded with Graham Bond. He cut two more solo LPs for Philips, Righteous (1969) and Games Guitars Play (1970), followed by four more solo albums for the independent record label Janus in the early 1970s, which included Baby Batter.
On the night that Henry Vestine quit Canned Heat, Mandel was in the band's dressing room at the Fillmore West. Mike Bloomfield joined them for the first set, and Mandel came in for the second set. His third performance with the band was the Woodstock Festival in 1969. During this period, with Canned Heat bandmates Larry Taylor and Fito de la Parra, Mandel contributed to the 'Music from Free Creek' super session project. Mandel stayed with Canned Heat for a year, touring and recording material which appeared on three albums. "Let's Work Together", a song by Wilbert Harrison which was included in the album Future Blues became an international hit. He is also on the Live in Europe album prior to the death of Alan Wilson.
With Canned Heat bassist Larry Taylor, Mandel joined John Mayall's band for the next two years. He is heard playing on the two albums from that period USA Union and Back to the Roots. In 1972, he teamed up with Don "Sugarcane" Harris, Randy Resnick on guitar, Victor Conte on bass, and Paul Lagos on drums to form the band Pure Food and Drug Act, which released one album, Choice Cuts.
When Rolling Stones guitarist Mick Taylor left the band, Mandel was given an audition as his replacement. He recorded two tracks with the Stones for their 1976 album Black and Blue: "Hot Stuff" and "Memory Motel". During the 1970s Mandel released the albums Baby Batter, The Snake, Feel the Sound of Harvey Mandel and Shangrenade, in the latter employing the technique of two-handed tapping. He also released an instructional video, Harvey Mandel: Blues Guitar & Beyond.
Mandel acted in the film Chalk, which was directed by Rob Nilsson.
In 2009, Mandel and Larry Taylor reunited with Fito de la Parra and the rest of the current Canned Heat lineup to perform certain shows on the Canned Heat tour. Taylor, Mandel and de la Parra had all been part of the 1969 Woodstock Festival lineup. Mandel rejoined Canned Heat permanently in 2010.
Harvey Mandel and the Snake Crew was released in 2006, and was produced by Mandel and Michael Borbridge. Notable guest performers included Elvin Bishop, Norton Buffalo, Marcy Levy, and Nick Gravenites, plus Freddie Roulette, Pete Sears, Peter Albin, Mic Gillette, Barry Goldberg and Howard Wales. Live at Biscuits & Blues followed in 2009.
In 2014, Mandel guest starred on Eli Cook's album Primitive Son.
Also in that year, Harvey collaborated with renowned herbalist Ron Teeguarden on an album titled 'Dragons at Play'. This CD consists of 9 tracks, and is available exclusively through Ron's Dragon Herbs website.
In 2015, Cleopatra Records issued a 6-disc retrospective of Harvey's career featuring the first five of Harvey's solo albums and a 6th disc containing a live performance from the Matrix Club in San Francisco, on December 24, 1968. The performance included Jerry Garcia, and Elvin Bishop.
In 2016, Harvey and friends entered the recording studios at Fantasy Records, Berkeley, for two days of live studio recording which resulted in the eight self-composed tracks which make up the album 'Snake Pit'.
In 2017, Harvey did not show any signs of let-up when he released the 10 track CD titled 'Snake Attack'. According to Harvey, "I wrote all the songs, performed all the instruments and mixed and mastered all the songs myself. Working in my own home studio allowed me to do all sorts of great guitar overdubs that I'd never have been able to do in a regular studio."
Starting in 2013, Harvey began undergoing what was to become dozens of operations for cancer and is succeeding in his fight to resist the disease.

Solo discography

1968 Cristo Redentor (LP, Philips PHS 600-281)
1969 Righteous (LP, Philips PHS 600-306)
1970 Games Guitars Play (LP, Philips PHS 600-325)
1971 Baby Batter (LP, Janus JLS-3017), also released as Electronic Progress (Bellaphon, Germany)
1972 The Snake (LP, Janus JLS-3037), with Don "Sugarcane" Harris
1972 Get Off in Chicago (LP, Ovation OV/1415)
1973 Shangrenade (LP, Janus JLS-3047), with Don "Sugarcane" Harris
1974 Feel the Sound of Harvey Mandel (LP, Janus JLS-3067)
1975 The Best of Harvey Mandel (LP, Janus 7014)
1993 Twist City (CD, Western Front WFE 10022)
1995 Snakes & Stripes (CD, Clarity Recordings CCD-1013)
1995 Harvey Mandel: The Mercury Years (Includes first 3 solo albums) (CD, PolyGram Records 314 528275-2)
1997 Planetary Warrior (CD, ESP/Lightyear/WEA, 54215-2)
1997 Emerald Triangle (CD, Electric Snake Productions ESP-9701)
1999 Snake Live (CD, MP3.com)
2000 West Coast Killers (Includes tracks missing from 'West Coast Killaz') (CD, MP3.com)
2000 Lick This (CD, Electric Snake Productions)
2003 West Coast Killaz (CD, Electric Snake Productions)
2003 NightFire featuring Harvey Mandel/Freddie Roulette (CD, Electric Snake Productions NF1470)
2006 Harvey Mandel and the Snake Crew (CD, Electric Snake Productions)
2009 Live at Biscuits & Blues (CD, Electric Snake Productions)
2014 Dragons at Play (CD, Electric Snake Productions)
2015 Snake Box (Includes first 5 solo albums plus 'Live at the Matrix' from 1968)(CD, Cleopatra CLP-CD-2100)
2016 Snake Pit (CD, Tompkins Square TSQ 5296)
2017 Snake Attack (CD, RockBeat Records ROC-3357)
2018 Live at Broadway Studios San Francisco (CD, RockBeat Records)