"Todd should be center stage at the Grand Ol' Opry, he should be the first-call studio guy in Nashville and L.A., he should be all over movie and TV soundtracks. He's really got it." Adam Gussow
"Todd Parrott is one of the freshest, most innovative and proficient harp players I know. He's got it all: great chops, killer tone, speed, finesse, and impeccable taste." Buddy Greene
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Todd has been playing harmonica for 28 years, and has been blessed to perform and record with several artists. Growing up on the church pew in NC, he was exposed to lively music at a young age, and it wasn't long until he picked up his first instrument... the harmonica.
Todd recalls, "I remember as a kid when an traveling evangelist visited our church. The pastor had been announcing that he played a French Horn, but I think he meant French "Harp" instead (which is a common name for harmonica). So, I was expecting this guy to come to the pulpit playing some type of brass horn. When he walked to the pulpit, whipped out a harmonica and started to play, I was amazed!
I was determined that night to learn to play the harmonica, so on the last night of the series of services, I bought a harmonica from him (against my mother's wishes I might add). The other kids laughed and teased me a little bit, but the harmonica kinda "stuck" with me. After several years, I'm still playing harmonica, but have come to realize that this was just the start of something greater. Music has opened so many positive doors in my life. I'm not sure where I'd be today or what I'd be doing had I not picked up that first harmonica. God has blessed me with a gift, and sharing my music with others is my way of partly giving back."
Today, Todd's soulful, gospel harmonica can be heard in churches and other events across the nation, as well as on many studio recordings. He's a regular teacher and performer at the annual Society for the Preservation and Advancement of the Harmonica (SPAH) convention, and at many other harmonica workshops in the USA.
What others are saying about Todd... |
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"Todd Parrott is one of the freshest, most innovative and proficient harp players I know. He's got it all: great chops, killer tone, speed, finesse, and impeccable taste. Todd plays with a sensibility and maturity that lets me know he is first and foremost a great musician who never sacrifices musicality for mere technique. And he
genuinely loves sharing whatever knowledge he has with the rest of the harmonica community out there. I'm excited to see his star rising."
Buddy Greene - harmonica player and co-writer of "Mary, Did You Know?"
www.buddygreene.com |
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"Todd Parrott works the upper octave blues scale in a straight-ahead blues/gospel vein better than anybody out there, IMO. He's very fast, gets all the notes (overblows and overdraws), and, most importantly, makes it all sound very soulful.... Todd's too modest to say this, but I think he's got the best chance of any harmonica player I've seen to cross over and become the public sound and image of what pure-D American blues harmonica is about: unamped, very little tongue-blocking, just straight-up, stand-at-the-mic-and-blow-hell-out-of-it stuff. Sweet, strong, soulful, and clear...
He's definitely modern, in technical terms--all those overdraws and overblows, some of them bent and/or held and vibratoed--but his tonality is straight down the middle of the blues/gospel/country road. Most listeners won't hear "modern." They'll just hear "great!" Todd should be center stage at the Grand Ol' Opry, he should be the first-call studio guy in Nashville and L.A., he should be all over movie and TV soundtracks. He's really got it. One reason among many that he's got it is that he makes huge use of the upper octave blues scale..."
Adam Gussow - blues harmonica player, teacher and author
www.modernbluesharmonica.com |
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"I was knocked out the first time I heard Todd Parrott play harmonica. He has great tone, technique and soulfulness. I'm a big fan!"
Pat Bergeson - Nashville producer, harmonica player and guitarist, formerly with Chet Atkins
www.patbergeson.com |
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"Todd Parrott: One of the Tastiest & Most Accomplished Overblow Players Around Today."
Brendan Power - professional harmonica player and inventor of various harmonicas and tunings.
www.brendan-power.com
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