SYRACUSE, N.Y. (NCC News) — Blues musician Mark Hummel performed Wednesday night at the 443 Social Club & Lounge in tribute to blues singer and harmonica player Little Walter.
Hummel was joined by guitarist Anson Funderburgh, drummer Wes Starr, bassist Bill Stuve and pianist Clay Swafford.
The five blues musicians shared the stage to honor Walter, who is widely considered a harmonica trailblazer for future generations.
Walter died in 1968 at the age of 37 but was inducted into The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2008 as the first and only artist inducted explicitly as a harmonica player.
When Hummel first started, Walter became his first major influence.
“I heard a song called ‘Juke’ that Little Walter had as a huge hit,” he said.
Hummel wanted to acquire that same sound from “Juke.”
“He had this really distorted, dirty tone that sounded like a tenor sax or something, and I became basically a Little Walter freak,” he said. “I’d put on his LPs, and I just put the needle on the record and let it play.”
Under the influence of Walter, Hummel earned a Grammy nomination in 2014 for his album “Remembering Little Walter.”
