# Awesome Jeff healey tribute video



## RobQ (May 29, 2008)

The soundtrack is from Mess of Blues, Jeff's last record. The video was shot over the last few years of Jeff's life, onstage at his club and in the studio.

I think it's excellent.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PPBTLGOP3rQ


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## guitarman2 (Aug 25, 2006)

I agree. Truly Awesome.


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## mrmatt1972 (Apr 3, 2008)

Thanks for that. I remember buying Jeff's first tape (that sort of dates me...) and being totally amazed. It sort of initiated my love of the blues. My jaw still drops when I hear him solo.


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## al3d (Oct 3, 2007)

that's pretty cool man. I loved his stuff...but i neve understood why he learned to play like that!..i mean he's blind..been blind not crippled !


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## Robert1950 (Jan 21, 2006)

I guess I should read the thread on Evans Pickups then.


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## nitehawk55 (Sep 19, 2007)

Jeff's method of playing always amazed me ( and other players ) . He is missed a lot .


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## bobb (Jan 4, 2007)

Paul said:


> I bought my Squire Strat in '86 b'cause he played a Squire Strat. I put Evans p'ups in it because he had them.


I always loved Jeff's reasoning for the Squier. He once told me that he could afford far more expensive Strats but preferred the Squier for one simple reason. If he walked into a wall, he wouldn't be as worried about damaging a cheap Squier as compared to a pre-CBS Strat.


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## Sneaky (Feb 14, 2006)

al3d said:


> that's pretty cool man. I loved his stuff...but i neve understood why he learned to play like that!..i mean he's blind..been blind not crippled !



I always wondered that too. The thing that always freaked me out was whenever he stood up to play a solo at his shows the crowd would go wild as if he was somehow "cured". 

I have always been in awe of his talent though, and will never forget those early days in Toronto seeing him at Clinton's or Grossman's, sometimes with about five people in the audience.

I miss him.

Pete

PS. I think that is Phil Sayce in the video on the 2nd guitar.


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## RobQ (May 29, 2008)

Sneaky said:


> PS. I think that is Phil Sayce in the video on the 2nd guitar.


No. Dan Nordermeer. 

BTW Jeff played Japanese Squiers in the early days because he liked them better.


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## J S Moore (Feb 18, 2006)

Sneaky said:


> I always wondered that too. The thing that always freaked me out was whenever he stood up to play a solo at his shows the crowd would go wild as if he was somehow "cured".


I know exactly what you mean. No disrespect to the man, he was a huge talent.


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## guitarman2 (Aug 25, 2006)

al3d said:


> that's pretty cool man. I loved his stuff...but i neve understood why he learned to play like that!..i mean he's blind..been blind not crippled !



I'm sure the way he chose to play has more to do with his comfort than any disability. Pretty sure he didn't approach the guitar one day saying, "I'm blind I think I'll sit down and play it like a piano".
The way he played guitar in his lap has alot to do with his unique style.


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## RIFF WRATH (Jan 22, 2007)

I had a chance to see him years ago in the local arena......sound wasn't the best, but what a show..........a couple of times he got really rockin' and wandering and one of the guys backstage would grab his shirt tail and haul him back from the front of the stage.........awesome player and singer


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## guitarman2 (Aug 25, 2006)

RIFF WRATH said:


> I had a chance to see him years ago in the local arena......sound wasn't the best, but what a show..........a couple of times he got really rockin' and wandering and one of the guys backstage would grab his shirt tail and haul him back from the front of the stage.........awesome player and singer



I got to see him a couple a few years ago in Brantford on Canada Day. The city hired him to do a free concert at Cockshutt park. It was a great concert but he didn't get up much.


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## RobQ (May 29, 2008)

guitarman2 said:


> I'm sure the way he chose to play has more to do with his comfort than any disability. Pretty sure he didn't approach the guitar one day saying, "I'm blind I think I'll sit down and play it like a piano".
> The way he played guitar in his lap has alot to do with his unique style.


Jeff always believed that the way he played had huge advantages. He had use of the thumb and also a much bigger reach with his left hand. Also he could use his whole arm to bend notes and get vibrato.

He started playing that way because, as a very small child, someone handed him a guitar and it just felt natural to him to play that way.


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## CocoTone (Jan 22, 2006)

Sneaky said:


> PS. I think that is Phil Sayce in the video on the 2nd guitar.


No it is not Phil. This is.


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=q4v5F4iaO4o
CT.


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## mhammer (Nov 30, 2007)

I don't know if Jeff was ever aware of him prior to taking up the guitar, but one of my childhood heroes was Maritime singer Fred McKenna ( http://www.thecanadianencyclopedia.com/index.cfm?PgNm=TCE&Params=U1ARTU0002298 ) whom I would see on both Don Messer's Jubilee on Friday nights (with Marg Osburne and Charlie Chamberlain) and later on Singalong Jubilee. Fred played sitting down, one leg bopping to keep time, and fretting in the Healey/Stanley Jordan manner. You always knew when the MC introduced Fred that you were going to hear something with just a little more soul to it than what Don, Marg or Charlie sang.


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## Spikezone (Feb 2, 2006)

That IS a great little tribute. Funny, those YouTube links always get me off on a tangent for a while. Here's one with Jeff and Phil both getting a chance toi stretch out. Jeff always was an AMAZING player, and I would dare say that Phil (who I had never heard of before), is a monster player as well!	http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EOeKcwr2YYE&NR=1
-Mikey
P.S. I tried to figure out how to post this video on the page without the link using the BB code and couldn't get it worked out, so if anybody has done it, I would appreciate some pointers.


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## guitarman2 (Aug 25, 2006)

Paul said:


> Mike has a PhD in music, and used to play with Classic Albums Live.


Forgive my ignorance. I've heard of PHD doctorate in music but never gave it much thought. Is that someone who is allowed to operate only on musicians?


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## bobb (Jan 4, 2007)

Paul said:


> Close, but not quite. You have to make an appointment to hear him play, and he's always 45 minutes late. You don't have to pay when you leave, but he does submit a bill to the gov't for services rendered. He gets more for playing Tchaikovky and Scriabin than he does for playing Chuck Berry.
> 
> Sadly, there is an ever increasing percentage of the population without a family musician. Those of us lucky enough to still have a family musician can be referred to a specialist in the event we need a serious intervention.


Does this mean that socialized musical care might not be far off for the US?


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## RobQ (May 29, 2008)

Hahahaha.

Mike also gigged occasionally with the Jeff Healey Blues Band when Dan Nordermeer was unavailable. That would make Mike the only person (besides Jeff) who played in both of Jeff's bands, the Blues band and the Jazz wizards.

Mike is truly an awesome talent; Jeff told me he thought that Mike was one of the finest natural musicians he had ever met. Here's a link to a youtube vid of Mike playing and singing Whipping Post with Jeff and the rest of the JHBB.

it's also a neat video in that it shows that Jeff could do a pretty good impersonation of Dickie Betts' soloing approach.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7Ouwld_hB8A


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