‘People say it’s advantageous’

Leon Moore is perhaps the only performing musician hailing from Charlotteville, Tobago, with a two-inch-long playing instrument. He didn’t use his miniature diatonic device, the harmonica, at last year’s finals of Scouting for Talent, but it’s usually an ‘end-off’ to performances at social events. Picture a 200 lb Leon, former bodybuilder, standing behind a microphone, and holding in his right hand a pint-sized musical instrument. “I get a lot of knocking for that. People say ‘a big strong man like you playing a li’l instrument like that. That is advantageous’.” Leon said. His answer: “It’s what I love and I can do best.” (The mouth organ man from the East also plays the acoustic guitar.)

Leon, a courier at the Arima branch of Republic Bank, became one of the more recognised faces after his debut performance at the Bank’s talent show competition in 1996. He received the “Most promising performer” prize and five years later, trumped up his first win. At present, he’s the defending champ at this year’s Republic Bank spectacular event. In his former hometown, however, it was the norm to see villagers at street corners playing the harmonica. As a matter of fact, Leon was one of those who entertained the neighbours in his boyhood days. He recalled how it all started: “Every year I got the same gift for Christmas — a harmonica, because you would get one and lose it. I was in love with the harmonica so that was all I requested. And I played it on the block with the fellas. We never knew about going to bars, drinking and smoking weed.” Leon’s mother was also a harmonica player and would accompany the church choir and entertain the family at Christmastime.

Of his five siblings (two brothers and three sisters), Leon is the sole harmonica player. In 1987, at age 27, he added to his collection of harmonicas, the chromatic harmonica. “I didn’t know how to play it at first until I saw a guy playing it in church. He told me ‘boy yuh start late’, but still gave me a few tips. I played it at home just for fun. I kept playing around with it and eventually it started making sense; and I’m a very fast learner,” said Leon, now 43. The chromatic harmonica, he said, gives him a wider range of notes when compared with the diatonic harmonica. The diatonic plays in octave — A, B, C#, D, E F#, G#, A — while the mini diatonic harmonica has just one octave. “People see this instrument as insignificant, they say this ‘li’l stupidness,’ but the amount of music and emotion this thing could play. I can play any type of music on it, but I’ve never tried soca. I’m thinking about doing it but I like more laid back music with a bluesy feel. I personally have a love for ballads. My television channel does not move from BET jazz.” Though versatile, the diatonic is popularly known as the blues harmonica. “Long ago people knew about the echo super vamper model of Hohner (brand) and that was folk style... and the instrument is internationally accepted, but over the years, has lost its place,” Leon said.

All Leon, or any player for that matter, needs is good breath control to play the instrument. The harmonica is played by blowing and drawing while moving the instrument from left to right. “There’s a technique I use called lipping or tonguing where you form a small ‘o’ with your lips in order to block out a note or a few notes to get another.” Oh boy, can Leon carry a note! He practises at home every night, and sometimes early in the morning — not to disturb the neighbourhood, though. “Even at work, I would find a nice peaceful area. You don’t have to play loudly.” He orders books, video tapes and CDs through a friend abroad and somtimes purchases them at Simon’s music shop in St James. “It took me a while to learn but I played morning ’til night.” He envisiones himself as a ‘local Stevie Wonder,’ whom he greatly admires. He has a number of his recordings on the harmonica on CD. “It’s funny,” he said, “I never had any ambition to be an entertainer. I’d just been playing the instrument for the fun of it. When someone suggested I compete on Scouting for Talent I didn’t believe that I could cope with the many talented singers but I said I’d give it a try... I’m still going through the learning process. On a journey to Port-of-Spain from Arima, I see myself somewhere in Tunapuna. I don’t ever take it for granted...” Since there are not many locals who play the instrument to compare him to, Leon observed: “I don’t compare myself with locals. I compare myself with the best.”