Phil Wiggins, a harmonica participant of such vary that he might make his instrument sound like a clarinet one minute, an accordion the following, after which a whole percussion part – all in service of the complicated melodies and regular rhythms of the model often called the Piedmont blues – died Might 7 at his dwelling in Takoma Park, Maryland. He was 69 years previous.
His daughter Martha Wiggins mentioned the trigger was most cancers.
For a lot of his profession, Wiggins was greatest often called one half of the duo Cephas and Wiggins, through which he performed and recorded with guitarist and singer John Cephas. The 2 have been thought-about one in every of Piedmont’s premier blues bands and toured repeatedly at dwelling and overseas for over 30 years, till The death of Mr. Cephas in 2009.
Piedmont blues is distinct from its Delta and Chicago cousins in its relaxed but sophisticated melodies and insistent rhythms. His influences embrace gospel, Appalachian folks, and early nation music.
Cephas performed his instrument with the delicate strumming typical of Piedmont blues. Wiggins wrapped all kinds of counterpoints round him after which exploded right into a solo that might be aggressive or restrained, tense or relaxed.
“The harmonica works the identical approach as your voice,” he told Blues Blast magazine in 2021. “You’ve an concept in thoughts that you simply wish to categorical, and it simply comes, in the identical approach that speech occurs. In some ways it nonetheless appears intuitive to me, besides that for me the harmonica works higher than my voice!”
Phillip Theodore Wiggins was born on Might 8, 1954, in Washington, the son of George Wiggins, a cartographer for the Division of the Inside, and Vicci (Carter) Wiggins, who managed the family. His father died when Phil was 7, and his mom later married Elliott Johnson, an Military officer.
Phil’s household had a well-stocked assortment of data at dwelling, which supplied the primary programs of his musical training. He had to purchase his personal devices, he mentioned later, and with a small revenue from delivering newspapers, the one factor he might afford was a plastic harmonica.
Whereas in highschool, he started hanging out with black musicians in Washington, lots of them newcomers to town from the South. They met on weekends in properties and barbershops, taking part in quite a lot of music that mirrored the various origins of the Nice Migration.
He grew to become particularly near {a partially} blind avenue singer named Flora Molton, and thru her he met a who’s who of gifted East Coast blues musicians. Whereas nonetheless in highschool, he joined her on stage on the Smithsonian Folklife Competition, and later joined a band led by one other esteemed blues artist, pianist and singer Huge Chief Ellis.
Cephas, 24 years older than Wiggins, joined Ellis’ band in 1975, and two years later he and Wiggins went out on their very own as Cephas and Wiggins.
Inside just a few years, they caught the eye of L+R, a German document firm specializing in jazz and blues. The label launched their first two albums and, extra importantly, introduced them to Europe to tour blues festivals there.
Later, the pair traveled the world on the request of the State Division and the Kennedy Middle; they made an look at a folks competition in Moscow in 1988, earlier than the autumn of the Soviet Union. They recorded 12 albums and gained 11 WC Helpful Awards, thought-about the blues equal of the Grammys.
Mr. Wiggins’ marriage to Wendy Chick resulted in divorce. Alongside along with his daughter Martha, he’s survived by his accomplice, Judy LaPrade; one other daughter, Eliza Wiggins; 4 brothers, Skip, Charles, William and Elliott; a sister, Rabiyah Khaliq; and two grandchildren.
Regardless of his fame as a fierce virtuoso, Mr. Wiggins offstage was humble and wanting to share his craft. He taught blues workshops throughout the nation and helped set up the blues program at Augusta Heritage Center in Elkins, W.Va., a company that promotes conventional arts and crafts. He was a daily teacher at their summer season workshops.
“Phil was a profound and considerate musician,” Emily Miller, the middle’s inventive director, wrote on Fb. “He wrote daring, important songs and performed them alongside conventional gems that he polished to simply the correct perfection.”
After Cephas died, Wiggins performed with a number of different guitarists, in addition to along with his personal string band, the Chesapeake Sheiks. In 2017, he received a national heritage grant from the Nationwide Fund for the Arts.
He continued to play the harmonica, however he additionally sang, one thing he hardly ever did when working with Mr. Cephas.
“The principle factor about singing is telling a narrative” he told Country Blues magazine in 2014. “After I try this, issues work out for me.”
