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seated in the studio with me and Guy, looking at us and smiling at us, sometimes
also making fun of us.

BiTS: You mentioned earlier on Fabrizio, Charlie Musselwhite, but who are your

favourite harmonica players? Who are the artists that you admire most as harp
players?

FP: Oh, there are a lot, and I change every day. Of course, Charlie, Paul Butterfield,

Sonny Boy Williamson 1st and 2ⁿd. James Cotton was a huge influence to me, but
also Noah Lewis or Big Walter Horton and Little Walter too, of course. But also
sometimes I hear some unknown harmonica player, and I say, oh, I like it. So they

change almost every day. One day
my favourite is Sonny Boy [No 2].
The other day it is Sonny Terry.

FP: Actually, I forgot to say that also
Paul Jones and The Blues Band were
a huge influence. I remember that

album called “Ready” [chuckles]. I
had to buy a second copy because
the first one was worn out.

BiTS: Fabrizio, tell me something
about “Healing Blues”. It's been out
for a year now, but I gather that it's

going quite well.

FP: Yeah. Yeah. Yeah, yeah, yeah,
yeah. The album is an ideal, a model

following “Basement Blues” that
continues my research in my
archives, and also, I added some new songs recorded for the occasion. So I discovered

that I have a lot of material live with Guy and some radio recordings.

Then I met a couple of years ago, Sharon (Shar) White, who is the backup singer for
Eric Clapton. So I decide to put things together. I had the strong idea that blues is

healing music from the very beginning. It took me 20 or 26, albums to get here,
because I always wanted to call an album “Blues Is Healing”. But then, during the

production, the title changed. I really think it's true that blues is a miracle if you
think about it, and blues is healing, is a medicine to sooth your soul. Blues is special
music and it's a powerful medicine to heal all sadness, so we really need it and
probably now more than ever.

BiTS: A lady is reported to have said to Buddy Guy once that she didn't listen to
blues because it was all sad music and he invited her to go to a show of his and he
played something or other. I don’t know what he played, but after it he spoke to her

again and she was convinced that it is not just sad music. A lot of people are put off