SPAH -- Society for the Preservation and Advancement of the Harmonica

The 1^st Annual Chrome Noir Harmonica Summit took place Wednesday, September 30^th 2009 on the campus of Howard University in Washington, D.C. This event (founded and produced by Howard University music professor, Dr. Saïs Kamalidiin) is the only annual event to exclusively feature the harmonica to have ever existed in Washington, DC. This year’s edition of the Summit featured the talents of some of the mid-Atlantic region’s finest harmonica artists.

The featured harmonicists included (chromatic) jazz harmonica player Dave Kaplan (with an all-star rhythm section that consisted of Charles Covington on piano, Gerry Kunkel on guitar and Karine Chapdelaine on bass); Jackie Merritt (along with guitarist–singer Miles Spicer) sang and played diatonic harmonica in the folk-songster tradition and chromatic players Jack Hopkins, Frank Jamison and diatonic player James Ealey, all members of The Capitol Harmonica Club, performed classic standards from the early part of the 20th century.  Khadijah Salaam (chromatic) and Wesley Meyer (diatonic), both members of the newly formed Howard University Harmonica Collective (HUHC) made nostalgic and world music contributions to the one-of-a-kind event, respectively.

The Summit ended with all chromatic harmonica players participating in a “jazz jam session” led by Dr. Kamalidiin (on chromatic), performing Duke Ellington’s Satin Doll. Dr. Kamalidiin (chromatic and diatonic), the director of the HUHC, is “determined to expand the opportunities for hearing, studying and appreciating the harmonica in the region and globally.” The 2^nd Annual Chrome Noir Harmonica Summit will take place during the last week of September, 2010. 

The Howard University Harmonica Collective (HUHC) is open to any member of the Howard University community (i.e., student, faculty, administrator, staff or friend) who performs on, studies, is interested in or simply enjoys any aspect of the harmonica. To join, there are no dues at this time. The only requirement for membership is your participation. To initiate the process, simply express an interest and begin attending our meetings. The Collective meets once a week, every Wednesday. For more information contact Dr. Saïs Kamalidiin (Coordinator) at  This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it

The 2nd Annual Chrome Noir Harmonica Summit will take place on Wednesday, September 29,  2010 on the campus of Howard University. Harmonica artists for the 2010 Harmonica Summitwill be selected from the following list:

Gaye Adegbalola

Napoleon Brundage

Cardinal State Harmonica Club (from Norfolk, Va.)

Bruce Ewan

Harmonica Plus (Harmonica Club of Newport News, Va.)

Allen Holmes

Anneliese "Sissi" Jones

Alvin Nesbitt

Charlie Sayles

Phil Wiggins

Frederic Yonnet

As always, admission to the 2010 Summit is free!