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Portrait of Larry Adler

William P. Gottlieb · Public domain

Larry Adler

American harmonica player

1914 – 2001aged 87

Elevated the harmonica from a folk instrument to a concert one, commissioning and performing works written specifically for him by George Gershwin, Ralph Vaughan Williams, Darius Milhaud, and Arthur Benjamin. Blacklisted in Hollywood during the McCarthy era, he rebuilt his career in Britain and, decades later, recorded with Sting, Elton John, and Kate Bush.

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