Jim Fitting is an American

harmonica The harmonica, also known as a French harp or mouth organ, is a free reed wind instrument used worldwide in many musical genres, notably in blues, American folk music, classical music, jazz, country, and rock. The many types of harmonica incl ...

player based in

Boston, Massachusetts Boston is the capital and most populous city in the Commonwealth (U.S. state), Commonwealth of Massachusetts in the United States. The city serves as the cultural and Financial centre, financial center of New England, a region of the Northeas ...

. He is known for his work with

Treat Her Right Treat Her Right was an American rock group, formed in Boston, Massachusetts, United States, in 1985. The band originally featured Mark Sandman on "low guitar", Billy Conway on cocktail drum, David Champagne on guitar and Jim Fitting on har ...

The The are an English rock band from London, formed in 1979 by singer-songwriter Matt Johnson, the only constant member, and often the sole member. achieved critical acclaim and commercial success in the UK, with 15 chart singles, seven reaching ...

, and Session Americana. His credits include guest performances on various other artists' albums and live gigs.

Background

Fitting was born in

California California () is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States that lies on the West Coast of the United States, Pacific Coast. It borders Oregon to the north, Nevada and Arizona to the east, and shares Mexico–United States border, an ...

and grew up in

San Francisco San Francisco, officially the City and County of San Francisco, is a commercial, Financial District, San Francisco, financial, and Culture of San Francisco, cultural center of Northern California. With a population of 827,526 residents as of ...

. He began playing harmonica at an early age with his brother Tom on guitar. In the 1970s, he went to

Yale University Yale University is a Private university, private Ivy League research university in New Haven, Connecticut, United States. Founded in 1701, Yale is the List of Colonial Colleges, third-oldest institution of higher education in the United Stat ...

Sex Execs and Fort Apache

After graduating, he joined two of his friends from Yale—

Sean Slade Sean Slade (born 14 November 1957) is an American record producer, engineer, and mixer. On many of his productions he worked in partnership with Paul Q. Kolderie. Career Slade was born in Lansing, Michigan, United States. He graduated from Ya ...

and Paul Q. Kolderie—in the band Sex Execs, in which Fitting played

baritone saxophone The baritone saxophone (sometimes abbreviated to "bari sax") is a member of the saxophone family of instruments, larger (and lower-pitched) than the tenor saxophone, but smaller (and higher-pitched) than the bass saxophone, bass. It is the lowe ...

. The trio also helped found

Fort Apache Studios Fort Apache Studios is a New England recording studio focusing on alternative rock sessions produced there since 1986. It is currently located in New Hampshire. History The studio was initially built by a collective begun in 1985 by musician/p ...

in the mid-1980s, along with

Joe Harvard Joseph Incagnoli (1959–2019), better known as Joe Harvard, was an American musician, record producer, and writer, who played a key role in developing the alternative rock scene in Boston, Massachusetts, in the 1980s. He founded Fort Apache Stud ...

Treat Her Right

Fitting's playing was prominent in the sound of 1980s/early 1990s Boston quartet Treat Her Right, which featured Mark Sandman. The group's drummer, Billy Conway, was another friend and bandmate from Yale. In 1988, ''People'' magazine called Fitting's harmonica "the pulse of the band." ''Trouser Press'' noted that the songs were "all given added juice by Jim Fitting's wailing harp work."

The The

Fitting played with The The in the early to mid-1990s after Treat Her Right broke up. A 1993 account of a show on the ''Lonely Planet'' tour called him "a valuable new addition to the band." A book about this band and its leader, Matt Johnson, observed that Fitting helped draw audience approval with enthusiastic performances.

Bonnie Raitt

He has also accompanied an old friend,

Bonnie Raitt Bonnie Lynn Raitt (; born November 8, 1949) is an American singer, guitarist, and songwriter. In 1971, Raitt released her Bonnie Raitt (album), self-titled debut album. Following this, she released a series of critically acclaimed Americana (mu ...

, on stage. The ''Boston Globe'' noted in 1991 that Fitting was a "special favorite" of Raitt's.

Coots

In 1999, Fitting helped form Coots, which released an album in 2001 called ''Message from the Seventh Dimension'' and another called ''Pray for Rain'' in 2004. In addition to his harmonica, Fitting was lead vocalist for this band (he had occasionally sung for Treat Her Right). The lineup, which was notable for the absence of electric guitar, also included drummer Jerome Deupree.

Session Americana

A few years later, he became part of Session Americana, which remains active today. In 2018, a Vermont newspaper, the ''Times-Argus'', described the musical collective and Fitting, "an astoundingly good harmonica player." He also contributes vocals and songwriting. His songs often link to history.

Billy, Jimmy, & Dave

In 2019, Fitting, Conway, and David Champagne got together and recorded an album. A live date was announced for January 19, 2020 at Club Passim in Cambridge—which was to be their first appearance together on stage since all were members of Treat Her Right. Unfortunately, it was announced that week that Conway would not be able to perform at the event because of health issues. At the event Fitting told the audience Conway had restarted cancer treatment.

References

External links

Jim Fitting interview (2012) at Cambridge Historical Society websiteJim Fitting interview (2014) at Me&Thee.org
{{DEFAULTSORT:Fitting, Jim American harmonica players Living people Year of birth missing (living people) Yale University alumni