Gary Allegretto is a traveling bluesman. For many others in that category, it means a life on the road honing their craft through playing shows. Though Gary has logged in time on many, may stages, his travels also lean towards a National Geographic men’s adventure show. Over the years he has been a back-country forest ranger, forest firefighter, LA city firefighter, bouncer in a couple rough honky-tonks, cowboy ranch hand, beach lifeguard and white-water rafting guide.
‘Many Shades of Blue’ enters into life with an ode to first love, the harmonica. “She Speaks to Me” is a bluesy romp that tells the story of how the harmonica picks him up when Gary. like the song that honors his craft, turns blue. The tracks, falling in line with the blues tradition, seem to be made of an autobiographical story line. The telling of a blues tends to make the best narrators walk in the shoes of their lead characters. Gary is no exception. Whether reflecting (“Somerset”), feeling frisky (“Good to Go”), views to life observations (“Tattoo of Truth”) and a do-what-you-want attitude (“Mind Your Own Business”) all have voice and narrator as one. The album title acts as a beacon for the music on the disc/download. The sounds that are foundation for the stories move between acoustic and electric, hard and soft. “Four Days Late” from the album, with vocals by Ivan Neville, was the number one voted track from our readers for the Social Change sampler.
Besides being a player, Gary needs to be given a hand for his humanitarian efforts. He is the founding director of Harmonikids, Harmonikids is a 501(c)3 non profit charitable organization that provides music therapy with harmonicas and lessons to special needs children internationally. Gary has provided aid to thousands of children from the Tsunami refugee camps of North Sumatra, Indonesia, to the Katrina evacuee trailer villages of Louisiana, to earthquake ravaged Port Au Prince, Haiti and many points in between. Harmonikids has received widespread acclaim in the media including The Today Show, Blues Revue, and Living Blues Magazines.
The Blues Foundation has announced that Gary Allegretto is among the honoree's that will be receiving a 2011 Keeping the Blues Alive (KBA) Award during a recognition brunch on Saturday, February 5, 2011, in Memphis, Tennessee. Each year, The Blues Foundation presents the KBA Awards to individuals and organizations that have made significant contributions to the blues music world. The KBAs are awarded strictly on the basis of merit by a select panel of blues professionals to those working to actively promote and document the music. Gary Allegretto was unanimously chosen by the KBA board.
The Alternate Root (TAR): How do you manage being a touring musician and running a non-profit?
Gary Allegretto (GA): Both are very important to me. Harmonikids, given the nature of the work, could overshadow anything. I am very proud of my playing, which I love, as well and don’t want to lose that in people’s eyes.
TAR: How long has Harmonikids been up and running?
GA: I have been doing in Harmonikids since 1985. It is a labor of love, I have never made a penny from it in twenty-five years. I started doing it at a cancer hospital in New York City. A friend had an organization for kids. They would pound on piano and guitar, not really playing. The harmonica was easier for them.
TAR: Sounds like a natural match for kids.
GA: I have seen miracles. I had a kid once who could not breath out of his mouth because of brain tumor but he played the harmonica. With direction, the will to learn takes over.
TAR: You just returned from Haiti?
GA: When I saw the destruction from earthquake, I wanted to help. I spent months trying to find someone to help by sponsoring me to get down there and couldn't find anybody. I tried all the big foundations, who all said no, with the exception of the 
restavek foundation. They are an organization that bring public attention to these kids, a restavek child or restavek. In Haiti, the kids suffer in that culture. There is a provision called Restavek, which means live with in Creole, for child slavery. The kids live with a family and the family owns them. They provide work for the family in exchange for a mat on the floor. It is incredible to me that a country that won its own independence enslaves its future. The kids I taught were mostly restavek, a word that has no plural. A lot of restavek are not allowed to go to school. Some of the kids were earthquakes victims, some orphans.
Anybody in Port au Prince is a victim of the earthquake, the country is completely devastated and desperate. People are walking around wondering what to do. This is a place that really had no infrastructure to begin with. It takes hours to get a few miles. There are people living in tents, the governors mansion has tents on the front lawn. The situation is unbelievable.
TAR: What does a session with the kids entail?
GA: I start out by playing and entertaining them. It draws them in with the magic of the music. I think that the harmonica draws people in because of its voice-like tone. The kids in Haiti had never seen harmonica before. Horner donated a thousand harmonicas so that every kid who I taught could keep them. I entertain first and do it in a fun way. It is time tested, I have done it thousands of times.
After that they are ready to learn. I hand out the harmonicas and music sheets. I teach them how to isolate notes. All it takes is hand/eye coordination to learn to play songs. I teach them Happy Birthday first, it is a universal song. I picked that song because a lot of the kids in Haiti do not have birthdays. I gave them a harmonica birthday. They learned the song in less than five minutes and were looking at each other in disbelief. These are kids that never get gifts. Their self esteem and confidence go through the roof. I taught a few common folk songs. I taught them ‘You Are My Sunshine’ That was the first song I learned as a kid when his grandfather gave me a harmonica.
TAR: Do you stick to disasters for in-need kids?
GA: Not only in disasters.....children's hospitals, juvenile homes, McDonald houses, anywhere there is a need. I do it while I am on the road touring. I visited a bunch of places in Australia and across the country here in the United States.
TAR: What would you like to tell people about Harmonikids?
GA: I would let people know that no one sponsors me and I don't get paid for this. Sponsorships and donations are appreciated. All this work has to be done when I can do it and make living around it. My long term goal is to have ongoing programs.
For more information about Gary Allegretto, check out his website (garyallegretto.com). For more information about his unique charitable work visit (harmonikids.org). (Danny McCloskey)
