HARMONICA CONVERGENCE:

The heyday of the harmonica: 400 top players perform and jam in Sacramento. (Edward Ortiz, 8/12/09, McClatchy Newspapers)

This week the center of the universe for all things harmonica is in Sacramento.

More than 400 harmonica players from around the nation and the globe will descend on the city starting today for the 46th annual convention of the Society for the Preservation and Advancement of the Harmonica, or SPAH.

Some of the biggest names in the harmonica world will partake, like legendary blues player Charlie Musselwhite, Hollywood session player Tommy Morgan, and Nashville legend Jelly Roll Johnson. And this year the festival has invited one of the world's best classical harmonica players: Jia-Yi He.