Time for some Bluegrass

Ed Cosner & Katie Bern
Saturday, April 14, 7:30,
Room E324 in Old Town School East

Transplanted southerner Ed Cosner has been introducing scores of younger fiddlers in northwest Indiana to the sounds of bluegrass. Katie Bern, a past winner in our Midwest Fiddle Championship, was one of his finest students.

Some tunes from the teacher, Mr. Cosner . . .

Twinkle Twinkle Little Star


Dreamer’s Waltz


And one from Katie, the student . . .

Festival Rag


$15 dues for this meeting, click here, or choose the year-long subscription option ($60 for 12 months of Fiddle Club).

A bit of Irish fiddling, with Deirdre Ní Chonghaile

Deirdre Ní Chonghaile,
Guest at Fiddle Club of the World
Friday, March 23, 7:30p,
Old Town School East


Deirdre Ní Chonghaile is a fiddle-player from the Aran Islands in Ireland. She is currently the NEH Keough Fellow at the Keough-Naughton Institute for Irish Studies at the University of Notre Dame, where she is revising her PhD into a book about music collectors and music-collecting. This summer, she will take up the Alan Lomax Fellowship in Folklife Studies before returning to Ireland to start her next project, a comprehensive collection of songs composed in the Aran Islands over the last 200 years. She also works as a broadcaster, musician, and teacher of music and dance.

$15 dues for this meeting, click here, or choose the yearly dues option.

Here are some fairly easy tunes we could play together, as found on YouTube.
Na Ceannabháin Bhána, a slip jig (9/8 time)
Nead na Lachan sa Mhúta, another slip jig, also called The Fox Hunter’s

The Peeler and the Goat, a slide
slow and fast

Also, check out the Tune(s) of the Week for the last two weeks for
a set of polkas and a set of hornpipes or barn dances

Finally, here are the ABCs for tunes that Deirdre suggested.

Special Meeting, Special Guests, This Saturday

Arto Järvelä with Kaivama – Finnish Trad
Saturday, March 3, 7:30p
Old Town School East (4545 Lincoln), Rm E324

Arto Järvelä Kaivama

We welcome back Arto Järvelä, our good friend from Finland, for his second visit to Fiddle Club of the World. Many of us have warm memories of his residency at the Old Town School in 2009. Joining him for their second visit to the Old Town School is Kaivama, the duo of Sara Pajunen and Jonathan Rundman, from the Northwoods of Minnesota. Separately and together they have excavated many beautiful, archaic gems from the music traditions of the Finnish people, while also contributing new melodies in those ancient keys.

Here’s a sample, recorded during their visit in June 2011, when the three of them dropped in on my Fiddle 4 class.

Minuet efter Matti Haudanmaa


Arto Järvelä & Kaivama
(click here for another view)

To learn a couple of tunes to play with Arto, click here to listen, or here for the notes.

$15 dues for only this meeting, click here to register.

Join Fiddle Club of the World for $60 yearly dues, support our guest artists and save 20% off the spring schedule alone. You will then have free admission for the rest of your year-long membership. Plus you get your own very cool Fiddle Club card.

David Greely, Cajun Fiddler

Friday, February 24, 7:30pm
Room E324, Old Town School East (4545 Lincoln)

David Greely

For an interesting story on what can draw a person into a lifelong love affair with traditional music, you should read the bio on David Greely’s website. If you want to dance a two-step or waltz, you should pick up a Steve Riley & the Mamou Playboys CD (their latest, Grand Isle, was a Grammy nominee). David and Steve, co-founded the band 23 years ago; David left for a solo and acoustic career after their storied Mardi Gras gig in Mamou, Louisiana last year. (I first met David during Mardi Gras in Mamou 17 years ago.) To be inspired to reach for new levels melodic magic and heavenly harmonies, listen to the two cuts below (from his solo CD, Sud du Sud.

Bayou Teche Waltz


Cotillion / Chatagnier


For further interest and inspiration, come to David’s demo workshop for fiddlers and other musicians at the Fiddle Club of the World this Friday. Admission for this meeting is $15, click here to register. To save some money of the next 12 months, join Fiddle Club of the World with $60 yearly dues. Plus you get your own very cool Fiddle Club card.

To learn a couple of tunes to play with David on Friday, click here.

Laissez les bons temps rouler!

Two Fabulous Guests

David Greely – Cajun Fiddler
Friday, February 24, 7:30
Old Town School East (4545 Lincoln), Rm E324

David Greely

Founding fiddler of the Mamou Playboys, David Greely has assembled a repertoire of uncommon Cajun music and new companion pieces to entertain and inspire you.

 

 

To learn a couple of tunes to play with David, click here.

$15 dues for either of these meetings, click here.

Arto Järvelä with Kaivama – Finnish Trad
Saturday, March 3, 7:30p
Old Town School East (4545 Lincoln), Rm E324

Arto Järvelä & Kaivama

Born to a family of fiddlers from Kaustinen, the epicenter of Finnish fiddling, our good friend Arto Järvelä makes a return to fiddle club, bringing with him Kaivama, the Minnesota-based duo of Sara Pajunen and Jonathan Rundman, for their second visit to the Old Town School.

 

To learn a couple of tunes to play with Arto, click here.

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Join Fiddle Club of the World for $60 yearly dues, support our guest artists and save 20% off the spring schedule alone. You will then have free admission for the rest of your year-long membership. Plus you get your own very cool Fiddle Club card.

Meetings & Guests for Fall 2011

All events happen at the
Atlantic Bar & Grill (5062 Lincoln)

You can now join Fiddle Club of the World for $60 yearly dues. This allows you to 1) support our effort to bring notable fiddlers to the Old Town School for friendly and up close interactions with our local players, 2) save up to 50% off of single meeting dues, and 3) get a cool Fiddle Club card with your name and renewal date inscribed. You don’t have to be a fiddler to join or attend. Everyone is welcome.

Lynn Frederick with Fred Campeau
Sunday, October 23, 6:30 – Old-Time

Lynn Frederick
A Midwestern mainstay of old-time music,* Lynn Frederick, a native of Indiana now living in Ohio, played with the Rhythm Gorillas in the ’80s and the Red Mules String Band in the ’90s. From Red Mules fiddler, the late Jeff Goerhing, Lynn learned the half dozen Buckeye tunes he will share with Fiddle Club (watch for a forthcoming “Tunes” post). A multi-instrumentalist, singer and dance caller, Lynn will also give us a few of the great old songs in his repertoire.This Fiddle Club will feature Lynn paired up with Fred Campeau, of Volo Bogtrotters fame. They make up half of the Knock Knock Hoosiers that have performed annually at a festival in Nappanee, Indiana for the better part of three decades. Songs and tunes don’t get much older or timelier than this.

Or is he a mainstay of Midwestern old-time?

Go here for tunes from Lynn Frederick. Learn some or all. We’ll play them together after Lynn’s program.

Square & Ceilidh Dance workshop
Sunday, November 20, 6:30 – dance band practice** dancers welcome

Michi Regier with Peasants Abroad
Sunday, December 11, 6:30p – Ukrainian &c.

Michi Regier
Michi Regier started out with classical violin lessons (lessons that were well-earned), but soon went off in search of Gypsy fiddling on paths that took her into the worlds of Mariachi bands and renaissance fairs. Among other gems, Michi will perform her “Fiddle Tree” travelogue in fiddle, English and Ukrainian, highlighting the musical folklore of the Ukraine, which she studied first-hand in 2003 at the Lysenko Conservatory in L’viv. She also plays with the Milwaukee based Water Street Bridge. Peasants Abroad is the Madison, Wisconsin duo of Ashli Fain on mandolin and percussionist Richard Miller. Both will also demonstrate some dancing to the accompaniment of Michi Regier’s exotic fiddling.

Single dues for a meeting with a featured fiddler are $15. Register here by date.
Or you may choose the yearly dues option for $60.

** To be a Fiddle Club player, come to a Fiddle Club event. There are no single dues for meetings at which we just play tunes, watch films or dance. Come and join us, even if you don’t have a Fiddle Club card. If you decide to register for one, we appreciate your support.

Meetings for Spring and Summer 2011

All events happen at the Atlantic Bar & Grill (5062 Lincoln)

Good news. You can now join Fiddle Club of the World for $60 yearly dues. This allows you to 1) support our effort to bring notable fiddlers to the Old Town School for friendly and up close interactions with our local players, 2) save up to 50% off of single meeting dues, and 3) get a cool Fiddle Club card with your name and renewal date inscribed.

Kathleen Keane
Sunday, May 15, 6:30p – Irish

Kathleen Keane
A star of stage and screen–really–Kathleen once taught Irish step-dancing at the Old Town School and was a featured dancer in the Green Fields of America tour. She played tinwhistle in The Drovers (with whom she appeared in the film Backdraft as well as in the Tom Hanks movie, Road to Perdition. More recently, Kathleen has made her mark as a fine Irish fiddler. She toured for three years with Gaelic Storm, with whom she earned a #2 spot on the Billboard World Music chart, earned a #1 spot on the same chart with a song composed for the Windham Hill Celtic Christmas album, and recently released her first solo CD–Where the Wind Meets the Water–with a sell-out concert at the Mayne Stage. Fiddle Club offers a chance for an up close and friendly musical experience with our own Kathleen Keane.

Sule Greg Wilson
Sunday, May 29, 6:30 – Black Old-Time

Sule Greg WilsonSule is the first non-fiddler to be a featured guest at Fiddle Club of the World. During a long career as a dancer, drummer and educator, he took up the banjo as he became enthralled with the instruments historical and musical connections to the African diaspora. An organizer of the historic Black Banjo Then & Now conference held in 2005, Sule was a founding member of the Carolina Chocolate Drops. He is currently working with the Drops and our own Reggio “The Hoofer” McLaughlin on a new production being sponsored by the Old Town School. He’ll take a break from their rehearsal gathering in May, to give us a program of African-American banjo tunes and open us up to the rhythmic potential of old-time music. Sule is a fabulous teacher, so don’t miss this one.

Single dues for a meeting with a featured fiddler are $15. Register here by date.
Or you may choose the yearly dues option for $60.

Square & Ceilidh Dance workshop
Sunday, June 19, 6:30 – a dry run for Fiddle Club players,* dancers welcome

Square & Ceilidh Dance
Sunday, July 17, 6:30 – the real thing
Admission for dancers: $5

* To be a Fiddle Club player, come to a Fiddle Club event. There are no single dues for meetings at which we just play tunes, watch films or dance. Come and join us, even if you don’t have a Fiddle Club card. If you decide to register for one, we appreciate your support.

Fiddlers for Winter Nights

The Chicago Chapter of the Fiddle Club of the World will meet every third Sunday of the month at 6:30 pm at the Atlantic Bar & Grill, 5062 Lincoln

The January 16 meeting is on us. Come on out and try something new.
Dues for the February meeting are $15. You can register for both by clicking here.

Jan. 16: Mary Allsopp with Tim Anderson, Swedish
Mary and Tim delight in sharing the music of Sweden.  These expressive tunes carry overtones of Baroque and Irish music and have a heart of their own.

Mary Allsopp
Mary Allsopp started playing Scandinavian tunes following a trip to Norway, and the music and associated dances quickly became a passion. She’s been performing for over 20 years and and passing the music on in the aural tradition to fiddlers of all ages for nearly that long.  She’s played with several Chicago-based groups, including Chicago Spelmanslag, The South Side Swedes and Pickled Herring.

Tim Anderson

 

 

Tim Anderson became interested in playing Swedish folk music after buying a tin whistle at A Different Strummer in 1992, and finding a CD of Swedish folk-rock. He realized that the tunes on the CD could be played on the whistle, and then thought to try it on guitar. It worked! Tim has played with Chicago Spelmanslag since 2003. He enjoys finding new (and old) artists, tunes and instruments in the genre. Most of the time he plays a guitar tuned to ADADAD.
 
Mary and Tim are leading members of Chicago Spelmanslag.

Click here for some tunes from Mary Allsopp.

Feb. 20: Patt & Possum, Missouri hoedowns & hokum
Charlie Walden aka Possum
Charlie Walden began playing fiddle at age 11 when inspired by players in a fiddler’s contest at the Boone County Fair in his native Missouri. With the generous help and encouragement of older master fiddlers he went on to be recognized as one the best Missouri old-time fiddlers of his day. He has won dozens of local fiddle contests as well as major championships in Missouri, Illinois and West Virginia, and has taught fiddle and guitar to dozens of aspiring players. Intent on preserving and passing on the unique Missouri style and repertoire, Charlie organized the Bethel Youth Fiddle Camp in Bethel, Missouri, and directed camp operations and funding for a decade. He is currently a staff instructor at the Old Town School of Folk Music teaching Western Swing Instrumentals.

Click here for some tunes from Charlie Walden.

Kenny Stone: Bluegrass Fiddler

Kenny Stone
Sunday, November 21, 5:30 pm
Atlantic Bar & Grill (5062 N. Lincoln)

Click here to register. Dues for this meeting are $15.

Kenny StoneKenny Stone is veteran bluegrass fiddler, with a performing career that started when he was nine. He released his first album in 1989, at the age of nineteen, and followed that up with series of recordings and tours with a variety of bands, including his own, the Kenny Stone Unit and Midwest Wind. Family life and work has taken him off the road. But he continues to perform with the Chicago Bluegrass Band and to teach select students at his home in Dyer, Indiana.

The Fiddle Club of the World is pleased to present Kenny Stone to a new audience of fiddlers. He’s looking forward to playing through a potpourri of standard old-time and bluegrass tunes. He’s also offered us several of his own originals.

Buckley Barndance


Grangers Farewell


Beginning January 1, it will be possible to pay yearly dues and be able to enjoy all Fiddle Club of the World events at a significantly reduced rate. Also, enrolling in a “Fiddleship” allows you to support regular presentations of traditional fiddle music.

Upcoming Fiddle Club of the World meetings:
Dec. 12 – jam session and film viewing
Jan. 16 – Mary Allsopp of Chicago Spelmanslag (Swedish musicians club)
Feb. 20 – Charlie “Possum” Walden

Paul Tyler, convener
Chicago Chapter

Vesta Johnson featured guest for October

The Fiddle Club of the World will try out a new meeting space on Sunday, October 24 at 6:30 pm when we gather in the back room of the Atlantic Bar & Grill, 5062 N. Lincoln Avenue. There’s a wooden floor and ample space to run a few squares in a square dance. What a great coincidence that our featured guest for October is Vesta Johnson, who in her 80 plus years has played for hundreds of dances in her home state of Missouri.

Vesta Johnson

Vesta played her first dance at age 9 in Linn County, Missouri. She moved to the St. Louis area to raise her family, and in the 1960s, after her kids were grown, she started playing again for contests, dances and fiddle socials. A lot of younger players give credit to Vesta’s patient support and tutelage. One of those younger players, her grandson Steve Hall, will accompany her in Chicago.

Vesta appeared on two seminal anthologies of Missiouri fiddle music, I’m Old But I’m Awfully Tough (from the early 1970s) and Now That’s a Good Tune (from 1989). In the ’90s, she recorded two albums for the Marimac label of Crown Point, Indiana, Down Home Rag and Blue Flame. At a recent appearance at the University of Chicago Folk Festival, she was able to hawk two CDs produced by her grandson, Steve Hall.

Here are some samples of her playing over the years . . .

She Oughta Been a Lady


Old Parnell


Hog House Rag


Click here to register. Dues for this meeting are $15.

Beginning January 1, it will be possible to pay yearly dues and be able to enjoy all Fiddle Club of the World events at a significantly reduced rate. Also, enrolling in a “Fiddleship” allows you to support regular presentations of traditional fiddle music.

Upcoming Fiddle Club of the World meetings:
Nov. 21 – Kenny Stone is the featured guest (meeting to start at 5:30)
Dec. 12 – jam session
Jan. 16 – featured guest to be announced soon
Feb. 20 – featured guest to be announced soon

Paul Tyler, convener
Chicago Chapter