Tunes from Spencer & Rains

Posted on June 13, 2017 by Paul Tyler

Tricia Spencer & Howard Rains
Fiddle Club of the World meeting
(aka concert & jam session)
Thursday, June 22 – Admission $20
Atlantic Bar & Grill (5062 Lincoln in Chicago)

Music starts at 7:30. Come for the concert. Stay and play and learn a tune or two. All instruments and all listeners welcome.

Antelope Gap key of D

Mowing the Meadow key of A

Sally Ann key of G

Both Tricia Spencer and Howard Rains grew up in fiddling families in the center of the U.S. Tricia is from Lawrence, Kansas. Howard is from East Texas. The merging of the formidable talents on multiple instruments has produced a great musical whole, larger than the mere sum of the parts. Their twin fiddling is a treat not to be missed.

Check out the videos on their website. Scroll down after enjoying the lovely photos and Howard’s artworks.

Paul Tyler-convener

Tunes from Ken Keppeler & Jeanie McLerie

Posted on May 6, 2017 by Paul Tyler

Ken Keppeler & Jeanie McLeri
Friday, May 12, 7:30pm
Seman Violins (4447 Oakton, Skokie)
Admission $20

Jerusalem, learned from the Lewis Family of Crowflat, New Mexico and Del City, Texas

Vals Vicente Arragon, learned from Vicente Arragon of Cuba, New Mexico

And some tunes learned from Elliot Johnson & the Gu’Achi Fiddlers, of the Tohono O’odham Nation

Libby Bird Song Mazurka

Sonora Church-Purple Lillies Polka

And here are some YouTube videos . . .
Ken & Jeanie playing a Cajun tune

A 1/2 hour documentary on Cleofes Ortiz, Violinista de Nuevo Mexico, the source of the Fiddle Club Orchestra’s Valse de los Paños

Tunes from Steve Gibons

Posted on March 9, 2017 by Paul Tyler

Steve Gibons – Sunday, March 12, 7:00pm

Violinist Steve Gibons is the leader of the Gypsy Ryhthm Project, a unique mix of Western jazz and the rich sounds of Romany music from Roumania and Bulgaria.

The concert this night will be a solo demonstration. in a intimate, conversational setting, of the Klezmer, Balkan and Romany music on the violin. The workshop that follows will some common style elements and ornamentation in these music styles, such as found in these two tunes:

Taqsim Ravelnikov
“This one,” says Steve, “starts with a ‘taqsim’, I will go over the ornaments and special tunings of the scales in the workshop.”

Cimpoi Suite
“Here’s a recording that starts with a phrase containing the Klezmer ‘kretch’ or crying sound.”

This event will also be webcast on Concert Window.

You do not have to be a fiddler to participate in Fiddle Club of the World. We joyously welcome all musicians and all listeners.

Tunes from the South Carolina Broadcasters

Posted on January 13, 2017 by Paul Tyler

South Carolina Broadcasters – Friday, January 27, 7:30pm
Fiddle Club meets at Seman Violins (4447 W. Oakton, Skokie).
Admission is $20 at the door. Reserve your seat here.
Concert set, followed by a jam/workshop. There will be singing.

: Andy Edmonds

: Ivy Sheppard

: David Sheppard

Solid and spirited old-time playing and singing from the Carolinas. Here is where bluegrass and old-time are so intertwined that it’s just great music. Andy, Ivy, and David will entertain us, and then lead us through some tunes and songs, such as these . . .

Haystack Blues

Lost John

Tell me Truly

Upcoming
Fiddle Club Barn Dance – At The Social
Friday, February 3, 7:30p, Old Town School of Folk Music
Blake Miller & Friends – Cajun Dance,
Friday, February 15 – details to be announced
Steve Gibons – Romany, Klezmer, & Balkan fiddle
Sunday, March 12, 7:00p, Seman Violins

Tunes from Brandi Berry

Posted on November 9, 2016 by Paul Tyler

Brandi Berry – Friday, November 18, 7:30pm
Please note the correct date for the next meeting is Friday, November 18.
(An earlier post had the date as the 19th, which is not a Friday.)

Brandi Berry is a master of both baroque violin and bluegrass fiddle. Her recent musical obsession is with Scottish and English tunes from the 17th and 18th centuries, tunes that have a foot in both baroque and bluegrass music. Here are some examples

John Come Kiss Me Now

Stingo Twice

At Fiddle Club, Brandi will be joined by Brandon Acker on Baroque guitar.

To learn more about Brandi’s rich and varied music career with the Bach & Beethoven Ensemble, click on the fun picture below.

Tunes from Premo & Gustavsson

Posted on October 15, 2016 by Paul Tyler

Laurel Premo & Anna Gustavsson – Sunday, October 23, 7:30pm
Meeting held at Seman Violins (4447 W. Oakton, Skokie).
Admission is $20 at the door or pay in advance here.
All meetings begin with a short concert followed by a jam/workshop.

John Cole, American fiddle tune played by Laurel Premo

Swedish Long Dance, played on nyckelharpa by Anna Gustavsson

Orsapolska, Swedish dance played by Anna Gustavsson

For more about Laurel Premo & Anna Gustavsson, click the picture.

Tunes from Aallotar

Posted on September 13, 2016 by Paul Tyler

Aallotar
Thursday September 15, 7:00pm
Seman Violins (4447 Oakton in Skokie)
A concert, followed by a workshop/jam.
Admission is $20.

We welcome back our friends, Sara Pajunen and Tejia Niku, for an evening of enchanting Finnish folk music from both sides of the Atlantic Ocean. After their concert set, we will work on playing a few tunes together. Check out the notation link at the bottom of this post.

Fiddle Club of the World welcomes all players, listeners, and lovers of traditional music.

Aamupolska (Morning Polska)

Tallari

More Tunes from Aallotar (dots on a page)

And here’s a video view of Tallari.
https://youtu.be/z4h8Q4_5xCU

Tunes from Kristian Bugge

Posted on June 7, 2016 by Paul Tyler

Danish Fiddle Tunes with
Lydom, Bugge & Høirup
Thursday, June 16, 7:30pm
Seman Violins (4447 W. Oakton in Skokie)
A concert set, followed by an old-time jam.
Admission is $18.
Purchase tickets here. Reserve your seat.

Accordionist and harmonica player Sonnich Lydom, fiddle player Kristian Bugge and guitarist and singer Morten Alfred Høirup. This lively trio performs old dance tunes and songs from every corner of their Scandinavian home country. From rural islands like Læsø to metropolitan Copenhagen, including a few of their own compositions. Expect everything from wild polkas and jigs to lyrical waltzes, fiery reels and happy hopsas, plus the exotic “Sønderhoning” dance tunes from the famous Island of Fanø, and long forgotten songs from all over the country. An unforgettable live experience spiced up with humor and stories from their many years on the road.

Here are some tunes, played slow, followed by the same tunes as heard on their new CD Gagspil, where each is part of a longer set. We’ll work on these at the workshop/jam following their concert on June 16.

Fiddle Club is not just for fiddlers. All players and music lovers are welcome to join us.

-Paul Tyler, convener

Tunes from Harry Bolick

Posted on April 15, 2016 by Paul Tyler

Old-Time Fiddle Tunes from Mississippi with
Harry Bolick
Friday, April 22, 7:30pm
Seman Violins (4447 W. Oakton in Skokie)
A concert set, followed by an old-time jam.
Admission is $15.

How many fiddle tunes do you know that hail from Mississippi? Really. You need to learn a few more, because they are some of the coolest, quirkiest, funnest tunes ever found in these here United States. And our next Fiddle Club guest, Harry Bolick, a Brooklyn-ite with deep Mississippi roots, is just the guy to introduce us to this regional tradition and some of its fine tunes. Harry has recently published and produced the book and CDs pictured above, all containing tunes collected in Mississippi during the 1930s by folklorists working for the Works Project Administration, part of FDR’s New Deal. Here’s a sample.

Mississippi Shuffle
Mississippi Shuffle slow

White Hat
White Hat slow

Sugar in the Gourd
Sugar in the Gourd slow

Bust down.

Paul Tyler, convener

Tunes from Tim Macdonald & Jeremy Ward

Posted on March 4, 2016 by Paul Tyler

Scottish Fiddle Tunes with
Tim Macdonald & Jeremy Ward
Sunday, March 6, 7:30pm
Seman Violins (4447 W. Oakton in Skokie)
A concert set, followed by an old-time jam.
Admission is $15.

In 2013 and 2014, Tim Macdonald won the top prize in the Open Division of the Midwest Fiddle Championship at the Old Town School of Folk Music. In 2015, he took the second prize in a hotly-contested duel with Matt Brown. For that contest, he brought along Jeremy Ward as his accompanist on cello, and introduced us all to incredibly new but equally ancient sound.

Here are some tunes, played slow and then at tempo, to help you prepare for the jam following their concert on Sunday, March 6.

Captain Campbell

Flora MacDonald’s Reel

Mrs. Oswald of Auchincruive’s Favourite