Tunes from Jim Lansford

Posted on July 6, 2010 by Paul Tyler

Jim Lansford hails from Galena, Missouri. He’s learned first-hand from some of the best Missouri and Ozark fiddlers of the late 20th century and has carried the traditional sound forcefully into the 21st. His wife, Kim, is an accompanist second to none.

Here are a couple of fine tunes from the middle of the U.S.
From Cyrill Stinnett of Braymer, Missouri.
Grey Eagle in C

Grey Eagle in C slow

From Uncle Bunk Williams, an Ozark fiddler
Daylight in the Morning fiddle & guitar

Daylight in the Morning slow

Jim Lansford

Jim & Kim Lansford will be performing at a Fiddle Club of the World meeting, 8:00pm on Friday, July 16 at the Leadway Bar & Gallery (5233 N. Damen) in Chicago.

Click here to register.

Chicago is Fiddle World

Posted on June 20, 2010 by Paul Tyler

Truly. What a few days we had at the beginning of June.

Rudi Pietsch from Vienna gave an intimate concert, joined by his friend Jürgen Schempp, from Swabia (that’s in Germany) on guitar. Your humble convener was quickly trained for second fiddle. For the proper Austrian style we lacked a kontra (chorded fiddle or viola) and a bowed bass. Here is a slow yodel followed by a fast dance tune.

Meraner Jodler-Ischler Schläunige

Two days later, the Mostly Mountain Boys and the Polka Chicks dropped in for two evenings at the Old Town School. On Tuesday night they did a workshop for several fiddle class and the Fiddle Club.

The Mostly Mountain Boys (Paul Brown-fiddle, Teri McMurray-banjo and John Schwab-guitar) hail from Winston-Salem, North Carolina and Washington DC. They started out with a twisty but fine version of “Fisher’s Hornpipe” they learned from Esker Hutchins of Dobson, North Carolina.

Fisher’s Hornpipe

The Polka Chicks, from Helsinki (that’s in Suomi, aka Finland), are Kukka Lehto on fiddle and Tejia Niku on accordion. They started with song of poverty and sadness. The singer’s life is so sad that his parents don’t even care if he marries a girl in America.

unnamed song from northern Finland

Following this lovely introduction, Paul Brown taught us distinctive version of Sugar in the Gourd that he learned from Norman Edmonds of Hillsville, Virginia. And Kukka Lehto worked us through the haunting major and minor turns of Viktors Vals from Ostrobothnia, an area in western Finland with an especially rich fiddle tradition.

The following night, both the Mostly Mountain Boys and the Polka Chicks were on the stage in our concert hall for World Music Wednesday. A delightful performance.

Polka Chicks
Kukka Lehto & Teija Niku

One morsel more. One of the oldest folk dance tunes from Austria, a ländler that was written down in 1702. Rudi plays a setting that imitates the dudelsack (German for bagpipes). Here’s an example of a Czech dudelsack, and another view from Austria.

My father’s day gift to all who are the child of a dad.
Paul Tyler, convenver

Tunes from Paul Brown & Mostly Mountain Boys

Posted on May 31, 2010 by Paul Tyler

Paul Brown

Paul Brown, from Washington DC, learned old-time fiddle directly from some of the great old masters of North Carolina and Virginia, such as Benton Flippen, Luther Davis, Kyle Creed, Tommy Jarrell and Fred Cockerham. Over the years he’s played fiddle with The Toast String Stretchers, The Bent Mountain Band (with Andy Cahan and Mike Seeger), and now The Mostly Mountain Boys.

Paul and the mostly boys will be part of the FIDDLEPALOOZA on Tuesday, June 8, 8pm at the Old Town School, along with the Polka Chicks. Here are a couple of tunes the Mostly Mountain Boys will help us through

Key of D. Can be performed with fiddle in standard tuning or with bass string tuned up to A. Inspired by Norman Edmonds of Hillsville, VA
Sugar in the Gourd

Sugar in the Gourd slow

Inspired by Luther Davis of Galax, Virginia
Shady Grove fiddle & guitar

Shady Grove slow

Click here for some tunes by the Polka Chicks.

Click here to register for Fiddlepalooza. (Steve Rosen’s Fiddle 3 and Paul Tyler’s Fiddle 4 students for this session are already registered.)

Jim & Kim Lansford – July 16

Posted on May 15, 2010 by Paul Tyler

Jim & Kim Lansford
from Galena, Missouri
Friday, July 16, 8 pm
Leadway Bar & Gallery (5233 N. Damen)
This is strong music. Not only because of the considerable talents of this duo, but because their tunes and songs are deeply rooted in rural American life and tradition. Great fiddling and heartful singing. Don’t miss this.

Click here to register.

Hear here . . .

Pretty Polly Ann

Meet Me in the Moonlight

Swamp Lake Reel

Fiddlepalooza – Tueday, June 8

Posted on May 15, 2010 by Paul Tyler

Tuesday, June 8, 8pm at the Old Town School
Two bands from two traditions of old-time music – Finnish and American – the evening will be part workshop, part visit, and part jam session. Members of Steve Rosen’s Fiddle 3 and Paul Tyler’s Fiddle 4 will attend Fiddlepalooza in lieu of their regular class. All fiddlers, banjoists, mandolinists, guitarists, accordionists and friends of old-time music are welcome. Check back with this blog for some tunes to learn for the jam session.
Click here to register for Fiddlepalooza.

The Polka Chicks, from Helsinki, Suomi (Finland)
Their American tour features the duo of Kukka Lehto (fiddle & mandolin) and Teija Niku (accordions).

Polka Chicks, hear here . . .

Niittykosket

Masurkat

The Mostly Mountain Boys, from Washington, DC (USA)
Paul Brown (you hear him on NPR newscasts) plays fiddle; Terri McMurray is on banjo; and John Schwab is the guitarist.

Hear Paul Brown at the U of Chicago folk festival, 2008

Battle of the Horseshoe

Lady of the Lake

Click one of the following links to listen to and learn some tunes from the Polka Chicks and from the Mostly Mountain Boys.

The Polka Chicks and the Mostly Mountain Boys will share the bill on June 9 at the Old Town School’s World Music Wednesdays. Click here for more info or to reserve tickets.

Tunes from Matt Brown

Posted on April 18, 2010 by Paul Tyler

A selection of tunes from Matt Brown, one of the rising stars in the old-time music firmament.

Press the arrows to listen or right-click the blue title to download and save on your computer.

Matt sez: “Roscoe comes to us from the great Kyle Creed of Surry County, North Carolina. The tune is named after guitar player Roscoe Russell. This one is great for dances!”
Roscoe

Roscoe slow

“This version of Fire On the Mountain is one of my all-time favorite tunes. And not enough people play it. Isham (pronounced “Ice-um”) Monday of Monroe County, Kentucky played this beautiful tune with lots of drones, and in a low cross-tuning. I’m in AEAE on this version, but you can get most of the notes (if not all of the drones) in standard tuning.”
Fire on the Mountain

Fire on the Mountain slow

“This is Burnett & Rutherford’s version of the classic Cumberland Gap. It’s sweet, simple, and in G.”
Cumberland Gap

Cumberland Gap slow

Matt Brown visits the Fiddle Club of the World meeting on Sunday, May 2 at 6:30pm at the Leadway Bar & Gallery (5233 N. Damen) in Chicago. Click here to register.

Fiddle Club Meetings – Spring 2010

Posted on January 23, 2010 by Paul Tyler

LIZ KNOWLES – Feb. 19

A Celtic legend in her own right, Liz Knowles will visit the Fiddle Club fresh off a trip to China with Celtic Legends, the play for which she serves as music director. Liz’s impressive list of credits includes Riverdance, fiddling on Broadway in The Pirate Queen and the soundtrack for the movie Michael Collins. She has been a member of the John Whelan Band, Cherish the Ladies, and currently tours with the super-group, String Sisters. Her solo CD is The Celtic Fiddle.

Click here to register for an evening of Irish fiddling, old and new.

DENNIS STROUGHMATT – March 28

Part of Dennis Stroughmatt’s education was devoted to recording, observing, and learning many of the Creole French traditions still alive in “Upper Louisiana,” including the old fiddle tunes he learned from masters Roy Boyer and Charlie Pashia. He also developed a fluency in Illinois-Missouri Creole French, and acquired a wealth of stories and songs from elder story tellers and singers. His recorded works include The Gambler’s Fiddle and Cadet Rouselle, two CDs of old French Music from Upper Louisiana. He also performs with Dennis Stroughmatt & Creole Stomp.

Click here to register for a journey through the early music of the Illinois Country.

Genevieve & Smith Koester GENEVIEVE HARRISON KOESTER – April 18

Genevieve Koester’s command of old-time fiddling belies the fact that she’s been playing less than a half dozen years. She comes by it honestly as, in her words, “Both my parents play the fiddle – my mom is classically trained and my dad is a freak of nature (in a talented way).” While her mother Gaye has long led the group Mother Lode in Charleston, Illinois, Genevieve has joined with her father Garry Harrison in the New Mules, a string band dedicated to the old-time fiddle tunes and songs of downstate Illinois and beyond. Husband Smith Koester, also a member of the New Mules, will join Gena at the Fiddle Club of the World. The band’s new CD, Pride of America, is one of the best.

Click here to register for an evening of old-time tunes in a Midwestern key.

MATT BROWN – May 2

A multi-instrumentalist from West Chester, Pennsylvania, Matt Brown is one of the rising stars in the old-time music firmament. Though he’s just passed the quarter-century mark, he already has 3 albums to his credit, including the solo CD, The Falls of Richmond. On Lone Prairie, his debut CD, he was joined by veteran banjoist Paul Brown and guitarist Beverly Smith. Both CDs are from 5-String Productions, in which Matt is a partner. For his Fiddle Club appearance, he will partner with the Old Town School’s Steve Rosen.

Click here to register for a trip to southern climes.

All meetings scheduled for
Leadway Bar & Gallery
5233 N. Damen
Chicago, Illinois

Check back for links to tunes to learn for the jam sessions for each meeting.
Liz Knowles tunes
Dennis Stroughmatt tunes
Genevieve Koester tunes
Matt Brown tunes

-Paul Tyler, convener
Fiddle Club of the World (Chicago Chapter)

Pete Sutherland tunes notated

Posted on October 14, 2009 by Paul Tyler

These transcriptions of Pete Sutherland’s tunes were made by Paul Tyler as a sketch of the general melody. Pete uses subtle shadings, ornaments, double stops and variations in playing the tunes. Listen carefully to the recordings, as posted here.

Click on a thumbnail to enlarge and print.

Pete Sutherland, with Jeremiah McLane & Mark Roberts, will be performing at the Fiddle Club of the World‘s meeting at 7:30 on Friday, October 16 at the Leadway Bar & Gallery (5233 N. Damen). Click here to register, or call 773.728.6000.

Nota Bene: Musical notation is only a guide to one way to play a tune. Use the written notes along with the recordings. If you hear something different than what is written down, good. Trust your ears. Play what you hear.

Pete Sutherland Tunes

Posted on September 28, 2009 by Paul Tyler

Here are some Pete tunes, sent to us from the Champlain Valley of Vermont. These will be great to play in the jam. The reel is, in Pete’s words “from our local hero, Louis Beaudoin.” The second tune –pronounced tess-fie-yay–is an Ethiopian waltz song. The last is from the Skillet Lickers.

Dad’s Reel

slow

Tesfaye

Streak o’ Lean

slow

Click here to access Paul Tyler’s notation of a couple of Pete’s tunes.

Pete Sutherland, along with Mark Roberts & Jeremiah McLane, will be performing at the Fiddle Club of the World‘s meeting at 7:30 on Friday, October 16 at the Leadway Bar & Gallery (5233 N. Damen). Click here to register, or call 773.728.6000.

Report on Dan Gellert’s visit to the Fiddle Club

Posted on March 30, 2009 by Paul Tyler

Over 30 fiddlers, pickers and fans showed up at the Leadway Bar & Gallery on North Damon on a Saturday night to hear Dan Gellert. After serenading us with a dozen wonderful old fiddle and banjo tunes, Dan and Debbie led a jam session for the next hour through a number of old chestnuts and few rare treasures.