Fiddle Club guests for 2013

Two concert meetings * are now scheduled for the Winter and Spring to be held in fun new location with great acoustics, the back room at Seman Violins (4447 Oakton, Skokie) (Check ’em out.)
B.Y.O.B. Snacks will be provided.

Jimmy Keane

Jimmy Keane, Accordion Master
Sunday, January 27, 2013, 6:30pm

As a young boy, Jimmy Keane, Jr. chose, not the ubiquitous button box or melodeon, but the full scale piano accordion. And he mastered it fully, becoming All-Ireland champion while still in his teens. Today he rules the roost. A Chicago treasure, Jimmy was recently named the Irish “Male Musician of the Decade (2000-2010).” An accomplished solo artist, he has performed with such bands as Aengus and Bohola, and participated on numerous tours of “Greenfields of America” and “An Irish Homecoming.” He’s got some new tunes he wants to try out for us, and will teach us a few.

$15 admission. Click here to register.

Kirk Sutphin & Bertram Levy
Kirk Sutphin & Bertram Levy
Sunday, March 10, 6:30 pm

Banjos, Bows and Bellows

This unique program features two artists who learned their music back in the 1970s from the same Blue Ridge Mountain luminaries–Henry Reed, Tommy Jarrell and Oscar Wright. Kirk still lives near his birthplace in Walkertown, North Carolina. He is both an excellent fiddler and accomplished in clawhammer and old-time finger-style banjo. He plays with the New North Carolina Ramblers. Bertram Levy spent his younger years in North Carolina, where he was an original member of the Hollow Rock String Band. Some years ago he moved to the Olympic Peninsula of Washington, where he helped found the American Festival of Fiddle Tunes in Port Townsend. A virtuosic banjoist, favoring gut strings, Bertram also plays tango music on bandoneon in the band Tangoheart, and traditional American music on the Anglo concertina. Their recent CD, “The Bellow and the Bow” features duets with fiddle, banjo and concertina.

$15 admission. Click here to register.

* Our guests will present a short concert (one set), to be followed by jam session.

Euro Roots World Music

Jutta & the Hi-Dukes
Sunday, November 18, 6:30pm
Atlantic Bar & Grill (5062 Lincoln)

A world music trio from Evanston, they will play a short concert to start things off. Then we’ll work through a couple of tunes (see the link below), and maybe even do a simple circle dance or two. All fiddlers, musicians, listeners and dancers invited.

The tunes: click here for recordings and actual notes!

Jutta Distler plays for folk dancers
Jutta Distler plays for folk dancers. Terran Doeher leads the dance.

To register, follow this link, type ‘fiddle club’ in class name box.
$15 for this meeting. $60 for a year long subscription.

Fiddle Events

Jutta & the Hi-Dukes
Just booked as special guests for our next meeting
Sunday, November 18 – 6:30p

Atlantic Bar & Grill (5062 Lincoln), in the back room
(To register for this meeting, see below. *)

A bit of world music. Maybe a little Klezmer. Maybe a touch of Danish.
They are Terran Doehrer, Zoï Doehrer and Jutta Distler.

Old-Time Square Dance this Friday
October 26, part of the Old Town School’s Global Dance Party.
Great music by Geoff Seitz & Friends,** calling by Paul Collins.
The dancing starts at 8:30. All dances will be taught throughout the evening. No experience necessary. Fun will be had.

*You can register for Fiddle Club of the World meetings at www.oldtownschool.org and search the class catalog for Fiddle Club. That brings up two choices: 1) a single meeting registration for $15, or 2) a year’s subscription to all Fiddle Club events for $60.

** Jim Nelson, Dedo Norris and Steve Rosen.

-Paul Tyler, convener
Chicago Chapter

Guest Artist for next Fiddle Club meeting

Frank Hall, Old-Time Fiddler
Sunday, September 30 – 6:30p

Atlantic Bar & Grill (5062 Lincoln), in the back room

Founding fiddler of the Easy Street String Band, Bloomington, Indiana’s finest in the 1980s. Frank also played with the Yeah Buddys and the Monks before moving to Ireland right at the start of this century. He’s still playing American old-time tunes along with some of Ireland’s best traditional musicians.

Frank Hall Easy Street String Band

You can register at www.oldtownschool.org and search the class catalog for Fiddle Club. That brings up two choices: 1) a single meeting registration for $15, or 2) a year’s subscription to all Fiddle Club events for $60.

Here are some tunes to learn for the jam session with Frank . . .

Sopping Up the Gravy learned from a 1972 recording of Charlie “Jake” Corns of Battle Ground, Indiana


Jim Shank from Bruce Greene

Frank is a fine dance fiddler. So Fiddle Clubbers get to decide. Do we want him to play a concert set, or should we have a dance? If the latter, we’ll start with the jam session at 6:30, and follow with the dance. Let me know your druthers with a comment below.

– Paul Tyler, convener

Fiddle Stuff on the Schedule

Square Dance! (It will make you a better musician.)
In Chicago this Friday (Aug 17) with music by Patt & Possum and calling by Bill Sudkamp. Dancing starts at 8:30 in Szold Hall at Old Town School East (4545 Lincoln). All dances will be taught. No experience necessary.

Square Dance with Patt & Possum

Possum, as many of you know, is Charlie Walden, who was a featured guest at Fiddle Club of the World in February 2011. Patt Plunkett played piano with him then, and will at the Global Dance Party square dance.

Fiddle Club Meetings

Frank Hall
(click here for another view)

Frank Hall
Sunday, Sept. 30, 6:30
Atlantic Bar & Grill (5062 Lincoln)
Frank is a fine old-time fiddler, who once lived in Bloomington, Indiana, where he played with the Easy Street String Band. He now lives in Ireland, where he continues to play American old-time.

jam session
Sunday, October 21, 6:30
Atlantic Bar & Grill (5062 Lincoln)

Rosin your bows.

Fiddle Contest Round 2

Saturday, July 21, 1:45-2:45pm
Maurer Hall (Old Town School West)

And later on,
Battle of the Bands (click for more info)
Saturday, July 21, 7-8pm
Szold Hall (Old Town School East)

Youth Division
The 1st place winner, crowned on Thursday, will perform.

Kalman Strauss
1st Place – Kalman Strauss
Chicago
Henry Beuving
2nd Place – Henry Beuving
Chicago

Open Division – Solo Fiddle Finalists
Sean Colledge, Chicago (not pictured)

Steve Rosen
Steve Rosen
Evanston
Kevin Van Staeyen
Kevin Van Staeyen
Belgium

Open Division – Fiddle Team Finalists
Third Sunday Fiddlers (not pictured)
Janet Lettrich Hammling & Angie Moss, fiddles
Grayslake & Chicago

Young Ladies Fiddle Social
Young Ladies Fiddle Social
Caroline Fernald & Nancy Bardiwill, fiddles
Norman, Oklahoma & Chicago
Just Bob
Just Bob
Debi Lewis & Elizabeth Lamberti, fiddles
Evanston & Chicago

All photos taken by Lynn Garren, Fiddle Club of the World

And the results of the 10th Midwest Fiddle Championship are in

Youth Division winners
1st – Kalman Strauss (Chicago)
2nd – Henry Beuving (Chicago)
3rd – Liam Perlstein (Morton Grove)

Open Division Finalists (in alphabetical order)
Solo Fiddle
Sean Colledge
Steve Rosen (Evanston)
Kevin Von Staeyen (Belgium–not the one in Wisconsin)

Fiddle Team
Just Bob, led by Debi Lewis (Evanston)
Third Sunday Fiddlers, led by Janet Lettrich Hammling (Grayslake) and Angie Moss
The Young Ladies Fiddle Social, led by Caroline Fernald (Norman, Oklahoma) and Nancy Bardawill

Finals are Saturday, 1:45, in the concert hall at the Old Town School of Folk Music, the West building.

Battle of the Bands

Presented by the Fiddle Club of the World (Chicago Chapter)
at the Square Roots Festival
Saturday, July 21, 7-8pm
Szold Hall in Old Town School East (4545 Lincoln)

Three bands have been invited.

They’ll take turns, bringing us a fine mix of dance music: old-time, Cajun and Mexican son.

The band the gets the most people on the dance floor wins the top prize of $400.

Come dance and root for your favorite. Here they are in alphabetical order . . .
Matt Brown

Brown’s Dream
Matt Brown – fiddle
Steve Rosen – banjo
Greg Reish – guitar
Jesse McQuarters – bass

 

 

Dorian Gehring & the Cajun Vagabonds

 

Cajun Vagabonds
Dorian Gehring – fiddle
Heather Cole Mullin – fiddle
Charlie Terr – accordion
Stewart Gehring – guitar

 


Tarima Son
Irekani Ferreya – fiddle, guitar
Anabel Tapia – jarana, viheual
Rose Gaitan – small percussion
Orlando Tenumbre – bass

Tune of the Week for July 2, 2012

A classic rag, as played by Les Raber of Hastings, Michigan.
Check out his cool Michigan Fiddler trading card.
Collect the whole set.

Les Raber back of the card

Dill Pickle Rag


X:2
T:Dill Pickle Rag
M:C|
L:1/8
S:Les Raber of Hastings, Michigan
K:G
degd egde | gdeg2 edB | GABG ABGA | BGAB2 AGE | DEFD EFDE |1
FDEE2DEF | GFGE2 FG2 | A^GA2 d4 :|2 FDEE2 FGA | Bd2B dBA2 | G6 z2 |:
D2^D2 E2F2 | G2ed2 ed2 | F2ed2 ed2 | G2ed2 ed2 | DA^DA EAFA |
G2ed2 ed2 |1 AB^ca2 ege | fde2 d4 :|2 A2ed2 ed2 | g5 g2z2 |:
K:C
cAGc AGEF | GEGA GECD | EDEG2 ED2 | C4 A2B2 |
cAGc AGEF | GEGA GECE | DEDd2 BA2 | G4 A2B2 |
cAGc AGEF | GEGA GECD | EDEG2 ED2 | C4 c2B2 |
A^GAB cBcd | e^dea2 ge2 | d^cdg2 ed2 | c4 c2z2 :|

NB Twenty-four Tunes of the Week have been posted through the first half of 2012. Since the second half of the year just started, I’ve started the numbering back at 1.

Paul Tyler, convener