Sixth Fiddlehead Frolic: Moving Violations with Gaye Fifer

Saturday, 27 April 2013, noon to 11 pm

Beverly J. Martin School, 302 W. Buffalo St., Ithaca, NY

Ticket info and schedule http://www.hands4dancers.org/frolic/

Fortunately, March did not present us this year with the 90-degree days that spelled disaster for fruit trees

and messed with ecological timetables last year. Still, spring has been slow in coming, and what better way to celebrate it than with nearly 12 hours of dancing among superb, playful musicians and excellent company from near and far? The Sixth Fiddlehead Frolic, sponsored by member-run Hands Four Dancers of Ithaca, features the renowned Moving Violations from Western Massachusetts (we’ve been trying to bring them to Ithaca for years), polished caller Gayle Fife, from Pittsburg by way of Missouri and Virginia, as well as a regional favorite band, Escape, and beloved local callers.

Beverly Martin School has locations for simultaneous activities appealing to dancers, jammers, singers, silent auction aficionados, plus an instrumental workshop with Moving Violations and a waltz workshop with Gaye Fifer (her specialty). A waltz jam (open band) with makings for sandwiches kicks off the fun at noon; contra dancing, with Moving Violations and Escape alternating, goes from 1 to 6 pm, ending with the wildly popular contra medley (an ever-evolving non-stop dance with different callers taking turns). A potluck supper (6:15-7:15 pm; bring a generous dish to share!) at the school will supply the needed fuel for the evening session of couples dances taught by Gaye Fifer (7:30-8:00 pm) and contra dancing with the Moving Violations (8:00-11:00 pm).

And who are the Moving Violations? They’re veterans of the Fourgone Conclusions, Swallowtail, Big Bandemonium, and other fine dance bands. For many years, MV have been the backbone of the Greenfield and Amherst contra dances, but now they’re really on the move across the country, where dancers can hear for themselves why Ralph Sweet and Tom Hodgson consider them the consummate contra dance musicians. They made a big splash at the Dance Flurry a few years back, where their diversity of styles and pacing, intricate but always rhythmic and lyrical arrangements, and self-described “affectionate abandon and occasional silliness” won the crowd. The Moving Violations are: Van Kaynor (from the fine line of Kaynor musicians), fiddle and limberjack; Ron Grosslein, fiddle and mandolin; Chuck Corman, bass, guitar, and percussion; and Eric Eid-Reiner, piano. With decades of experience in classical and dance music, they have the skill, energy, and imagination to respect and transmute a wide range of music: Celtic, Swedish, Eastern European, Klezmer, original compositions, Vivaldi, and a few Handel Bars. Their spontaneity also encourages dancers to improvise. Listen for the exquisite double fiddles, traveling harmonic lines, and creative percussion that make them stand-outs.

Guest caller Gaye Fifer has been dancing for 30 years, so she knows how to create and teach dances that will delight dancers of all levels. She has a reputation for clear, concise, and friendly calling. Her forte is instruction in “folk waltzes,” which she has taught for years. She’s committed to the preservation of traditional dance and song as a board member of CDSS.

We’re also delighted to bring the decidedly “cool” but accessible Escape to town: Tim Ball on sublime fiddle, Jodi Austin on keys, synthesizer, and cowbell, and Peter Blue on button accordion, nyckelharpa, percussion, and everything else.

This 11-hour festival has something for people of all ages and experience levels. The dance community always welcomes and assists newcomers. Beginners will find that the few simple steps are easy to learn, and that each dance is taught. Please bring (1) clean, soft-soled shoes to protect the dance floor, and (2) food to share at the fabulous potluck supper. You are encouraged to bring your own place settings, but there will be extras on hand.

There’s a discount if you register for both afternoon and evening sessions by 6 April ($20 members/$25 nonmembers). At the door, the cost for both sessions is $24/$30, and for either the afternoon or evening session alone, admission is $12/$15. You can join Hands Four when you register early or at the door, for reduced admission to all HFDI dances. Jammers and singers who do not dance or take a workshop are admitted free. For a full schedule, downloadable registration, and other details, visit www.hands4dancers.org or call 607-539-3174. The web site also provides contact info. for volunteering, for donating to a silent auction, or for out-of-towners who need a place to stay overnight.

Bring on the Fiddleheads!

– Margaret Shepard, for Hands Four Dancers of Ithaca

Larry Hanks and Deborah Robins

Larry Hanks and Deborah Robins in Concert

165 McGraw Hall, Cornell Arts Quad

Saturday, April 20, 8 pm

Berkeley, California-based Larry Hanks and Deborah Robins sing unadorned, true “brand spankin’ OLD” songs. Known as a “folksinger’s folksinger,” Hanks has been performing to delighted festival and club audiences for over 50 years, solo and with folks such as Janis Joplin, Utah Phillips, Mike Seeger, and Geoff Muldaur. He’s still remembered fondly from the glory days of Fox Hollow, and with Deborah Robins, his wife and musical partner, he has charmed the Old Songs Festival for the last several years. Hanks gained “legendary” status in the 60s while playing with the likes of a young Mac Benford, in-her-prime Malvina Reynolds, and then-emerging songwriter Bill Steele when they all were based in the San Francisco Bay area. After his move to Bellingham, Washington, Hanks seemed to “disappear” for a few decades, with little touring, especially in the east. Thankfully, Deborah Robins persuaded him a few years ago to return to full-time performing. They’ve been touring regularly and have put out two great CDs together (No Hiding Place and OLD DAYS) since then.

Larry Hanks and Deborah Robins aren’t flashy or over-the-top. Instead, they are warm and unpretentious. Hanks is a master of spare 6- and 12-string guitar accompaniments and a virtuosic Jew’s harp player. His bass-baritone voice has been called mellifluous as well as rough-hewn; it combines well in earthy and unearthly close harmony with Robins’ resonant alto. They do some originals (such as Hanks’ widely-sung “Apple Picker’s Reel”) but like to keep the traditional songs alive. Influenced by the music of Sam Hinton, Leadbelly, and Woody Guthrie, they range lovingly across cowboy songs both sad and funny, rousing work songs, political and topical songs, and old ballads.

The Cornell Folk Song Society is pleased to welcome Larry Hanks and Deborah Robins at last. Find out what caused another veteran folk musician Michael Cooney to say of Hanks, “This is why I got into folk music to begin with.”

Tickets: Ithaca Guitar Works, GreenStar Market, Autumn Leaves Books, Bound for Glory, online at http://www.cornellfolksong.org/, or at the door. $15 advance, $17 at door: rebates of $3 for CFSS members, seniors, teens; children under 13 free. Students $10/12. Info: website or (607) 351-1845.

– Margaret Shepard and John Henderson

Andrew Calhoun in Concert

Saturday, April 6, 8 pm

165 McGraw Hall, Cornell Arts Quad

Andrew Cohen is a quietly powerful wizard of music-making, master of songs both traditional and new. Interspersing his own compositions with African-American spirituals, hymns, songs of liberation, poetry of Robert Frost and Mary Oliver, ancient Scots ballads (which he has translated from medieval dialect), early American folk music, and songs from friends such as Dave Carter, Annie Gallup, and Kate MacLeod, he spins a lyrical web of a concert. His original songs range widely; some tell stories, others are impressionistic; some are topical, others autobiographical. They may be dark, frankly challenging, or side-splitting funny. He can write a beautiful love song. His work is both grounded and full of restless curiosity. “Andrew Calhoun tells the truth; … there is no better songwriter alive,” said Dave Carter.

Raised in Chicago by parents who took their Jewish and Christian faiths, poetry, and union/civil rights politics seriously, Calhoun also credits as early influences W. B. Yeats, John Prine, Elizabeth Cotton, Bessie Jones, Mississippi John Hurt, Joni Mitchell, Joseph Conrad, Leonard Cohen, and Martin Carthy. He began to make music professionally in his teens, and 40 years later is still fresh, performing world-round, making superb recordings, exploring new terrain in music as ritual, and mentoring other musicians. As founder of the cooperative Waterbug Records, he has helped to launch the careers of many folk luminaries, including Dar Williams, Lui Collins, Cosy Sheridan, and Anais Mitchell. These days, he’s also been performing with his daughter, Casey Calhoun, and with their band Zozo.

Few contemporary folk musicians can rival the power of Calhoun’s imagery, the warmth of his baritone, his deft fingerpicking, and sly humor. He mystifies, inspires, and delights. Writes Lui Collins, “Andrew’s music goes straight to the soul.” His concerts are an always-surprising fusion of energetic intellect, deep humanity, and pure magic.

Tickets: Ithaca Guitar Works, GreenStar, Autumn Leaves Bookstore, Bound for Glory, and online at www.cornellfolksong.org/. $15 advance/$17 door; $3 rebate for members, seniors, teens; children 12 & under free. Cornell students $10/$12. Info: 607-351-1845 or website. Performer website: www.waterbug.com/calhoun/

– Margaret Shepard and John Henderson

TONY BIRD in Concert, Saturday, March 2, 8 pm

165 McGraw Hall, Cornell Arts Quad, Central Ave.

Tony Bird is unique: a truly original performer and song writer, “untamed; a wild-card creature of inordinate invention.” No one else sounds remotely like him. He is a white African musician and internationally acclaimed poet now living in the United States. Village Voice has dubbed him “the finest, most impressive folk poet in years.” His music and spirit are deeply rooted in southern Africa, the beauty of the Rift Valley, and the suffering of his continent. Tony Bird’s voice is haunting, powerful, eccentric, radiant, percussive. He playfully suggests that “it probably comes from trying to sound like John Lee Hooker and Hank Williams and failing at both.” From a quirky high tenor to a throaty growl, Tony Bird may break into falsetto or howling, bird calls or bushman clicks, to serve the song. He weaves stories rich in symbolism and gritty, carefully observed detail. His lyrics are intimate, clever, often angry, but frequently joyous. They reflect his complex relationship with his native land, from sweet pleasures (Mango Time) to the magic of wild Africa (Tssik…Listen to the Stars) to profound despair (Sorry Africa) and hope (Run).

Born in Malawi (Nyasaland), educated in Rhodesia and Britain, Tony Bird returned to Africa as a young adult to make a career in music. Unfortunately his politics, in the fight against apartheid, made him unwelcome to governmental authorities. After years traveling around the world, he made a home in New York City. Not simply a singer of protest songs, Tony Bird calls his music “African folk rock.” It fuses African pop, Southern rhythm and blues, and ethereal world music. His polyrhythmic but melodic guitar work is as ample as a full band. In addition to his earlier recordings for Columbia, his CD from Rounder also features Ladysmith Black Mambazo and Paul Simon’s Graceland band.

Tony Bird is unforgettable. He has performed in Ithaca only three times in the past 28 years, but each concert has erupted in a standing ovation. The Cornell Folk Song Society is pleased to help him be heard once again.

Tickets are available at Ithaca Guitar Works, GreenStar Market, Autumn Leaves Books, online at http://www.cornellfolksong.org/, or at the door. $15 adv/$17 door; $3 rebate for members, seniors, teens; children 12 & under free. Students $10/$12.

For concert information, call (607) 351-1845. For information about the performer, see http://www.mangotime.net/

– Margaret Shepard

Contra Dance and Dessert Potluck with The Contradictions

Saturday 2 February 2013

Contra dancing 7:30-10:30 pm

Dessert potluck and couples dances 10:30-11:30 pm

CSMA (Community School of Music and Arts), 330 E. State St., Ithaca

A feast of fine music, dancing, and friends, as well as delectable treats, are the allure of this annual event hosted by Hands Four Dancers of Ithaca. Contra dancing (7:30-10:30 pm) will be followed by a dessert potluck and couples dances, including waltzes, swing, schottisches, and hambos, 10:30-11:30 pm. Step lively and you just might balance your caloric intake and output! Music is by the witty, high-energy Contradictions: Laurie Hart on fiddle, Rick Manning on fiddle and mandolin, Tom Hodgson on guitar, Dave Davies on bass, and the sparkling Vikki Armstrong calling. Their irresistible fiddle harmonies and imaginative, hot rhythms will drive winter away, at least for one night. The Contradictions are revered for tight, dynamic, and soulful playing; nary a contradictory note. Their peppy, broad mix of Appalachian and Irish jigs and reels, bluegrass, driving French Canadian tunes, lilting Swedish dances, 1930s and Texas swing, and sophisticated tango-waltzes has brought joy to dancers from the Saratoga Dance Flurry, the Brattleboro Dawn Dance, and Ashokan, to their home in the Finger Lakes. Find out more and hear them in action at http://lauriehartfiddle.com/contradictions.html .

Contra dancing is a more than 300-year-old tradition, a community event at which beginners of all ages are always welcome. A workshop at 7:30 pm will teach the simple steps and moves, each dance is “called,” and experienced dancers are willing to guide. No need to bring a partner. Please bring clean, soft-soled shoes to protect the special Marley dance floor and something yummy to share for the grand dessert finale. Hot beverages and water will be provided. Info: 607-539-3174 or www.hands4dancers.org. Admission: $8 HFDI members; $10 nonmembers.

– Margaret Shepard

Saturday, Dec. 1, 8 pm, 165 McGraw Hall, Cornell Arts Quad

Expect tight harmonies and expressive singing from the heart from this mother-son duo. Sara Grey and Kieron Means, American-born, have resided in Scotland for many years, following their musical passions. With guitar and clawhammer banjo accompaniment supporting the power of the lyrics, and fine storytelling that traces the music’s history, they perform old-time songs and ballads from the Appalachians, Ozarks, New England, and the West, blues, gospel, traditional music of the British Isles, and original compositions.

Sara Grey has spent a lifetime absorbing traditional music, through her childhood in New Hampshire to her move to Scotland, home since 1970. Her father, son of Russian Jewish immigrants, was an old-time New England fiddler, strongly influenced by both his French Canadian neighbors and friends in North Carolina. It was on a family visit to Greensboro that Sara Grey got hooked on fretless banjo. As a girl, she performed at dances, singing parties, and storytelling gatherings, and was fortunate to learn directly from many of the ballad singers, such as John Galusha and Lena Bourne Fish, who were the “sources” collected by Frank andAnne Warner.

Brian Peters admires the vitality with which she embodies the tradition: “In Sara’s performance, the art of the singer and that of the storyteller merge to produce a web of tales and songs capable of transporting an audience from the concert hall or club room to the intimacy of a kitchen fireside.” After more than 40 years of touring, she is as keen to share her music as ever. “Everything she does is characterized by freshness and enthusiasm … . You couldn’t hear half a dozen bars and think it was somebody else,” writes Vic Smith in Folk Roots. Drawing forth the mood of the song, Sara Grey’s clear voice conveys sorrow, triumph, calm, fire, playfulness, and pure joy. For her scholarship in tracing the migrations and transmutations of songs, and for collecting many of them “from the field,” Sara Grey is considered a national treasure in American traditional music.

Kieron Means, now living in Upstate New York, immerses himself totally in performance, singing with passion and playing guitar in a controlled, spare manner that serves the lyrics. He’s relaxed, yet connects fully with his audience. “His voice is especially striking, achieving the rare combination of a high lonesome edge with a warm richness of timbre, and it has a power to move the listener that few of his generation can match,” declares Living Tradition. “Kieron Means has soul, and I can think of no greater compliment to pay to a singer of folk songs,” says Brian Peters.

In concert, Kieron Means and Sara Grey are fully attuned to each other, matching nuances, pauses, and spirit: a family bond in the love of living music. Now separated by the Atlantic, they don’t tour together often in the States; their appearance at Old Songs was memorable. This will be their first joint concert for the Cornell Folk Song Society, not to be missed!

Tickets: Ithaca Guitar Works, GreenStar, Autumn Leaves Bookstore, Bound for Glory, and online at www.cornellfolksong.org/. $15 advance/$17 door; $3 rebate for members, seniors, teens; children 12 & under free. Students $10/$12. Info: 607-351-1845 or website.

Hands Four Contra Dance with Wild Asparagus and George Marshall Calling

Saturday, 20 October

4-6 pm dance for experienced dancers;

6:15 pm potluck supper;

7:30 pm beginners’ workshop;

8-11 pm dancing for all

Beverly Martin Elementary School,

302 W. Buffalo St., Ithaca

Dance bliss is guaranteed with the return of renowned caller George Marshall and Wild Asparagus. Springing up in the heart of the Pioneer (aka Asparagus) Valley of Massachusetts in the 1980s, the acclaimed band WILD ASPARAGUS has been pivotal in the contra dance renaissance. Their monthly “first-Saturdays” at Greenfield are packed. Over the years, these first-rate musicians have put their individual stamp on traditional tunes from New England, Canada, the wider Celtic world, and beyond, recognized for their imaginative arrangements and dynamic pacing. Beyond skill, their playing is playful. After too long an absence, this fabulous band will bring its unique blend of instruments, creativity, and energy to Ithaca for a “Don’t miss!” event.

Ann Percival, on dazzling piano, guitar, and vocals, is the essential heartbeat of the band; David Cantieni, woodwind wizard, provides melody and joyous flow with flutes, tin whistle, oboe, saxophone, and bombard. George Marshall, gifted at English concertina, bodhran, and bones, brings drive and does double duty as a suave caller. Becky Tracy, of Nightingale fame, fiddles with a rare match of fire and beauty. Ithaca’s own Harry Aceto will build the solid bass foundation for the musical dynamics.

Prices (Hands Four member/nonmember): both sessions $16/20; afternoon only $8/10; evening only $10/12). Join or renew at the dance and receive the discounted admission. Beginners are most welcome: steps are simple and each dance is taught. No need to bring a partner. Please bring clean, soft-soled shoes to protect the floor! For more information, visit www.hands4dancers.org or call 607/539-3174.

Anne Hills & Michael Smith

Saturday, 22 Sept., 8 pm

165 McGraw Hall, CU Arts Quad

Two astonishingly original songwriters and long-time musical partners make real magic onstage. With her warm, expressive soprano, Anne Hills reigns as a top folk vocalist. Michael Smith’s quirky, wonderful outlook makes him one of the most daring, inventive songwriters today. Both performers combine their lyrical gifts (beautiful,   memorable tunes and words) with wide-ranging, eye-opening literacy and heartfelt social values. As natural storytellers, they also shine as composers for theater, from Steinbeck   to Quilts. Many of their songs are folk classics (Michael’s “The Dutchman” and “Spoon River” and Anne’s “Silken Dreams” and “Follow That Road”). The synergy they create — songs historical, cutting-edge, funny, aching, loving — is electrifying.

“Michael Smith is the greatest songwriter in the English language.” — Rolling Stone

“Anne Hills’ writing…is as direct, melodic, and deep as any work being done today. One of my absolute favorites” — Tom Paxton

Tickets: Ithaca Guitar Works, GreenStar, Autumn Leaves Bookstore, Bound for Glory, and online at www.cornellfolksong.org/. $15 advance/$17 door; $3 rebate for members, seniors, teens; children 12 & under free. CU students $10/$12. Info: 607-351-1845 or website.

Here’s a delectable Sunday mix: two superb Vermont-based, traditional but innovative musicians, glorious brunch supervised by a renowned cook, and sweet company! House concert at 124 Pine Tree Rd., Ithaca (Dave Jones and Lucia Sciore). Light brunch at 10 am, concert at 11 am, followed by more food,

ending around 1 pm. $15 admission includes brunch (but you’re welcome to bring a dish to share as well). Space is limited, so we askfor reservations. If you reserve and then discover you cannot come, please let us know; we expect a waiting list. Until Sept. 13, contact Margaret Shepard (mbs19@cornell.edu) to reserve seats. Sept. 14-16, please call Lucia (607-351-0221).

Becky Tracy (fiddle) and Keith Murphy (guitar, mandolin, piano, and foot percussion) are dynamic performers of traditional music from Newfoundland, Quebec, Ireland, France, and beyond. Tracy’s fiddling pulses through tasteful arrangements of dance tunes and resonates with beauty on traditional slow airs. Keith’s gentle and expressive singing in English and French is balanced by the drive and power of his guitar playing and foot percussion. Combined, they produce a range and richness of sound that is striking for a duo. Their playing is seamless, the result of years of playing together and touring across the U.S., Canada, and Europe. Their repertoire includes Keith’s original compositions (many included in the Black Isle Music tune collection). He’s a prolific tunesmith with a style strongly grounded in traditional dance music. Keith and Becky were two-thirds of the wildly popular Vermont trio Nightingale and are veterans of several other bands including Childsplay and Assembly (Keith) and Wild Asparagus (Becky). They’ve recorded with these bands and many others, and have fine solo recordings: Evergreen (Becky) and Bound For Canaan (Keith).

Those of you who’ve heard Nightingale in concert or on the dance floor know what a treat you’re in for as Keith and Becky make a return appearance in Ithaca. If you don’t know these musicians, you’ll want to. Don’t hesitate to make a reservation; seats will go fast!

Directions from downtown Ithaca: Take Route 79 East out of Ithaca to the flashing yellow light at Pine Tree Road. Turn oblique left onto Pine Tree. We are about a 1/4 mile from the turn.  House is 124 Pine Tree, on the left side as you are going up:  Gray house with blue steel roof.  Parking on right side/uphill side of road.  May park on left, on lawn but make sure you are totally off the road.  Venturesome people may park at East Hill Plaza and walk the mile to our house.

TRUMANSBURG NY Sat Jun 30 - Casey Carr calling contra and square dances (she’s gifted at keeping beginners of all ages comfortable and experienced dancers entertained). Lively music (from Celtic to Quebecois to old-time, Scandinavian to French to Middle Eastern) by the amazing O’Shanigans: Tim Ball (fiddle), Phil Robinson (guitar), and Michael Ludgate (mandolin) http://www.oshanigans.org/. Location: Trumansburg Conservatory of Fine Arts, Congress St. just off Main St., downtown T’burg http://tburgconservatory.org/. Suggested donation $10; children under 13 free; discount for families.

Come celebrate the T’burg community and the area dance community together in a splendid historic building. Contra dances have been held for hundreds of years in small town halls such as the Conservatory. Help us revive this tradition in T’burg! The steps are simple, each dance is taught, and you can come without a partner. But please bring clean, soft-soled shoes to protect the lovely wooden floor! Sponsored by the board of the Trumansburg Conservatory of Fine Arts. For info., e-mail mbs19@cornell.edu.

SATURDAY, APRIL 21

WORKSHOP: 3-5 pm, Willard Straight Hall

Music Room (Room 411), Cornell University

CONCERT: 8 pm, 165 McGraw Hall,

Central Ave., Cornell Arts Quad, Cornell University

Widely considered the premier old-time fiddler of his generation (by fellow virtuoso fiddlers including Alasdair Fraser, Jay Ungar, and Darol Anger, and by audiences worldwide), this Grammy-nominated musician is also outstanding on guitar, banjo, and vocals. Bruce Molsky is most closely identified with Appalachian music (Darol Anger calls him its “Rembrandt”), but over two decades he’s also absorbed and transmuted traditional music from many cultures—Celtic, Scandinavian, Eastern European, Delta blues—into his unique sound. He has “a mystical awareness of how to bring out the new in something that is old,” says composer Mark O’Connor, who credits Molsky’s spirit and drive as the inspiration for O’Connor’s remarkable String Quartet No. 3 and Concerto for Violin, Cello and Symphony Orchestra. Perhaps Molsky’s greatest influence is as a teacher. “Young people realize this is a guy who’s tapped into the real deep emotional wellsprings of this music. Young people are very hungry for something real. Bruce has that in spades,” writes Matt Glaser, director of the American Roots Program at Boston’s Berklee College, where Molsky is on the faculty this semester.

Bronx-born, Molsky encountered blues and jazz as a teen, but credits Cornell University with his introduction to old-time music. In his twenties, he moved to Virginia and began to learn from traditional players like Tommy Jarrell of Mt. Airy, North Carolina, for whom music was integrated into daily life as work, play, and an expression of regional culture. At age 40, in the thick of his career as a mechanical engineer, Bruce Molsky decided he did not want to wait until retirement to make music full-time. With full blessings from his wife, Audrey, he took a year off in 1997 to explore his passion and never looked back. We are all blessed by that choice.

Molsky’s approach to performing is without pretension: “I talk to an audience the way I talk to people in my house; and I play for them just like we’re all in the living room together. I want to present myself as who I am; and this music as what it is.” The songs he writes depict the strengths and hardships of communities, as in Peg and Awl, in which shoemakers lose their jobs to automation. An April 20, 2011 headline from Bloomberg News humorously shorthands Molsky: “Bronx Fiddle Master Designed Drainage System, Made Ronstadt Cry.” Peg and Awl made her weep, admits Linda Ronstadt, because of the honesty in Molsky’s singing: “It’s pared back to only the essential architecture of emotion.”

Whether performing solo or with a vast list of friends (including Mike Seeger, Liz Carroll & John Doyle, Dirk Powell, Kevin Burke, Mick Moloney, Bill Frisell, Donal Lunny, Darol Anger, Nikola Parov, Rens van der Zalm, Rafe Stefanini, Michael Doucet, Andy Irvine, Aly Bain, and Ale Möller), he’s a warm, compelling musician, equally at home on world tours, at Lincoln Center, the Smithsonian Folklife Festival, and backporch house concerts and jams. He’s made at least 16 recordings, including 6 solo, some with Big Hoedown, Mozaik, Fiddlers 4, and others, and some instructional. He’s in high demand as a teacher at Ashokan, Mark O’Connor’s camps (where he’s taught every year since 1990), and Berklee. To celebrate Bruce Molsky’s return to his alma mater, the Cornell Folk Song Society is sponsoring both a fiddle workshop and concert.

Concert Tickets: Ithaca Guitar Works, GreenStar, Autumn Leaves Bookstore, Bound for Glory, and online at www.cornellfolksong.org/. $15 advance/$17 door; $3 rebate at the door for CFSS members, seniors, and teens; children 12 & under free. Cornell students $10 advance/$12 at door. [Discount for workshop participants, see below.] Info: 607-351-1845 or website. We anticipate a sell-out, so get tickets early.

Old-Time Fiddle Workshop (3-5 pm): Bruce describes the afternoon as follows: “The workshop takes a hands-on approach to old-time fiddle. Tunes are taught a phrase at a time, first melody, then bowing, and then piecing things together. We’ll dig into old-time music’s unique phrasing, rhythm and syncopation, intonation, etc. The tune is the vehicle, so mostly we’ll be playing! Suggested experience level: If you’re comfortable with the instrument and have at least a small repertoire of tunes, you’ll be fine. A recorder (minidisc, hard disk, tape, 78-rpm acetate cutter or wire recorder) is highly recommended.  Since developing ear training skills is one of the workshop goals, written music will not be provided.  *No video cameras, please.*”

Workshop limited to 25 participants; please pre-register to reserve a spot (E-mail Laura Taylor at lbt1@cornell.edu). Payment at the door is fine: $15 for students, $25 for non-students. Discount price for combined workshop plus concert: $20 students, $35 non-students (an amazing deal!).

UPDATE: AS OF 18 APRIL, ONLY ABOUT 5 SPOTS LEFT IN THE WORKSHOP!

– Margaret Shepard

BLUES GUITAR WORKSHOP

2:30-4:30 pm

Ground-floor Commons Room,

Flora Rose House,

Cornell’s West Campus Dorm Complex

CONCERT

7:30 pm, 165 McGraw Hall,

Cornell Arts Quad,

with Jun-Kyo Seo (Jumba) opening

As a youth, Andy Cohen was nurtured on piano, cornet, and Dixieland jazz records, but when, at age 16, he met Rev. Gary Davis, “his course was set.” He got himself to the “source” to learn directly from the old musicians. His many blues friends and profound influences also include Lead Belly, Big Bill Broonzy, Jim Kweskin’s Jug Band, Skip James, Washington Phillips, John Hurt, and Brownie McGee. Andy Cohen’s mission, over 50 years of making music, is to preserve and carry forward the style and spirit of these masters. He gladly mentors younger musicians who want to play authentic blues. Raised in Massachusetts, he’s really “a Southern boy at heart” who lives in Memphis when he isn’t on the road with his big Washburn and sweet dolceola. He lays down mean and fiery blues from Memphis and beyond, playful ragtime, and soul-felt spirituals and gospel. He’s a virtuoso on guitar and his singing is joyful and unrestrained. Andy Cohen is widely considered one of the finest living performers of African American blues from the Southeast, 1900-1950. A grand raconteur, he can expound with authority, fervor, and energetic humor on blues, the dolceola, and any number of musicological and anthropological topics. He’s a born teacher and self-described “guitar-picking fool.”

The concert starts early, with Cornell sophomore Jun-Kyo Seo (Jumba), president of the Cornell Folk Song Society, opening at 7:30 pm. He’ll show his mettle with blues and ragtime tunes in the style of southern blues guitarists from the early half of the twentieth century. His passion for the genres makes for mighty fine playing. It’s been 8 years since Andy did a gig for Cornell Folk Song Society, so you don’t want to miss him, or the chance to hear some solid young talent.

Concert tickets: Ithaca Guitar Works, GreenStar, Autumn Leaves Bookstore, Bound for Glory, and online at www.cornellfolksong.org/. $15 advance/$17 door; $3 rebate for members, seniors, teens; children 12 & under free. Cornell students $10/$12. Info: 607-279-2027 or website.

WORKSHOP (2:30-4:30 pm): Old pro Andy Cohen will give instruction in blues guitar in the Commons Room of Flora Rose House, West Campus Dorms, Cornell. This workshop is not to be missed by those who want to hone their chops while having a rollicking and mind-stretching good time. Here’s Andy’s description: “I call it ‘Cohen’s Law’, which is really the explicated consequences of striking the root of the chord with your thumb on the one beat. I will walk the guitarists through five pieces: Come Let Us March, Louis Collins, Freight Train, Rev. Davis’s Candyman, and Rev. Davis’s Buck Dance, progressively tricking the picking thumb into doing more and more, within the thumb-on-the-root-on-the-one framework.”

Limited to 12 participants, so pre-register, if possible, to reserve a spot (E-mail Jumba <js2276@cornell.edu> or Margaret <mbs19@cornell.edu>). Payment at the door is acceptable (students $10/non-students $25). There’s a discount price for attending both workshop and concert: students $15/ others $35.

– Margaret Shepard