International Jazz Banjo Newsletter

Hallo,Freunde des Internationalen Jazzbanjo News-Briefs! Ab 1.11.2005 habe ich eine neue website:
www.guitarelter.de , schaut mal hinein-es würde mich freu´n!Unter dem button"shop" findet Ihr CDs, books und einige Instrumente und unter button "bandnews" die aktuellen Band-Informationen und "links to friends".Ach-ja: warum"guitarelter"? ganz einfach:mein derzeit wichtigstes Instrument ist das Plectrumbanjo in 4-string-gui-tuning.Gute Zeit - und schaut mal rein!
Euer Hans-Joerg Elter
www.guitarelter.de und Emailadresse: elterbanjo@web.de

Vermittlung von DVD's GLIB( Great Lakes International Banjo Convention)
2003 /2004(3)/2005(3)Inhalt: alle führenden Banjospieler von Al Alotta bis Buddy Wachter "live". Gute Qualität! Anfragen an Achim Hippenstiel, Johippenstiel@compuserve.de . Versand direkt vom Hersteller an Besteller
Grüße,
Achim Hippenstiel.

MAKE YOUR PLANS NOW! To Join The Stone Street Strummers for our 14th Annual “Early Spring Banjo Fling” at the Holiday Inn, Mansfield, MA, March 23 - 26, 2006.
Join us for a Thursday evening concert for local seniors, Friday afternoon musical welcome party, Saturday afternoon “All Star” show, workshops & vendors, jamming(multiple venues around the clock)plus Tom Fee’s organized jam session, Sunday morning gospel jam, good times, good food, good friends and great music!
More information is available online at www.stonestreetstrummers.org
The Stone Street Strummers proudly presents Mr. Kurt Abell. Kurt will perform a cameo appearance Friday, solo performance Saturday evening and will play in various venues all weekend long. Don’t miss this opportunity to meet, listen to and jam with Kurt Abell. Again this year we offer a Saturday luncheon & evening buffet dinner served in the Garden Court.Food service is dedicated to Spring Fling so you get great food and no delays. Directions to the Mansfield Holiday Inn are as follows:- Rt. 95 North or South Exit 7A. At the 2nd Traffic light turn right, follow straight to the Holiday Inn (about 1 mile).For room reservations call the Holiday Inn at 508-339-2200 $83.00 / night. for performance slots contact Tom Fee at 508-473-5558, vendor space call Paul Jacobson 508-477-2444.
The Spring Fling is hosted by The Stone Street Strummers Banjo Band, Co-Chairman Steve Caddick and Paul Poirier. For additional information Paul Poirier's info is 17 Robin Crest Court, Seekonk, Ma. and Steve Caddick's is PO Box 3886, South Attleboro, MA 02703, USA
Email:p.j.poirier@comcast.net
Email: banjopa1@yahoo.com

“One of the Best FIGA Conventions Ever”! Comments and thanks for a great FIGA Providence 2005 Convention just keep coming in. Attendees have been sending in compliments and thanks, sharing their thoughts, stories and photos of fun times, great music, insightful tours, New England summer weather and just an overall spectacular week of FIGA activities. A FIGA Convention of this scale doesn’t just happen, Steve and Sandra Caddick along with Paul & Theresa Poirier spent countless hours meeting to discuss plans, details and coordinating the many people who worked in the background to make FIGA Providence happen. Steve and Paul held meetings with tour operators, hotel staff, Providence City planners and a cadre of other event coordinators who were responsible for the assortment of events that were made available to FIGA members and guests. Sandra Caddick and Theresa Poirier were the helping
hands that stuffed envelopes, sorted paperwork, coordinated event tickets and made sure that all the components were in place for each individual attendee when they arrived. Theresa and Sandra were also the smiling faces who, with the help of Nancy Kebabjian and a host of other volunteers, staffed the welcome table throughout the entire event.
The idea of having the FIGA 2005 Convention in New England must be credited to Paul & Yvonne Jacobson. It was at the 2004 Early Spring Banjo Fling, (held annually at the Holiday Inn Hotel, Mansfield Mass), Paul & Yvonne commented, “ FIGA has no place to go in 2005 and wouldn’t it be great to have a FIGA Convention return to New England?” There had not been a FIGA Convention in New England since Nashua NH in 1996. Well, the wheels began turning in Paul & Steve’s heads while the imaginations began to wonder about hosting an international
Musical event. “Where do we start, who do we contact….. …..can we really do this? From March to August Paul & Steve explored the possibilities, toured hotels and checked possible dates. They were still not sure they could even pull off an event of this magnitude, but the idea of hosting a major musical event in their own back yard was just too tempting. With proposals in hand Paul & Steve set out for FIGA 2004 in Sacramento, CA to have some fun, scope out the details and propose FIGA return to New England in August 2005 at the Providence Marriott Hotel. Off and running!
Fast forward to August, 2005. Plans at the Marriott are almost complete, schedules, tours, shows, all complete and our guests will be arriving in the next few days. Arriving at the Marriott Hotel from just about anywhere was pretty simple, the Marriott Hotel is easily accessible to Amtrak trains, by car or by air and with 351 guest rooms was able to accommodate all FIGA guests under one roof. Function space for jam rooms, meetings, shows and vendors was neither to big nor to small, but just right. Ballrooms for the shows, the vender room and jam rooms spaces were always busy with activities but never overcrowded. The Hotel staff, having never experienced a FIGA Convention was not sure what to expect, but check in was easy and attendees were able to find their rooms, and around the hotel with ease. Wednesday, the kick off day Paul, Steve, Sandra and Theresa were frantic getting final details complete. A morning
volunteer meeting, the stage in the ballroom had not arrived yet, the vendor room was just being set up, banners were not hung and what about the sound system? Attendees were beginning to line up at the welcome table that was not yet ready. Thanks to Eddy & Nancy Kebabjian, Russ & Pauline Miller, Bill O’Neel, Paul & Yvonne Jacobson, Rene Marion, Bob Molden the Marriott Hotel staff and lots of other volunteers, all the last minute details were completed and FIGA Providence 2005 was ready to go.
Wednesday’s schedule also included a welcome party in the hotel lobby. A spin off idea from the annual Strummers’ Spring Fling, Paul & Steve decided that the lobby needed to be more than just a place to check in, it needed some music to welcome people to the FIGA convention, to let them know they had arrived and to set the mood for the entire event. Steve Caddick, Rene Marion and Eddy Kebabjian performed many old favorites as well as tunes from their CDs “By The Sea” and “Old Cape Cod” to get things started. Dave Frey followed with a one hour performance playing some of his favorite songs and just taking time to welcome FIGA Members as they arrived. The welcome parties were scheduled for Wednesday and Thursday afternoons only. The surprise was that once the music started, it just would not stop! Players and attendees started asking where and how to sign up for a slot in “THE CORNER” of the lobby. Steve Caddick decided to begin scheduling all the groups who wanted time to showcase their talents and join in the fun. Some of the people who entertained attendees, the hotel staff and hotel
guests from “THE CORNER” were: The Ross Hubble Trio, Don Vappie, Cynthia Sayer, Tyler Jackson, Steve DeBoniventura, Michael Keuhn, Rob Wright and Evan Dane to name just a few. The music wafted through the lobby setting the mood for FIGA that made attendees feel like this was home. Groups continued performing in “THE CORNER” continuously from 9:00 am till 5:00pm every day, right through to Saturday making the hotel lobby a special place to gather.
Attendees who arrived on Wednesday, as well as, local folks were treated to a FIGA 2005 “Kick Off Concert”. Our host band, The Stone Street Strummers, conducted by Tom Fee, performed an hour long trip down memory lane playing old time favorite songs from the “Tin Pan Alley” era, as well as, famous Broadway show tunes in classic “Banjo Band” style. Following the Strummers was a very special treat for FIGA members, The Providence Mandolin Orchestra. The PMO, founded in 1973 by Hibbard Perry, has performed frequently locally and internationally as a classical mandolin orchestra. Conductor Mark Davis chose songs written especially for the mandolin orchestra including a Japanese Love song. Both the Stone Street Strummers and the PMO performed superbly to an enthusiastic audience that included area senior citizens, local officials, the 2nd US District Congressman James Langevin and of course, FIGA attendees. FIGA conventions often showcase banjo bands but it was a pure delight to have very diverse music performed by a very diverse group like the Providence Mandolin Orchestra.
Workshops, an all important part of any FIGA Convention, were a big success. Workshops were planned to be as informative and diverse across as many instruments and styles of music as possible. Workshops were held on Thursday, Friday and Saturday mornings in two sessions with a maximum of 4 different subjects in any one session. The choices were as varied as the subjects. Thursday’s lineup was Dave Frey’s workshop titled “background patterns – the important shadow of all melodies”, Rob Wright “The Practice Room to the Stage”, Roger Sprung “5 string banjo styles” Marilynn Mair “An Introduction to Brazilian Choro” and Virginia Luetje
hosted an idea exchange on audience participation. Fridays selections were Steve Caddick, “Taming the Treacherous Tremolo”, Peter Zaccagnino “Ukulele: 4 strings, 4 fingers and you’re playing”, Gil O’Gawa “Banjo Setup”, Geoff Rezek “How to form a Fretted Instruments Club”, Dr Jeff Grosser “ The Art of Getting Gigs” and Remco Houtman - Janssen “Right hand Tricks for Banjo Uke” Friday also brought a special workshop from the master himself, Mr. Buddy Wachter. And, if that wasn’t enough, Saturday workshops included Cynthia Sayer “How to Follow by Ear”, Jim Riley “memory Joggers for Banjo Players” John Mumford “ Banjo Styles of Past Performers”, Kinloch Nelson “Alternative Tuning For Guitar” and finally Rob Wright. Wow, that was a long list, but each and every person who gave of their time and talent to attend FIGA and help other musicians learn from their expertise deserves to be noted and given our thanks for their contribution. Venders and the vender room are also an important part of any FIGA Convention and ours was no exception. Instrument makers and sellers from all over the country came to show off their products. We had Banjos, Guitars, Mandolins, Ukuleles, some cross over instruments and a host of other stuff including CD’s, gig bags and even some posters. The Vender room was always a busy spot frequented by all and jam packed with merchandise, conversation and music. Thanks go to Paul Jacobson for managing this all important area.
Although not the primary focus of a FIGA convention, the local tours are a big draw for both FIGA musicians and guests. Paul & Steve understood this and planned tours and outside activities for each day of the convention. Most activities and all tours were promoted in advance with articles highlighting attractions in each issue of the “All Frets Magazine” for the entire year running up to FIGA 2005. This process is time consuming and, (if you have ever written an article for publication), difficult, but the decision was made that it was an important part of the convention planning and the effort was required to build interest in our destination city for FIGA 2005.
Attendees arriving on Wednesday were able to tour Providence on the Splash Duck Tour. Promptly at 2:00pm, a big, kind of “quacky” looking, amphibious vehicle rolled up to the Marriott hotel. 41 lucky guests boarded the tour bus / boat for a one hour trip through historic city streets and into the water to float past a Russian submarine, through the hurricane barrier and into the Providence Harbor. The crew pointed out the highlights and historic locations of the city with a unique mix of history and corny jokes as only the Splash Duck Tour folks can. All returned safely with smiles, hugs for the crew, some new jokes and great memories. The FIGA city tour departed Thursday morning with 39 enthusiastic attendees aboard a Conway Tours motor coach for a morning long guided tour of the city with stops and tours of the Rhode Island State House, the historic John Brown House, an old fashioned “Federal Hill” bakery, the oldest Baptist Meeting House in the US and a drive down the “Mile of History”, Benefit Street, to see the most extensive collection of 17th and 18th century homes in America. What a history lesson in the heart of beautiful Providence, the “Renaissance City”.
Thursday was a perfect New England Summer Day, sunshine and ocean breezes, Perfect for the Narragansett Bay Cruise Tour and Jam Session the most attended of the tours. Over 150 music lovers and high seas adventurers climbed aboard 3 motor coaches for the short ride to Quonset Point where Vineyard Fast Ferry Inc. operates “The Millennium”, a high speed catamaran that, with Captain, crew and Arthur our tour guide, was to serve as our private yacht. After boarding, instruments in hand, the ship departed for a 90 minute round the bay tour with views of 17 historic lighthouses, Newport Harbor, Hammersmith Farm, Narragansett Bay, some large sailboats, the Newport and Jamestown bridges. Our tour guide Arthur intermixed his history lesson with our jamming. Whenever the high speed catamaran ship was moving from point to point the jamming was on, when the ship slowed to view a landmark, the jamming stopped and our guide continued. What a wonderful way to experience true New England treasures while doing what we all love so much, making music.
Friday morning 57 adventurous FIGA Folks made their way onto motor coaches for the ride to Newport, the “City - by the - Sea”. Once there, guides described the city, pointing out historic homes and architectural details of the mansions that were summer retreats of the wealthiest Americans and 19th century high society. The high point of our Newport excursion was a guided tour of “The Breakers”, the grandest of Newport’s mansions. Built overlooking the Atlantic Ocean the mansion was a summer cottage of the Vanderbilt family and is now owned and preserved by the Newport Historical society. Prior to returning to the Marriott Hotel attendees were given free time at Bannister’s Warf for some souvenir shopping, lunch and a pleasant look around. Additional non FIGA functions that members and guests participated in included: Thursday’s Gallery night, a free tour to the city’s art galleries sponsored by Gallery Night Inc. Barbara Barns of the Providence Historical Society gave a slide presentation about Providence and it’s history and sponsored Historic walking tours on Friday and Saturday. Finally, a ladies makeup seminar that was held compliments of Nordstrum’s at the Providence Place Mall.
All FIGA Conventions are a showcase for members’ talent and that is just what was on display at the three “All Star Shows” Walter Chase, (Amoskeog Strummers) was our guest MC Thursday night and opening the show the host band, the Stone Street Strummers performed Hello, Welcome and Enjoy Yourself, three tunes to give instructions to all. What did follow was lots of great music by wonderful FIGA musicians. Additional shows were on Friday evening with a follow up show on Saturday afternoon. Time slots were held to 12 minutes to accommodate the many diverse and entertaining performers. Special thanks to Sandy Perotta who stepped in and saved the day as MC for the Saturday Afternoon show and for organizing and managing a very successful 50/50 raffle. Friday night’ schedule was a real challenge. The traditional FIGA banquet was on with an All Star Show to follow in the same room. Bob Hadley, (Elm City Banjo Band), was both host for the Friday evening banquet and MC for the “All Star Show”. Bob had the all important job of coordinating the evening’s activities. First the Banquet: The menu selection was New England Baked Scrod, or Pork tenderloin, both fabulously prepared and enjoyed by over 250 attendees. Then the instrument raffles presented by Johnny Baier and awards portion of the evening were presented by FIGA President Dolores Borrow. When all were complete, it was necessary to clear attendees from the room, then reset for the show, a logistical nightmare that is always a source of complaints. Bob did his usual great job accomplishing the task with whit and humor. While the hotel staff worked their magic on the Grande Ballroom, Cynthia Sayer kept the evening moving with a mini concert in the Marquee Room. An additional performance by Don Vappie and Evan Dain also helped out. The Hotel staff were fantastic, they managed to make the whole evening work without a hitch. Cynthia and Don’s performances were just outstanding and the All Star Show was a delight for all. Could it ever get better than this? Waterfire in Providence is unique and has been ranked as #2 on National Geographic Traveler Magazine’s top 10 events in the United States. A FIGA Convention in Providence would not have been complete without a Waterfire event on Saturday night. The problem was a Waterfire event does not happen every week and FIGA week was
not on the schedule. Paul & Steve went to work. Getting a Waterfire event was no easy task, it required a major sponsor and convincing a lot of city planners and Waterfire Inc. that a FIGA Convention is a worthy reason to have a Waterfire. Everybody who is anybody in the city, at Waterfire Inc., at the Convention Bureau, even a US Congressman were contacted and asked for their help. Boy did they come through for us! Amica Insurance stepped in as the major sponsor and Waterfire was on! What a great event on a perfect Summer night. Saturday night show at the RISD was held right in the middle of the Waterfire event. The RISD, (Rhode Island School of Design), Auditorium had been booked for this event 8 months in advance and just 2 days before FIGA came to town somebody said, “ Did we tell you that the hall is not air conditioned?” Too Late Now! Boy was it hot in that auditorium but as Johnny Baier said ”they promised us a warm reception!” Well all who attended any part of the Saturday night show got some of the hottest music of the convention. What a lineup! The PMO, Rob Wright, Steve Caddick, Cynthia Sayer, Don Vappie, Tyler Jackson & Buddy Wachter, Kinloch Nelson and to close out the show, Johnny Baier & Buddy Wachter. Special thanks to Evan Dain, who despite the intense heat and bright lights, played his stand up bass almost continuously through the Saturday night show. Open to FIGA members and the general public, people wandered in and out. A pair of professional musicians who wandered in from Waterfire were glued to their seats. When they were asked if they enjoyed the show their response was that “we were putting the Newport Jazz Festival to shame with the talent on our stage”. That was quite a compliment from an unknown source.
Well the sign of a great convention is always in the jam rooms. The jam rooms were consistently full of music and life. The real tip off that this convention was a great one came on Saturday night, after Waterfire and the RISD Show. Back at the hotel around midnight, somebody picked up a banjo in the lobby and started to play. Soon, others followed. At 1:30 on Sunday morning the jam session was still building. Finally at 2:30 am the decision was made, “we have to go home on Sunday anyway, so let’s just play all night” What a spectacular end to a great FIGA Convention.
Going home on Sunday is always a mixed emotion day. The lobby was full of hugs and tears, thanks for a great time and looking forward to next year’s event. Saying goodbye to new friends, old friends and looking forward to meeting again! Personally, I can’t wait till next year in Bay Point, MI.

Written by Paul Poirier

Friday, October 21 to Sunday, October 23, Come for New England's Fall Foliage
Enjoy a Variety of Restaurants and Shopping within walking distance, but most of all Come Meet Your Banjo Friends and Play Your Heart Out !!!
Friday 8:00PM Festival Opener- Red Suspenders String Band
Friday Jamming will start at 3:00pm and go `til whenever in the Cotilion Room
Saturday Early Bird Jamming will start at 8:00am to 11:00am Downstairs Function Room
Lunch break on your own
Showtime from Noon to 5:00pm
Dinner break on your own
Evening Jamming till whenever in the Cotilion Room
Sunday Morning Jamming in the Cotilion Room
That's a Whole Lotta' Banjo !!!
Holiday Inn
500 Lincoln Street
Worcester, Massachusetts
For Rooms Call: 1-508-852-4000
Don't Forget to Mention New England Jazz Banjofest for Special Room Rates We Hope to see All of You There !!! No Registration Fee, Vendor & Practice Space Available, for More Information Call: Mike Jeynes 603-882-5702 Or Allen Padwa 508-754-7918 or allen@padwacaldwell.com

Formerly known as the Reading International Banjo Festival (Reading, England) where it had been held since the early 1980s, for the last several years the historic English city of Bath has become the home of this unique banjo festival. The Bath Banjo Festival is distinguished by the fact that it is probably the only banjo festival devoted to the teaching and performance of all the various styles of banjo playing, including jazz 4-string plectrum and tenor, bluegrass, clawhammer, classic fingerstyle, and Irish tenor. Taking place on the weekend of July 1st-3rd, Bath University was the host site for this festival which was directed by Bath University Engineering/Biology professor Julian Vincent- himself a well known tenor banjo player.

This year’s event featured two days of workshops and jam sessions along with a Saturday evening Grand Concert which was devoted to performances by the five guest concert and workshop artists. These artists included Tom Stuip ( Holland) who gave workshops on plectrum banjo, Ken Perlman (USA) who gave workshops on clawhammer banjo, Darren Maloney (Ireland) who gave workshops on Irish Tenor banjo, Bill Keith (USA) who gave workshops on 5-string bluegrass banjo, and myself (Doug Back-USA) who gave workshops on classic fingerstyle 5-string banjo. While the bluegrass and clawhammer workshops drew the most attendance, all of the artists had students signed up for their classes with whom they worked in small or large groups most of the day Saturday and again the following morning. The main event on Saturday evening, billed as the “Grand Concert,” featured each of the workshop artists in thirty minute concert segments.

Starting the Grand Concert program was plectrum banjo wizard Tom Stuip who along with Julian Vincent on cello banjo presented tunes such as Blue River, Crying for the Carolines, I’m coming to Virginia, Wait till the Sun Shines, Nelly, and others. Tom’s easy going style and relaxed stage manner was a hit with the audience. On a side note, I was somewhat surprised to notice that being an ardent motorcycle enthusiast, Tom had ridden his motorcycle while carrying his expensive Ome Gold Mogul banjo in a gig bag from The Netherlands to the festival. As I had also brought my plectrum banjo along, I was fortunate to spend a few hours earlier that morning improving my plectrum banjo skills with Tom who generously shared advice and tips. Tom Stuip’s performance was followed by myself on 5-string classic banjo along with my musical partner British classic banjoist/guitarist Danielle Saxon Reeves of Lye/Stourbridge, England. Twenty-seven year old Danielle Saxon-Reeves is one of England’s top classic banjoists. We had teamed together ten days earlier and had recently finished two other concerts and workshops in Bristol and Hadley, England. Our repertoire was comprised of many of the pieces featured on my CD “The Banjo Goes Highbrow” as well as numbers by English banjo composers such as Emile Grimshaw(1880-1943) and Joe Morley (1867-1937). It is of interest to note that much of the classic banjo repertoire was published with both 1st and 2nd banjo parts, with the 2nd banjo substituting for a piano or guitar accompaniment. While I generally accepted the 1st banjo parts, we did switch parts on all the Grimshaw pieces where Danielle played the lead. We closed with a rousing version of Parke Hunter’s arrangement of Liszt’s Fantasie Hongroise which elicited a very enthusiastic applause from the audience. Finishing out the first half of the program was Ken Perlman of Boston who gave a wonderful unaccompanied demonstration of clawhammer banjo, his only accompaniment being an intended tapping of his shoe to add a clogging percussive background. Ken’s program was largely devoted to music of the British Isles, and his playing proved why he is one of the leading artists of clawhammer banjo. His selections included The Poppy Leef, Stack of Barley, East Newk of Fife, Nancy (Northumbrian piping tune), Dallas Rag, The Road to Mexico, Three Jigs (Rock Valley Jig/Light and Airy, The Munster Lass) and Washington’s March and Rocky Mountain Goat, both Appalachian tunes)
The second half of the program featured Irish tenor banjo virtuoso Darren Maloney who also performed unaccompanied. Darren’s technique was remarkable with amazingly fast triplet figures added constantly to the fiddle-like Irish melodies which he played. It was my first exposure to this style of playing and I was highly impressed. Last on the program was bluegrass banjo legend Bill Keith who performed everything from Flint Hill Special by Earl Scruggs to a movement from Bach’s English Suite originally for keyboard, to a jazz number by Miles Davis. The finale of the program saw Bill Keith leading Auld Lang Syne as the other four artists came back on stage and joined in. It was a fitting way to conclude the 2005 International Bath Banjo Festival Grand Concert.

Greetings, Doug Back

It does not seem that long ago, but actually I met Harry Reser in 1958. I was serving in the U.S. Navy at the time and had the very great honor of representing my naval district and appearing on television on the old “Ed Sullivan variety hour” which was broadcast out of New York. Understand that I was only 18 years old at the time.
After rehearsing my number for the show with the Ray Block Orchestra I got talking to the orchestra's guitar player about Harry Reser. Well, as luck would have it, he was a close friend of Harry, even giving me Harry’s telephone number and insisted that I call him. Unaware of the guitar player’s name, he said “tell Harry that Tony gave you the telephone number and told you to call”. Tony Mottola was a jazz legend in his own right. I called Harry Reser and told him that I played the tenor banjo and I was to appear on TV in a few days time. Mr. Reser could not have been more gracious and he was pleased that I had called. Before I knew it I was in the presence of Mr. & Mrs. Harry Reser in their Manhattan apartment. He asked me to play the song I was to do while Mrs. Reser made some cold drinks and sliced some watermelon in the kitchen. He seemed pleased with my playing and advised me to do it exactly the same way each time as the orchestra’s arrangement was built around the song I was to do. We talked for a very long time about the banjo and he liked the old Weyman banjo I had, although it paled in comparison to the banjos he had. I remember Mrs. Reser appearing with the cold drinks and cold watermelon and she said "Young man, you look like you could use something cold to drink by now”.
I made my appearance that Sunday evening on the "All Navy Ed Sullivan show” which was nationally broadcast and the show was extremely popular at the time. Harry Reser watched and taped the show from his home (using the old reel to reel tapes) and sent me the tape also including several of his own numbers. Somehow I always kept in touch with Mr. Reser as I lived in Philadelphia, PA and New York is only 90 miles away. In fact the next time I met him was with my father, who was also a banjo player. My dad and I drove down to Atlantic City where Harry Reser was playing with the old Sammy Kaye Band at the Steel Pier. Again, Mr. Reser was kind, gracious and outgoing to my dad and I. He was not only the greatest banjo player in the world but also a true gentleman and a “people’s person”. I'm a better banjo player for having met him and maybe a better person as well. He told me one very profound thing too- to pass whatever musical knowledge you have along to the next person and keep music and the banjo alive. So, what little knowledge I have I've tried to pass it on. Whether you realize it or not, the International Jazz Banjo Newsletter is doing exactly what Harry Reser would want – passing that knowledge along !
I hope you like this story because to me it showed Harry Reser as not only a giant musically, but his talent was equally matched by him being just a great person, too.

Sincerely,
Bob Mansure

Most readers are well familiar with Eddy Davis. Some know him as banjo soloist and entertainer, others as the musical director of the Woody Allen New Orleans Jazz Band, yet others as composer,arranger in various bands like The New York Banjo Ensemble,Stanley's Washboard Kings, The Spike Jones Revival Band and many others. Eddy has been so active during his musical life that he himself would propably have a hard time recalling all projects he's been involved in. Apart from his playing, I always cherished Eddy's vast knowledge of Jazz and related music from the late 1800's to present, how he would share his knowledge with anybody interested and how he would 'spice up the factual' content with anecdotes and side remarks about the musicians and the time that certain piece of music was played. I would also think that he saved quite a number of titles from disappearing from the public's minds by re-arranging and re-creating them.
At this year's F.I.G.A. comvention in Providence, Rhode Island, Eddy presented 8 or 9 CDs published by New York Jazz Records (http://newyorkjazzrecords.com). I believe that those CDs cover a major part of Eddy's banjo playing and composing / arranging career. Some titles on some CDs are re-issues of formerly published LP
record.Unfortunately,the above referenced web site does not seem to be up-to-date.
Also, this note does not allow to go into the detail of all the CDs.Whichever facet of Eddy Davis' musical and banjo life you like best, you'll find ample material of that on the CDs.
Here's a brief listing and description:
NYJ001 'You Made Me Love You', Eddy Davis, Woody Allen, Conal Fowkes (piano/bass) with the Kim / Dinklage Strings - 12 titles presented in the style Jimmy Durante with strings might have done them. NYJ002 'That's The Samba, It's The Dance Of Love' and NYJ 003 'The New York Samba' highlight the composer and singer Eddy Davis.
He wrote all the 28 titles recorded here with Eddy doing vocals, Frank Vignola on guitar, Conal Fowkes on bass and Joe Ascione on drums. Great jazzy numbers played by top representatives of this art, but not for you in case you prefer banjo solos over great jazz guitar.
NYJ004 'The Blind Man On The Corner Singin' The Beale St. Blues' - An Evening of Early Jazz & Blues: this is a whole story around the Blues and Jazz, book and music written by Eddy. Some great 'newer' names like Jon-Erik Kellso (trumpet) and Orange Kellin (clarinet) can be heard on this record. NYJ005 'The Eddy Davis Project' - featuring Doc Cheatham, Howard Alden & Milt Hinton with Jake Hanna, Dan Barrett, Joe Murianyi, Joel Helleny, Dill Jones, Cynthia Sayer & Lew Micallef. This list of artists promises a great recording - and it is! Eddy brought these great artists together and 2 of the recorded numbers are his compositions. NYJ006 Eddy Davis 'The Manhattan Minstrel' - Just sittin' Here Strummin' This Ole Banjo and NYJ007 Eddy Davis 'The Manhattan Minstrel' - From Broadway To Hollywood. As stated on the covers - these two CDs represent the life and times of Eddy Davis. 20 and 24 titles of material you might have heard before on LP,nicely remastered and displaying the wide spectrum of music Eddy covered with varying bands. Lots of great banjo solos, too.
NYJ009 is also sub-titled as The Life and Times of Eddy Davis. However, this CD is strictly banjo solos with the remastered recordings of the New York Banjo Ensemble with Cynthia Sayer, Howard Alden, Frank Vignola and Eddy,plus some very scarce and pretty rag and classics duets of Eddy with Buck Kelly on tenor and plectrum banjos.
I consider those roughly 9 hours of music a treasure every jazz and banjo enthusiast should have.

Greetings, Jürgen Kulus.

On Sunday the 6th of November there will be a new edition of the annual Dutch Jazz Banjo Rally. Once again it's an event not to be missed by both banjo players and people who like good old jazz music in general.

Like last year's Rally, which was a huge success, the main focus will be on sharing the love for jazz banjo music. That means there will be plenty of time to jam together, which has proven to be the part people enjoy the most. We'll kick off with a session, have another jam halfway through the programme and finish with yet again as many banjo's on stage as there are banjo players in the room.

Sharing the love for jazz banjo of course also means sitting back to enjoy performances by some of the best players around. Dutch plectrum banjo maestro Tom Stuip will show his skills this year together with Jan van Bijnen, who plays in Chicago tuning. The Two Tenors were the big surprise of last year's Rally and this year they'll be back! Their show was greatly appreciated by everyone present, so it's only natural we've asked them to show us some more of their tricks and licks.
Due to unforeseen circumstances, last year Dutch plectrum banjoist Johan Lammers couldn't make it to the Rally in 2004, but this year he'll be back with a vengeance, sharing the stage with German banjo master Achim Hippenstiel. Very promising indeed!
The latest addition to the program comes from Ghent in Belgium, where I (Remco HJ) moved late June. In the Lazy River Jazz Club I met Leo de Potter, who surely knows his way around on the fretboard of his tenor banjo. He will do some solo stuff as well as share the stage with me, playing plectrum banjo and that tiny, yet ever so loud, darned little banjo-uke.

If there's any other jazz banjo player who wants to perform on stage at this year's Banjo Rally, from the Netherlands or abroad, please contact us at info@jazzbanjo.nl or give us a call at +32 9 32 444 52.

The Banjo Rally will take place in Jazzclub Langs de Lijn in Bussum, Herenstraat 43a. That's the same location as last year. Some visitors had complained about lack of parking space, but now that we've moved the Rally to a Sunday there will be no problem parking your car nearby. In fact, just across the street there is a parking lot that's practically empty on Sundays - and free as well!

Hope to see you all on the 6th of November!

www.jazzbanjo.nl