International Jazz Banjo Newsletter

Is the African prototype of the New World gourd banjo lost forever or does it still exist? It was in 2000 that I finally completed my field and deskwork on the history of the origin of the New World gourd banjo. Since this time, I’ve travelled and joined conferences in the following countries: Gambia, Senegal, Guinea Bissau, Sweden, USA and Belgium. In all these countries I introduced the Akonting lute instrument and explained to the audience why I feel it is an instrument worth study in as far as the search for the prototype of the New World banjo is concerned.
Since then, I collaborated with Ulf Jagfors, and together we have documented and recorded the Akonting dance culture and music that have received a great attention especially from the American scholars. Many museums and private individuals have now had the Akonting lute among their banjo exhibitions. I would like to express my appreciation of meeting most of the banjo collector’s community, who had received me with warm welcome the first time I had the opportunity to meet them in Boston USA. The encouragement I received from every one of them, inspired me more.
I fully agreed, the search for the origin of the New World gourd banjo is a complex exercise, and very time and money consuming. But this does not mean we have to stand aloof from the struggle to find its prototype. With a broad framework of co-operation and network, I think, a lot can be achieved. It is widely accepted today that the New World banjo developed from an African prototype, and most likely from the Senegambian region of West Africa. Scholars who researched and documented facts on the Ngoni, Hoddu, Akonting and the Buchundu lutes of the Senegambian region further strengthen this theory.
All these lute instruments and many others that I did not mention share some similarities with the cultures of the New World gourd banjo. Yet, as far as my twenty-nine years of research on these instruments is concerned, their history, cultures and social significances are dieing and nothing is being done to preserve them. This is why Ulf Jagfors and I have taken the initiative to start a Chordophone Museum in the Gambia to collect, document and preserve all the Chordophone instruments found in the region, together with their wonderful folk cultures.
The goal is to make these instruments and their cultures accessible to all for research, studies etc. But we cannot do it alone, we need your assistance to achieve this our goal. A cultural committee has now been formed in Gambia and Senegal (Casamance) to work with us on this matter.

Daniel Jutta
Visit http://members01.chello.se/abzu/akonting/origin.html

Das KARSTADT KULTUR CAFÉ in Hamburg (im Karstadt-Haus Hamburger Straße) präsentiert einen Jazz-Leckerbissen der ganz besonderen Art: Die HAMBURG JAZZ ALL STARS (u.a. mit Abbi Hübner, Hauke Strebel, Reiner Regel, Thomas Altmann, Larry Bartels) und endlich wieder das INT. BANJO FESTIVAL mit BUDDY WACHTER,USA - SEAN MOYSES, UK - und PETER "BANJO" MEYER, D. Zum Banjo-Festival: Als 1986 die erste gemeinsame LP “Explorations” von Buddy Wachter und Peter »Banjo« Meyer erschien, rieben sich Fans und Kenner der Szene erstaunt die Augen: ein solches Banjo-Duo hatte es bis dahin noch nicht gegeben. Der amerikanische Musik-Kritiker Lowell Schreyer schrieb dazu: “...diese Platte wird für lange lange Zeit der Maßstab sein, an dem sich alle Banjospieler messen müssen”. Für diejenigen, die das Banjo als Rhythmusinstrument einer Dixieland-Band kennen, erfordert die Musik, die Buddy Wachter auf diesem Instrument produziert, ein völliges Umdenken. Wachter hat mit seinen scheinbar unbegrenzten technischen und musikalischen Fähigkeiten dem Banjo eine neue Identität gegeben.

Kenner der Szene sagen, Buddy Wachter aus Baltimore/USA, Jahrgang 1953, mag wohl der größte Banjoist sein, der je gelebt hat! Mit unglaublichem Können und atemberaubender Virtuosität präsentiert er ein Programm, das vom Jazz über Broadway-Musicals, vom Bluegrass bis zu eigenen Transcriptionen von Mozart, Chopin und Liszt, alle Musikstile umfasst. Die Vielfalt von Farben und Dynamik, die er auf seinem Banjo produziert, sind erstaunlich und aufregend, und die Präzision und Schnelligkeit, mit der er spielt, ist unübertroffen. Viele Auftritte in Deutschland, u.a. eine eigene TV-Show “Buddy Live”, eine CD-Produktion mit dem Hamburger Altmeister Peter »Banjo« Meyer und ausgedehnte Tourneen mit dem Int. Banjo-Festival haben ihn auch hierzulande populär gemacht. Solistische Highlights in den USA, z.B. Auftritte in der legendären New Yorker Carnegie Hall mit dem New York Pops Orchestra, zahlreiche Tourneen und CD-Produktionen und viele TV-Shows haben ihm zu Recht den Titel “World Champion of the Banjo” eingetragen. Peter »Banjo« Meyer ist einer der führenden Banjoisten in Europa. Seit nunmehr 46 Jahren ist ist er in der Jazz-Szene zu Hause und trat im Laufe seiner Karriere mit vielen bekannten Bands und Solisten auf. Highlights waren Schallplattenaufnahmen mit der New Yorker “Harlem Blues & Jazz Band”, mit den Jazz-Veteranen Ikey Robinson/Chicago und Thomas Jefferson/New Orleans, seinen eigenen “European Jazz Giants”, Gala -Auftritte mit den Bremer Sinfonikern in deren Produktion von “Porgy & Bess”, über 50 TV-Auftritte... diese Aufzählung ließe sich beliebig fortsetzen. Seine Solo-Auftritte zeichnen sich nicht nur durch ein virtuoses Banjo-Spiel aus, sondern leben durch seine natürliche und humorvolle Präsentation des Programms und sein überzeugendes Show-Talent. Als Solist setzt er Maßstäbe: einfühlsame Single-String-Passagen,kompliziertes Cross-Picking, raffinierte Right-Hand-Rolls und atemberaubend schnelle Akkordpassagen haben ihm zu Recht den ehrenvollen Beinamen gegeben: »Banjo« Meyer. Der Dritte im Bunde der BANJO-JUBILEE ist der Engländer Sean Moyses, ebenfalls einer der großen Solisten auf diesem Instrument in Europa. Er spielt seit seinem elften Lebensjahr Banjo, Ukulele-Banjo, Five-String-Banjo und Gitarre und hat es auf allen seinen Instrumenten zu hoher Meisterschaft gebracht. Nach einer längeren Zeit als Solist bei dem berühmten “Pasadena Roof Orchestra” und in der musikalischen Comedy-Show von “Bob Kerr’s Whoopee Band” ging er 1996 nach Deutschland und startete hier seine Solo-Karriere, wobei er immer wieder gern gesehener Gast in den Bands “Rod Mason’s Hot Five” und der “Barrelhouse Jazzband” ist. Herausragender Begleiter der drei Banjo-Solisten ist der englische Pianist Keith Nichols, der gerade mit dem Heritage-Award von BBC 2 für sein Lebenswerk ausgezeichnet wurde. Keith ist einer der ganz großen Pianisten der klassischen New Yorker Stride-Piano-Schule und beherrscht mühelos die Stile der Piano-Virtuosen Fats Waller, James P. Johnson und Willie “The Lion” Smith. Gemeinsam garantieren Buddy Wachter, Peter Meyer und Sean Moyses eine mitreissende Banjo-Show von höchster Qualität. Kartenerkauf auf der www.banjomeyer.de Website unter "Karten"

At the recent FIGA convention in Bay City, Michigan, both Roy Hill and I were concerned to hear that Borgy Borgerson had developed a `trigger finger.’ As most in the banjo world know, Borgy has been for many decades, not only a great tenor banjoist but also, a wonderful entertainer. It’s not often that someone comes along with both of those skills but certainly Borgy has been such an artist. Although slated to play on stage sometime during the FIGA convention, understandably he decided at the last moment not to risk performing unless he could be at his very best especially since he would have been playing in front of hundreds of people and other fellow musicians. Although he made that decision, I must admit, Borgy did do some excellent jamming with many other great musicians in the vendor rooms and hallways of the hotel during the convention weekend.
In a discussion with Roy Hill during FIGA, Roy explained that Borgy would be staying at his place in London for a few days, then passing through Toronto, prior to heading back home to Vancouver.
Roy suggested that with his son’s large backyard in Mississauga, perhaps we could organize a tribute to Borgy, in the form of a `jam’ session and a barbeque for Toronto Banjo Band (TBB) current and past members, along with musicians from the Toronto area that had played with Borgy throughout the years. Since Borgy was now living in British Columbia, we realized that we must take advantage of this unique opportunity, while he is in Ontario. So, with only three days to pull this event together, Wednesday, July 25, 2006 was selected.
Upon my return to Toronto from Bay City, I quickly sent out e-mails to all the current and past TBB musicians. In addition, Roy Hill made some calls to fellow musicians, along with securing his son’s place in Mississauga for the party. The response was excellent especially by those of us that had known Borgy for many decades. Most of us had heard Borgy play over the years at the old Nickelodeon opposite the Eaton Centre in Toronto as well as at Diamond Lil’s in the Skyline Hotel near Toronto Pearson International Airport. This was an excellent opportunity to hear him once again as well as give tribute to his contribution to many of us in the banjo world who still live in Southern Ontario.
Upon arriving at Corey and Jeffrey Hill’s (Roy Hill’s daughter-in-law and son) home, everyone was pleasantly surprised by the beautiful venue. With temperatures in the mid 20’s, the backyard was wonderfully inviting, with a huge deck and a very large well-grassed backyard with towering trees. Although the party was slated to begin anytime after 2:00 pm, most attendees seemed to arrive sometime around 4:00 pm. With such a short notice, many of us unfortunately had former commitments earlier in the day.
For the first hour or so, revisiting with `old friends’ along with a few new ones, was the priority. Then finally Mel Collie prodded me to get some music going beginning with Borgy. I began with explaining how Mel and I had met Borgy some thirty-seven years earlier and a bit of Borgy’s history performing in the Toronto area over that time. Jamie MacPherson also provided some very kind words following me.
Then I introduced Borgy asking him to perform for the audience since this party was for him and his lovely wife Eunice. Well even at 80 years young, Borgy played and sounded just like the `good ole days.’
He gave his `trigger’ finger hell a couple of times verbally, but Borgy being as good as he is, well, I certainly didn’t notice any problem. Also playing along with him for this session was Doug Burrell. Doug was a member of Borgy’s band for many years and still plays an excellent tuba. Joining him as well was Jimmy Purdy on the washboard and clarinet as well as Ernie Mee on bass guitar. Well in addition to Borgy’s `smoothness’ on his modified Gibson Mastertone (partially a TB 250 & TB 500), Jimmy’s rhythm on his washboard with his `metal fingers’, Coney Island Washboard was played to perfection. Of course, Jimmy also added some bells, whistles and chimes during the song finishing off with the uncovering of `MOM’ and `WOW’ towels over the washboard. And just to round things off, we all received a few squirts of water from his squeeze bottle. Did we get a little wet? Yep. Did we laugh? Of course!!! Rounding off the performance was Ernie who played the bass with his usual impeccable precision. After about forty minutes of Borgy playing, he gave thanks to all of us who attended and, I think I might have seen a few tears from him.
Then we moved on to hear many of the other great musicians attending the barbeque. In no particular order, Roy Hill with backup from his bass player, Leon Ross, gave us some great tunes from `over there.’ I was certainly surprised for along with Roy’s tenor banjo skills, I never realized just how proficient he was on a banjo ukulele. I would say that he was as good as Mel but I better be careful and not do any sort of a comparison since both are great artists. Mel then provided some great `Formby’ banjo ukulele tunes along with his well timed jokes. We were also treated to songs on the same instrument by Steve Penny, Mel’s friend from Halifax. Steve had performed wonderfully at FIGA and this evening was no different giving us a tremendously professional sound. Way to go Steve.
Then it was Jamie MacPherson’s turn to shine and someone who is undoubtedly a very talented and versatile banjoist. His rendition of Bye Bye Blues turned what is often viewed as an overplayed number, into one of the best I’ve ever heard. Certainly Jamie’s tremolo and chord-fills are a treat in hemselves.
Then Jamie’s wife Joy who plays accordion, joined in with him and what a wonder musical team they made with some excellent harmony between their instruments.
Then finally after doing a few excellent songs on his own, Jim Groulx, Musical Director for the TBB, then led the few of us through a few numbers that we play at our TBB performances. Present and playing along with Jim leading us, were Sally Carroll on plectrum, Dave Robinson on tenor along with his vocals, Grace Longfield another tenorist and yours truly on tenor banjo. One thing about our performance without comparing to the previous acts was that we were surely able to make the claim of being the loudest.
During this time, we also had a strong audience supporting all of the acts. Lillian - Roy’s wife, Eunice – Borgy’s wife, Jo-Ann – Ernie’s wife, Jean Jolliffe – a former banjoist with the TBB and still a strong financial supporter and finally Gerry Pederson whose home was used for the initial TBB meeting in 1986 and many TBB rehearsals after that. Also present with not only her support of the music, was Karen Wharry, Seamus’s mother. She was `the cook’ for the barbeque and did a superb job with the sirloin burgers. I understand that Seamus was hoping to be there but unfortunately, those of us that are not retired still have to work for a living.
Also giving her regrets was our 84 years young (yes, she’s proud of her age) Doris Potter. Doris had called me and expressed great disappointment at not being able to attend as she and May Knudson (also a former TBB member) had a previous engagement that could not be altered.
At about 9:30 p.m. as the mosquitoes came to life, the party wrapped up. It was definitely an emotional event for all of us and especially for Borgy and Eunie who were honoured for their wonderful contributions to the banjo world. Undoubtedly it was a fantastic evening to be remembered. And once again, a big thank you has to be made to Corey and Jeffrey Hill for allowing us to use their home for the event, along with appreciation for Roy Hill’s efforts to make this event happen.
Article by Glen Midgley – Toronto Banjo Band

Bonjour, Je participe actuellement à la création d'un nouveau spectacle sur Paris oùl'un des comédiens doit jouer un peu de banjo. C'est une comédie musicaleavec de la musique américaine des années 1930. Après avoir discuté avecplusieurs banjoïstes, il apparaît que le bon instrument est un banjo ténor 4cordes. Je cherche un professeur qui pourrait donner les bases de cetinstrument à cet acteur. Il s'agit plus précisément de donner quelques courspendant 3-4 semaines. C'est un travail rémunéré en cachet d'intermittent duspectacle.Merci de votre aide, Daniel Glet.
danielglet@free.fr

Dear friends. For some time I have been downloading a podcast onto my MP3 player to take with me on tour from a website called "The Shellack Stack". Bryan Wright, who runs the podcasts, has an excellent taste in music and I sent him a request a while ago for a show featuring some 78 rpm records of banjoists of which he has done beautifully. Harry F. Reser, Eddie Peabody, Vess L. Ossman, Fred van Epps etc. are all featured on the latest podcast. To download or listen to this go to http://www.claxtonola.com/78rpm/shellacstack.html
I encourage you to drop Mr. Wright an e-mail if you enjoy the programme, which is about an hour long.
Greetings and happy pickings,
Sean Moyses.

www.SeanMoyses.com

SULLY'S NEW CD! Released 22nd Dec 2005 "SONGS AND TUNES" CD HM604. TONY SULLIVAN , Vocals, 5-string banjo, tenor banjo, banjo-mandolin, mouth organ , whistle, bouzooki, with CLARE ALLEN, guitar, vocals. The master folk singer, collector, composer and banjo player releases this fantastic collection of new songs and tunes: a.. in a totally traditional style b.. Irish and English c.. topographical d.. extremely singable e.. most original and tuneful f.. destined to become part of the tradition. Great new songs for listeners, and especially for gigsters to strike with fresh material.
Reviews:- Dear Sully, Received your CD. It's absolutely fantastic. Your songs are mighty. So tuneful and catchy with lovely lyrics. I can't remember when (if ever) I put on a new CD of original songs and found myself singing along at the first listening. I've been an admirer of your banjo playing for years, but it's second place after hearing this new CD.Tony McCabe, Irish singer/performer,Texas, USA. List of songs CHESHIRE LIFE, CUSHENDALL FINTAN'S, REELPUBS OF ENGLAND, THE LANCASHIRE HILLS, THE KING OF THE SESSION (jig), PADDY IN THE SMOKE, ALL OVER IRELAND, REEL FRIDAY NIGHT, ALL OVER IRELAND song, A REEL FOR RORY, THE PUBS OF IRELAND, PADDY'S DAY, FINTAN'S REEL ( with group), All words & music by Tony Sullivan. P&C 2005 £9.99 post £2 in UK £4 elsewhere. All mail order sales receive a FREE copy of the sheet music of the four instrumental tunes on the CD. Halshaw MusicTel: +44 (0)1625 610849 Tel: +44 (0) 870 774 5575 Fax: +44 (0)1625 267136
Email: Sully@halshawmusic.co.ukWeb: http://www.halshawmusic.co.uk/

Ladies, Gentlemen and Banjo Collectors,
It is with greatest pleasure that I announce the 2006 Banjo Collector's Gathering to be held from Thursday evening, November 2, through Sunday noon, November 5, once again at our favorite venue, Colonial Williamsburg. We'll be announcing some of the highlights shortly but this year's program is shaping up to be very exciting.
Since last year's first-ever Gathering dinner in Arlington was such a success we've reserved the King's Arm Tavern on Saturday night for what we hope will be another raucous Gathering evening. We'll again be staying at the Woodlands Hotel and Suites, which has had a major renovation and upgrade since we've last stayed there. Attendees are responsible for making their own hotel reservations. Call 800-261-9530 or 757-229-1000, extension 3971, and ask for the special "Banjo Collectors Gathering" room block. Special rates for deluxe suites are $133 and rooms are $117 per day. Breakfast is included and there is no additional charge for double occupancy. A limited number of discounted rooms are available on a first come/first served basis so we recommend that you make reservations now. The registration fee for the Gathering is $125 for the entire event and, as always, we recommend signing up early to avoid disappointment as we can only accommodate a limited number of participants. Registration payments should be made to: Peter Szego, 2 Beekman Lane, Hillsborough, NJ 08844, USA.
Again, please register soon with Peter Szego. I will try to answer any questions directed my way.
Warm regards to all,
Hank.