International Jazz Banjo Newsletter

After playing my B&D Silver Bell for 8 years I wanted to try a new instrument. I had sold my two other old instruments: a simple B&D special and a Paramount with a bent neck. So I just had one banjo left and that's risky as I play 80 - 100 gigs a year as a "non pro. musician". I visited Norbert Pietsch's homepage (www.pietsch-banjos.de) and heard Sean playing his Mastervox and got very interested. After contacting Norbert and discussing designs and prices he began making me a simpler style Mastervox #2 that he said would be ready in the summer of 2006. So in the beginning of July I took the train to Bremen, Germany from Copenhagen, Denmark (a very nice way to travel!) and spent a day in Norbert's workshop testing my new Mastervox. It just had everything I wanted- It had that big, wonderful sound. ..and what a beauty!
I've just started to get familiar with my Mastervox. It has heavier strings (GHS 0.11 and so on) so I must use a heavier plectrum as well. I've played LaBella strings for many years (0.10 and so on) . The neck is a little thicker than the Silver Bell, so it's a learning period right now. It works really well in the band and has a wonderful big tone and good attack. I like it very much and so do my fellow musicians. It is a wonderful "wooden banjo" which I personally prefer with nice clean surfaces and nice Mother of pearl inlays in the ebony fingerboard. That's the nice thing with Norbert's custom building - the same basic instrument design but with different levels of inlays, design and ornamentation. For example, the #6 has ivory style inlays, carving and engraving etc.
Best Wishes,
Björn Ekman.

.....and now in Swedish...
Efter att ha spelat på min B&D Silver Bell i 8 år så fick jag lust attskaffa ett nytt instrument (PLEKTRUMBANJO) Jag hade också sålt en enklareB&D Special och en Paramount med något böjd hals - inte helt ovanligt. Så kvar hade jag bara ett instrument. Lite riskabelt om man som jag spelarvarje vecka - rätt vad det är måste band bytas ut m.m.På Internet hade jag besökt Norbert Pietschs hemsida då och då och sett hansMastervox. Efter att ha hört Sean Moyses spela på sin Mastervox i mp3formtog jag kontakt med Norbert som lovade att bygga en "enklare" Mastervox tillmig än den ART DECO som fanns på hemsidan. Jag skulle faktiskt bara behövavänta 2-3 månader på leverans.Så i början av juli tog jag tåget till Bremen från Köpenhamn (trevligt sättatt resa för övrigt) och tillbringade en dag i hans banjoverkstad och fickmin nya banjo - en Mastervox nr2. Den gjorde allting som jag ville - en storvacker klang och snyggt,gediget tyskt hantverk. Detaljer: Utrustad med lite tjockare strängar än vad jag brukar - från 0.10upp till 0.11 samt GHS istället för La Bella. Kräver också tjockareplektrum. Samt lite tjockare hals och ett tyngre instrument. Fungerar även bra i jazzbandet och spontana positiva kommentarer frånmedmusikanter.Kul att det går att få i princip samma instrument fast med olika yttre.Själv föredrar jag enklare instrument med mycket träytor som talar för sigsjälva. Andra kanske vill ha mera pärlemor eller varför inte ettelefanthuvud längst upp. Smaken skall man inte diskutera. Jag tror att Norbert kan fixa det mesta.
Med vänlig hälsning
Björn Ekman
LUND.

1st Bonn International Banjo Festival.
Samstag Nov. 25- Banjo Workshops mit Hans Jörg Elter & open Sessions - 14.00. Abend Konzert - 20.00
Sonntag Nov.26- Brunch Session - 12.00-15.00
Wo? FIDDLERS Irish Pub,
Frongasse, Bonn-Endenich. Wegbeschreibung etc. unter www.fiddlers-bonn.de
Eintritt 10Euro pro Tag. Good Music, good food, good beer.
Kontakt www.jazzinbonn.de
Hotel Vorschlag www.treppchen.de
Alle banjo spieler und classic jazz fans sind herzlich willkommen!!!


Bonn International Banjo Festival.
Saturday Nov. 25
Workshops & sessions from 14.00. Evening concert from 20.00
Sunday Nov.26
Brunch session from 12.00
FIDDLERS Irish pub,
Frongasse, Bonn-Endenich. www.fiddlers-bonn.de (directions to the pub. etc. are here)
Entry 10Euros per day. Good music, good food, good beer.
Contact www.jazzinbonn.de or www.SeanMoyses.com
Hotel suggestion www.treppchen.de

Yes – that’s right!...The BBF. Already there is a plan for its reconstitution. Martin Jennings-Wright is the Manager of The Little Theatre in Bath. It’s a 180-seater put up in the 1920s with a stage, and shows films. It has lovely acoustics. And best of all it’s right in the middle of Bath. Martin wanted to come to the Banjo Festival last year but had to visit his brother – who also plays the banjo. So he decided to come to the Festival this year – only to find that it had been cancelled. Not to be daunted, our Hero wrote to me and asked what was happening, and then asked if I be interested in organising a concert at the Little Theatre as an experiment. So this is what’s happening.
This year, as something which could be organised quickly, we are putting on a concert with Leon Hunt (highly progressive bluegrass) in a 4-piece band and Elias Sibley. The concert will be before and after a showing of the Channel 4 documentary Echoes of America, which features banjo players from both sides of the Atlantic.
Apologies to all other banjo players who want to hear some of their sort of music, but this really is a small try-out, with the hope and expectation that it will be bigger next year!
The Little Theatre is down a cul-de-sac off the main pedestrian area of Bath, and so is in the middle of an array of small cafes and pubs. But the Little Theatre is also licensed to sell alcohol, so we shall be having seats and tables outside in the street. Come along from about lunch time on the day (Sunday August 6th) and sit around and chat and play. It will be adequately signed. There are several large and cheap car parks in the city. If you come by train or bus, simply walk towards the town centre, and a little to your left. The evening concert and film will cost about £6-7 (not sure yet), and we’ll be able to have a session afterwards.
We shall reformulate the BBF next year as a two-day event, perhaps as part of the Bath Music Festival or the Guitar Festival. The new Festivals organiser is much more open-minded that the last one, as she has added a street carnival and a jazz session to the range of entertainments. And since the Guitar Festival is running at the same time this year, you can have even more fretted fun!
Look forward to seeing you there.
Bath Banjo Festival,
August 6, 2006,
Little Theatre, Bath.

Julian Vincent.

Announcing the Early Spring Banjo Fling! Sponsored by the Stone Street Strummers
on March 22 - 25, 2007 at the Holiday Inn, 31 Hampshire Street, Mansfield, MA 02048, USA.
For reservations call 508-339-2200 and ask for the special room rate of $84.00 per night.
Cynthia Sayer is our headliner and will be performing in concert and giving a workshop. Rob Wright will give a workshop on "Jungle Ball" and a 3rd workshop is planned and is currently being organized.

Steve Caddick and Paul Poirier.
Photo courtesy of sgpond.com

The New England Jazz Banjo Fest '06 takes place on Friday, October 13 to Sunday, October 15 at the Worcester Hotel and Conference Center (formerly Holiday Inn) 500 Lincoln Street, Worcester, Massachusetts, USA.
For Rooms Call: 1-508-852-4000 . $86 (cutoff 9/13/06) – ask for the special BanjoFest rate.
For More Information Call:Allen Padwa 508-754-7918 or email allen@padwacaldwell.com

Summertime here keeps our banjo club busy with concerts and our regular Wednesday night banjo rehearsals at the Elks Lodge has become a show in itself with huge crowds attending, simply enjoying the music and having a good time. Often local jazz musicians pop in and sit-in with us.
We also get visiting banjo players coming by. In fact, next Wednesday, Arno Hagenaars and Erwin Liejs are coming by here on their way back to Holland after the FIGA Convention this weekend. They did the same last year...they love Pittsburgh and what we do on Wednesday banjo nights.
Recently, I had put together a small group to do a gig for Major League Baseball at the All-Star Baseball Game Fan Fest that ran for 5 days prior to the big game last week. It was a swell gig with over 106,000 fans coming to the event. We had 3 banjos, trumpet, clarinet and bass. They gave us baseball uniforms to wear...it was, not only profitable, but a fun event to play at. Here's a picture. Note we put the banjos in the front! (not like those other bands!!).

Frank Rossi

In the 1950’s my father played drums and a little banjo with a band called the Staccato’s. Gigs were mostly weddings and clubs, not paying much but supplementing his accountant’s income and helping to support my family. Dad played a Challenger King Banjo. I remember the banjo because I had held it many times and remember playing with the knob that opened and closed the unique port holes on it. I had not started my own banjo playing yet but this banjo was something to hold and mess around with. It was Dad’s and he let me hold it to tinkle the strings a little and admire it.
At the end of one of his gigs, probably in 1956 or 1957, dad was packing up his drums, walking back and forth to the car, when he discovered his Challenger King banjo was missing. Someone had stolen his banjo! I was only 6 or 7 years old at the time. Dad was so angry. This was the first time I can remember him being this angry. My twin brother and I were scared to see him that way, it left a deep memory of the incident with me.
Fast forward to Tuesday, May 16, 2006. I got an e-mail from my friend and well known banjo luthier, Vinnie Mondello, subject: "Ok................................take Nitro".
VinBro, as I call him, comes from Longview, Texas. He and I have had an online friendship for sometime now. We exchange jokes, banjo information, etc. by e-mail. In March of this year, I went to Rob Wright’s Arizona Banjo Blast. When the airline would not let me take my banjo on board as carry on, (there was no way it was going in baggage), I landed in Arizona with no banjo at all. VinBro came to my rescue, he handed me a vintage B&D #6 tenor banjo to use for the weekend. We had never actually met face to face prior to this when he just hands me a $13,500.00 banjo and says "Here this is yours for the weekend". I was flabbergasted by this guy, surprised at his generosity, and surprised at how he trusted me with this valuable banjo. That act of kindness let me know what a good friend he truly is.
So, when I got that e-mail from him titled: "Ok……………………..take Nitro", I thought it might just be another joke. But! This email was no joke. He asked a simple question, "So who is Bill Caddick, and the Banjoliers?" There was also a photo attached to that e-mail showing my dad’s name and the Banjoliers written in pencil inside a banjo resonator.
Memories started to come back through the years of time. Bill Caddick, (my father), and his best friend, Billy Jordan, had a group called the Banjoliers from about 1933 until the start of World War II. When the war started, dad went off to join and became a gunner on a B-25. After the war, he returned home to pursue his career as an accountant and to start a family. To supplement his income he joined the Staccato's playing drums and banjo.
I fired back an e-mail to Vinnie, telling him Bill Caddick was my dad and I asked what banjo this was. He answered that question with a few more photos of the banjo The emails continued, "VinBro, Holy S&*t!, This is my Dad's Challenger King Banjo! It was stolen back in the late 1950's in Providence, RI". The stolen banjo my dad was so angry about, 50 years ago!
The banjo had made a long journey from Providence, RI to Longview, TX. When a plumber friend of Vinnie’s moved to Texas from New York City, he brought the banjo to Vinnie for repairs. VinBro and I had a few e-mails about the condition of the banjo. It had been abused and was in a bit of tuff shape. Vinnie described the condition of the banjo as, "The Case is hammered, wood is perfect patina, no refinish. Neck is straight and playable, but hacked on at the dowel." When I saw the photos of the banjo I asked, "I don't expect I could get this back?" The response was: "Steve, I am going to work on getting it for you, but we have to come up with a decent banjo for him. Vin said to dwell on it, "we got nothing but time. I have it, he can’t get to it!"
John Sarasino, who had the banjo, is a plumber friend of Vinnie’s, from NewYork City. He first saw the banjo in some old mans cellar, sitting by a pipe he was fixing. In return for the plumbing debt, he traded the guy for the banjo. John lost his Dad recently, and when the banjo’s history was told to him, John said it is RIGHTFULLY Steve’s, and he wanted me to have it. Vinnie told him he was really really cool. I offered to trade a Paramount Leader that I don't use in return for dad’s Challenger, it was in Good shape, but not perfect.... ….The response came quickly, " I have the banjo secured for you, the trade is on pal".
John got a great deal but I am just so grateful that the Challenger banjo is coming home! Many thanks to John for sending this piece of my family history back home. For me it was a good trade. Vinnie agreed and commented; "I said the same thing to myself, exactly, I would give any of my Stromberg Deluxe's gladly, for my Granpa’s Stromberg, no matter the condition". I am just so grateful the Challenger is coming home!
The banjo arrived in Seekonk, Mass on Friday, May 26, 2006, my skin is just crawlin' with good vibes on this! I don't care that it will take months of work to put it back together, as long as I can get it playable and keep it pretty much in original condition.
I can't figure out why the thief would leave Dad's name on it. Common sense would tell me that the thief would have wanted to remove any identifying marks. Maybe he just took it and put it in that basement and rarely played it and never took it out of the house. Who knows!? From the day someone walked off with the banjo we thought it would never be seen again, until the banjo gods brought it to Vinnie. He told me "I say you scored, and all out Karma has worked well. Your poppa steered Don right to it, and got it a ride to the only guy that might snap on to what was "Caddick'in", 50 years later!"
So VinBro says don’t flower him up too much! I don’t have to, the story flowers him up to the point he should be at, "Top of the heap", "King of the Hill", "First on the list". Here is a guy that has a heart as big as the state he lives in: Texas! He lives by that old fashioned code of honor and what is right is right. Da Vinnie Code!
The biggest Thankyou from me seems a little small right now. "Love Ya VinBro!"

Written by Steve Caddick
Edited by Paul Poirier

It has been a month since Ruedi Bleuer presented his "first ever" Swiss Banjo Festival near Zurich. This friendly gathering of European banjo players was one of the highlights of my tour of Europe with my wife, Nida. Thanks to her, and to a Czech lady named Lilly Pavlak for the photo accompanying this article.
Ruedi chose the best hotel in the area, not only for location and accommodations, but for the large concert hall found in the same building. The renovated hotel actually dates back to the 1300's, along with most of the beautiful old buildings in this historic part of Bulach, a suburb of Zurich near the airport. There was ample room for displays by 2 vendors: Franz Elsener, who owns the music store "Saitensprung", and Hellmuth Fischer, who brought along some of his banjos which are for sale on his new website, "www.banjoparadise.ch".
In a previous article about this festival, written by Achim Hippenstiel, you can read a list of the performers from each concert. I did not know all of the musicians, but was impressed by the talent, and by the variety of banjo tunings heard each night. On Friday, Sean Moyses not only MC’d the show, but he entertained wonderfully, and helped accompany Ruedi Bleuer’s daughter, Daniella, when she sang with her dad and his band.In fact, we all tried to spread ourselves around , musically, to join in with others when appropriate, just to give support where needed to make the show a success. This really was a friendly gathering. I always enjoy playing along with Ruedi, as you can see in the top picture. If you have not heard him play, you should really check out his very listenable CD.
Ruedi kindly offered me the last portion of each night’s concert, so at the end , I invited every banjo player up to the stage to play a few final rousing songs together. We concluded by getting some of the members to join us for the large "finale band". After the stage shows, we got a chance to do more jamming into the wee hours..with Sean on the huge bass banjo!
Saturday was full of workshops. I offered a shorter (two hour) tenor banjo workshop in the morning, and Bernard Schwenter and Rainer Daub each provided their workshops in the afternoon. Sean Moyses had to leave town by then to play another engagement, so Ruedi introduced the Saturday night concert. The audience heard a nice new variety of songs from mostly the same performers, and everyone had a great time. After the final concert and jamming was over, many of us continued our partying in the hotel restaurant.
With the obvious success of this Swiss Banjo Festival, Ruedi is now preparing for next year’s event- with even grander plans in the works! I’m sure Ruedi will keep you posted on this website, so try to make plans to attend next summer in Switzerland.

Greetings,
Tim Allan.