International Jazz Banjo Newsletter

New from David Price (banjo and superstar) is a CD featuring the following tunes:-When you're smiling, I'm gonna sit right down and write myself a letter,Unchained melody, Somewhere over the rainbow,Ain't she sweet/Yes sir that's my baby,Basin Street blues, Dinah,September in the rain, Mr. Sandman,Margie, My blue heaven, Sway,Love letters in the sand, Amor, I can't give you anything but love,If I had you, C'est si Bon, Its a sin to tell a lie,Paper moon and Manha de carnival. Contact David at dvprice@tiscali.co.uk for more details.

Hi Everyone!
I invite you to come by during my upcoming June tour to Germany & Switzerland. I have listed it below. It would be great to see you! Also, my new CD, "Attractions" -- with legendary jazz guitarist Bucky Pizzarelli and other top NYC players, will be available for the first time on this tour! Otherwise, the official release date for ordering "Attractions" is 01 July, '07. I hope you are enjoying a wonderful spring!!
Warmest wishes, Cynthia.

June 6- 18:
Germany tour with Cynthia plus Englebert Wrobel (clar/sax) & Henning Gailing (string bass).
June 8 -- Osterode (Harz) -- 8:00 PM
June 9 -- Eisenach -- 8:00 PM
June 10 -- Lagenfeld -- 11:00 AM
June 13 -- Bocholt -- 8:00 PM
June 14 -- Osnabrück -- 8:00 PM
June 15 -- Lörrach, at Jazztone -- 8:30 PM
June 17 -- Ehingen -- 11:00 AM
June 17 -- Ulm, at Barfüßer Brauhaus -- 8:00 PM
For further information, please email to: E.Wrobel@t-online.de

June 20- July 1:
Switzerland tour of "Cynthia Sayer - Jacky Milliet Quartet" with Cynthia plus Jacky Milliet (clar, Swiss), Jacques Gauthe (clar/sax, USA), & Mauro Batisti (string bass, Italy).
June 20 -- Porrentruy Golf Club*
June 21- 26 -- Ascona Jazz Festival
June 29 -- Lugano*
June 30 -- Vevy*
*For further information, please email to: jj.milliet@bluewin.ch

I also invite you to visit to http://www.myspace.com/cynthiasayer
to check out 2 tunes newly posted from "Attractions," my soon-to-be-released CD (this August) with Bucky Pizzarelli plus other top NYC players! Hope you enjoy them!

ATTRACTIONS:
Cynthia Sayer -- banjo, vocals, arrangements
Bucky Pizzarelli - guitar
Scott Robinson - soprano, tenor, baritone saxes & clarinet
Jim Fryer - trombone
Sara Caswell - violin
Greg Cohen - string bass
Joe Ascione - percussion
....also on CD (not on cuts posted):
Susan Taylor - harp
Sid Gottlieb, Joe Ascione, Seymour Pond - backup vocals

Beste Muziek liefhebber;

De Landelijke Banjodag ondersteunt van harte het initiatief van Hans de Roon om tijdens het Breda Jazz Festival weer traditiegetrouw een Big Banjo Jam te houden op het terras van Chinees Eethuis Gantau Village ( Tel 076-5208929), Boschstraat 19) in Breda. Naast Banjoisten zie je er ook blazers, die hieraan deelnemen.

Het is dagelijks van 13.00 - 18.00 uur en daarna de gezamelijke spotgoedkope chinese hap. Kom kijken naar deze unieke swingende jam !

De Landelijke Banjodag is Zondag 11 November 2007. De lokatie is nog niet bekend maar wel centraal in het land.

zie vooral deze site:
http://www.jazzbanjo.nl/page6.html

Fetze Pijlman
www.jazzbanjo.nl
http://www.jazzfestivalbreda.nl/

If you are planning on being in California in June, then you may run into the folks at Deering Banjos! The summer fun begins with 3 free workshops at the Spring Valley, Ca, factory location on Saturday, June 9th. The Huck Finn Festival in Victorville will have Lawson Peets representing Deering Banjos from June 15-17. If you are in northern California, then you will have the opportunity to meet both Janet and Greg Deering, along with their representative, Todd Wright, at the Father’s Day Festival in Grass Valley from June 14-17. There will be lots of Deering banjos to play and workshops to attend! Check the Deering website, www.deeringbanjos.com for details.
The June 9th factory workshops will be led by Lawson Peets, Deering’s director of market expansion and a long time banjo enthusiast. There will be a “Banjomania” workshop in the morning at 10:30 AM to give attendees the basics of banjo playing. No banjo needed…just bring your enthusiasm! At 1PM there will be a banjo maintenance workshop followed by a musical journey on the history of the banjo at 2:30 PM. Free factory tours will be held throughout the day from 10 AM through 4 PM and it’s all FREE! Call the Deering toll free number, 800-845-7791 to register!
Greg Deering will be doing a maintenance workshop at the Father’s Day Festival in the beautiful wooded area of northern California in the city of Grass Valley. Janet Deering will be there on the weekend and Todd Wright, Director of Artists Relations, will be at the Father’s Day Festival throughout the June 14-17th dates. They have slated Rhonda Vincent and the Rage and the Del McCoury Band among the many bluegrass bands at the Nevada County Fairgrounds. You can see more information and order tickets by logging on to www.cbaontheweb.org.
The Huck Finn Jubilee is three days of country and bluegrass on the Mojave Narrows Regional Park grounds in Victorville, California. Lawson Peets will be there for Deering banjos and you can come to his banjo workshop to be held during the June 15-17 days of the festival run. Look for Roy Clark, Rhonda Vincent and the Rage, The Dillards, the Cherryholmes Family, and others at this year’s festival. For more details or tickets, log on to www.huckfinn.com.

This is a radio show site with a program about Fred van Eps and his banjo playing. Specially the much too short interview with him made by Lew Green 1959 is very interesting. Fred explains how J.B Shall came to make the first four string banjo ( before 1908) tuned in fifth later named tenor banjo.

http://wfmu.org/playlists/shows/9392

You need a Real Player to be able to play the interview with van Eps. It is located about 40 minutes into the program.
Mr. Van Eps claims that it was a violin player and tuner of banjo playing machines, Louis Stepner of Venice, CA, who ordered the first "Tenor" banjo from J.B Shall. He found out the banjo machine banjos were tuned in fifth with no short string and he thought that he, as a violin player, could play such banjo rather easily.
I have to say that I value the statement from Fred van Eps high. The most interesting facts put forward by Fred van Eps is that these so called banjo playing machines as early as during the nineties removed the fifth string and tuned the banjos in fifth, like a mandolin or later a tenor banjo. Because of that, is it ever possible to find out who were the first to make four string banjos tuned in fifth. Of course during the nineties we had the Faris banjos, probably not tuned in fifth, and the short neck mandolin banjos, tuned in fifth? The prototypes for the tenor banjo were there quite early. However I once saw, about 1992, an original banjo playing machine, price $25.000, in an antique shop in Chester, PA. It had a long four string neck like a plectrum banjo as far as I remember it. So perhaps J.B Shall was the first to make a 19 fret "tenor" banjo tuned in fifth for sale?

From Ulf Jagfors.

This year of reprieve for GLIB proved to be no different than any previous year, it continues to get better each year. An early couple of banjo players, getting ready to jam on Wednesday evening, were enticed into the bar. There they entertained the bar patrons, until the number of banjo players grew to more than the audience. Bill Jackson had to encourage everybody to repair to the atrium, where a continuously growing number of banjo players played into the small hours. A good rousing start for the 2007 GLIB convention.
Thursday was set up time for the display rooms, but this did not distract from the atrium jamming, which started early in the morning and again, carried on into the small hours. Meanwhile, guests from all over the USA and Canada, continued to arrive, immediately joining the festivities. When Greg Allen arrived, he was enthusiastically greeted, everybody was pleased to see that he looked like a new man. About 3:00 pm, several banjo players went out to entertain at a local Dearborn nursing home.
Friday was not very different, except that several small groups were finding every nook and cranny in the hotel (there are many), to rehearse for their part of the evening show. Also, there were workshops and the ladies special event to attend. Another group of banjo players went to entertain at the Dearborn Skippers club.
Because the ballroom was not available for GLIB, until very late Thursday, the extensive stage sound system was still being set up until about 10 minutes before the show started on Friday. There was an angry crowd at the door that had been standing in line waiting well over an hour to get in. They were consoled by the GLIB door attendants, with mint candy, water and much sympathy. When the doors finally were opened, there was a wild rush of enthusiastic geriatrics, to get to the prime seats. Actually, there is not a bad seat in the house.
There were no seats reserved this year for honoured guest, Dr. Ford Topping and his wife Laura. They both decided to help the Jackson Banjo club as stage hands (the best stage hands in the business), Ford working his walker frame with the greatest of skill.
The evening show was initiated by words from president Bill Jackson, who introduced MC, Dr. Joe Sundell. Joe was also playing with and speaking for the Ban-Joes of Michigan band, traditionally, opening the show with Alabama Jubilee. They were followed by the Riverboat Rats from Dayton Ohio, who put on their usual lively show, with excellent vocals by recruits from the Kettering Banjo Society. Then came the Appearing Together Quartet, a Michigan group, followed by Roy Hill from Ontario, Canada. The last act before intermission was Greg Allen and friends, breaking all of the banjo players speed limits as he has always done. It is good to have Greg still with us, after his life threatening ordeal with cancer. Greg’s own composition, Don’t Ever be a Stranger, had special meaning when he sang it this year.
After the interval, the Flint Banjo Club band got the audience hopping again with their usual very lively performance. Then came 18 year old Paul Doerner from California, a graduate of the Capitol Kids band. Paul demonstrated to us that the banjo is not just for older people, youth is coming aboard with gusto. Paul was followed by Mal Cooper and friends, Bill Moynian, Ernie May and friends, then Dr. Jeff Grosser. The evening show was concluded by Johnny Baier, who gave us news that the Four String Banjo Hall of Fame Museum, had been successful, in retrieving a very large collection of antique, one of a kind banjos, from Germany. Some funds were borrowed to complete the transaction, so further financial contributions are still required to support this significant purchase.
The time was late, but this did not prevent a large group of banjo players and people from the show audience, jamming and watching on the atrium, again well into the small hours.
A sleepy crowd came out of their rooms early on Saturday morning, to have breakfast while the Brunch Band performed. This got the day of to a good start, with workshops, display room activity, as well as small groups again finding every nook and cranny to rehearse for their evening performance in the show. This time they were competing with other groups trying to rehearse for the Saturday afternoon Matinee. Meanwhile, the atrium jamming continued endlessly, as usual and as expected.
The afternoon matinee was MC’d by Roy Hill. He introduced the first act, the Raggle Taggle band from Michigan, who played some Celtic music with a twist towards modern swing. Then came a Little bit of Country, players from the Ban-Joes of Michigan, who switched their banjos for piano accordion and guitars. Next was 17 year old Ryan Maike, a graduate of the Next Generation Banjo Band, playing his first solo performance in front of a large audience. Ryan also demonstrated that the banjo will stay alive, as youth gets involved. Ryan performed flawlessly. He was followed by the Bob Moyes Trio, from Dayton, then Side by Side, a Michigan group led by Bill Jackson. As there had been a couple of show cancellations, Paul Doerner was invited back to conclude the show. Paul continued to suffer frequent friendly harassment by a Canadian member of the audience, but he got his own back by telling a very good Canadian joke.
There was barely time to get dinner, before the evening show started. This time, MC’d by Dr Phil Cain from Springfield, Ohio, who missed GLIB last year due to a bout with heart bypass surgery. It was good to have him back. He introduced the Windsor Banjo Club Band, led by Eric Mainwaring, who performed some different and unusual music for a banjo band. This was followed by Al Allotta and friends. Picks & Sticks came next, still “freshly” dressed from their day job at Greenfield Village, where they played the part of hobo’s. They performed their usual exciting music, later turning the audience into a wild frenzy, as Sherry played the hammer dulcimer faster and faster, simulating the Cherry Blossom Special, running late.
Chris Archer, who we have not seen for a while was next, he thanked the organizers for putting him on after Picks & Sticks. As well as playing some great music, Chris had some interesting things to tell about his experience as a cruise ship entertainer. Next was the Ross Hubbell trio from Chicago, who played very exciting Django Reinhardt style music, with driving enthusiasm. The first half of the show was concluded by Girls, Girls, Girls, led by appreciated volunteer, Linda Lehmann. Helen Beneteau, who has organized and led Girls, Girls, Girls for many years, had been too unwell to lead this year, but still helped greatly to get it organized. While Girls, Girls, Girls, were setting up, Bill Jackson introduced and thanked the GLIB committee and others who helped with the convention, including the repeat attendee’s in the audience.
The second half of the Saturday night show was MC’d by L. J. Brown, from Louisiana. It started with the GLIB band, followed by the Banjo Busters. Then came Joe Rodeo, John Ruskinoff and Jim Barrett from Chicago. Buddy Wachter concluded the show, showing his skill on the banjo, then inviting Ross Hubbell to join him. Finally, Johnny Baier came on stage, this fantastic group made a lively and unforgetful end to the GLIB 2007 concert series.
As usual, after the show, the atrium was swarming with banjo players jamming until the small hours of the morning, with members of the show audience finding what seating they could.
What a fitting end to GLIB 2007.

Submitted by Derek Channing