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Thread: Some very fine Nancy Blake mandolin

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    Registered User almeriastrings's Avatar
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    Default Some very fine Nancy Blake mandolin

    I had not seen this before....



    I think this is Nancy's famous (but rarely seen) '23 Loar.

    As always with Nancy and Norman, beautifully played and supremely tasteful with great tone.

    This is from their "While Passing Along the Way" Album from 2005.
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    Default Re: Some very fine Nancy Blake mandolin

    Her fingers move like a ballet dancer, extremely graceful.

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    Default Re: Some very fine Nancy Blake mandolin

    Very interesting tune- and "beautifully played and supremely tasteful with great tone" indeed!

    Thanks for posting it!

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    Registered User aphillips's Avatar
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    Default Re: Some very fine Nancy Blake mandolin

    Well that's just about perfect!
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    Registered User aphillips's Avatar
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    Default Re: Some very fine Nancy Blake mandolin

    Does anyone have notes for this one?
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    Registered User JH Murray's Avatar
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    Default Re: Some very fine Nancy Blake mandolin

    Are there any CDs that feature her mandolin playing? Is there a Norman & Nancy Blake album that anyone would recommend?

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    Default Re: Some very fine Nancy Blake mandolin

    The album "Natasha's Waltz" has some very good mandolin on it.
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    Default Re: Some very fine Nancy Blake mandolin

    "Full Moon on the Farm" is one that I love. I bought the LP about 30 years ago.
    http://www.discogs.com/norman-blake-...elease/2294586
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    Registered User almeriastrings's Avatar
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    Default Re: Some very fine Nancy Blake mandolin

    Quote Originally Posted by JH Murray View Post
    Are there any CDs that feature her mandolin playing? Is there a Norman & Nancy Blake album that anyone would recommend?
    Yes, 'Natasha's Waltz' certainly has some good examples. Fantastic cover photo too..

    https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Natasha's_Waltz

    Click image for larger version. 

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    Registered User Gary Alter's Avatar
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    Default Re: Some very fine Nancy Blake mandolin

    Nancy is such an under appreciated player, her mandolin playing, guitar rhythm and cello are the perfect complement to Norman. Truly wonderful! Nancy did have a solo project out, I used to have it on cassette. Can't remember if it was ever released as a CD.

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    Default Re: Some very fine Nancy Blake mandolin

    Superb in every way possible !!!!. The mandolin sounds beautiful & her playing is faultless,
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    Default Re: Some very fine Nancy Blake mandolin

    Beautiful tone and tasteful playing!

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    Default Re: Some very fine Nancy Blake mandolin

    Very nice!

    Definitely get Natasha's Waltz, which as I understand was first released as "Original Underground Music from the Mysterious South". Why wouldn't that title be a big seller?!

    There are four players playing mandolin on it in various combinations: Norman, Nancy, Peter, and Carl. An awesome record to be sure. I think of it as American chamber music.

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    Registered User MarkusSpiel's Avatar
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    Default Re: Some very fine Nancy Blake mandolin

    Quote Originally Posted by Gary Alter View Post
    Nancy is such an under appreciated player, her mandolin playing, guitar rhythm and cello are the perfect complement to Norman. Truly wonderful! Nancy did have a solo project out, I used to have it on cassette. Can't remember if it was ever released as a CD.
    I just got that cassette from ebay. Great recording!
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    Default Re: Some very fine Nancy Blake mandolin

    Nancy did put out one Solo Album with all the regular Rising Fawn folks ( Norman, James, Larry, Carl, Tom) entitled "Grand Junction", she plays quite a lot of mandolin and cello on a lot of originals. some of this made it onto CDs like the Norman and Nancy compact disc
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    its a great album and 100% rising fawn string ensemble

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    Default Re: Some very fine Nancy Blake mandolin

    Quote Originally Posted by Gary Alter View Post
    Nancy is such an under appreciated player, her mandolin playing, guitar rhythm and cello are the perfect complement to Norman. Truly wonderful! Nancy did have a solo project out, I used to have it on cassette. Can't remember if it was ever released as a CD.
    She's also a darn good fiddle player. And in the old days, she could also thump a bass fiddle when she wanted to.
    And she's got one of the best bow arms on the 'cello that I've ever seen.

  23. #17
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    Default Re: Some very fine Nancy Blake mandolin

    Very nice! Thanks for posting it.
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    Default Re: Some very fine Nancy Blake mandolin

    I transcribed this tune a couple years ago, sheet available in PDF and tabledit file here: http://www.markgunter.net/good_stuff...bs-song-charts
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    Default Re: Some very fine Nancy Blake mandolin

    Quote Originally Posted by Mark Gunter View Post
    I transcribed this tune a couple years ago, sheet available in PDF and tabledit file here: http://www.markgunter.net/good_stuff...bs-song-charts
    That's fine. So I have no excuse not to learn the tune! :D thanks, Mark.
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    Default Re: Some very fine Nancy Blake mandolin

    Just an arrestingly beautiful piece of music. Full of soul. Thanks so much for the transcription, Mark.

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    Default Re: Some very fine Nancy Blake mandolin

    Nancy has been a musical inspiration to me for a long time.

    I saw them play in Milledgeville,Ga. one night and was able to meet them and played "Sage Fields" on my mando for them.
    They both signed my silver fiberglass Eastman case, and Nancy wrote,"Keep up with your music!" She's so kind.

    I think it's pretty easy to tell which original tunes Nancy wrote. Hauntingly beautiful and unique.

    The tune"Sage Fields" is hard to find. I think I learned it from old tabledits. Great tune that I have not heard many people play.

    Natasha's Waltz is timeless and a wonderful album. Worth getting just for "Third Street Gypsy Rag;,and Pig on the Engine,and Dusty Rose are fun tunes to play.".

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    Default Re: Some very fine Nancy Blake mandolin

    Quote Originally Posted by George R. Lane View Post
    Her fingers move like a ballet dancer, extremely graceful.
    She's amazing. Her fingers do look like their are dancing.
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    Default Re: Some very fine Nancy Blake mandolin

    Wow - just.. wow. I'm in the UK and never heard of this lady before, but on the strength of that performance I've just found and ordered 'Natasha's Waltz' on CD from Amazon.

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    Default Re: Some very fine Nancy Blake mandolin

    Absolutely brilliant. But is she playing with her fingers? I can't see a pick in any shot. And why does the audience applaud before the tune is over?

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    Default Re: Some very fine Nancy Blake mandolin

    Re the video in the original post: Yes, that's the Loar. Nancy is using a flat pick, though it might be hard for some to see from those camera angles.

    Why the early applause? 1] It's a bit of a Southern tradition. 2] This video was shot no later than the mid 1990's, and we did not see many proficient female mandolinists on stage in those days. The only two that I can think of off the top of my head were Nancy Blake and Lorraine Duisit, though Lorraine might have already left the business by that time.

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