Re: May 24 Canadian fiddle concert
Originally Posted by
Jim Garber
He is amazing fiddler. Sorry I missed the concert. There are some youtube videos of him driving fellow musicians mad in a long medley of maybe a dozen tunes by just calling out the key. Really fun and a challenge to his friends. Phenomenal fiddler.
Yes, Calvin's an outstanding fiddler and a heck of a nice guy, without an ounce of pretension to him. I've seen him live many times, often in small settings, including at the now-defunct "By The Canal Fiddle Camp," where he was especially willing to take risks and see if his fellow musicians could keep up, doing exactly what you were saying.
I believe that the concert's available through his website. There's some fine mandolin picking, on on tune only, about half an hour in, by Ray Legere of New Brunswick, and two mandolins in the background at pianists' homes. It wasn't as much fun as a live show but the online concert is well worth watching.
Added later: By the way, though Calvin speaks of "writing" tunes, he neither reads nor writes music. He just makes tunes, records them, and has others transcribe them. He's the son of an old-time fiddler, and wanted to play like his dad. At about seven, Calvin took one classical lesson, was disgusted, and quit. He's largely self-taught.
Last edited by Ranald; May-24-2020 at 7:52pm.
Reason: addendum
Robert Johnson's mother, describing blues musicians:
"I never did have no trouble with him until he got big enough to be round with bigger boys and off from home. Then he used to follow all these harp blowers, mandoleen (sic) and guitar players."
Lomax, Alan, The Land where The Blues Began, NY: Pantheon, 1993, p.14.
Bookmarks