JANUARY 09′
I KIND OF BELIEVE IT’S A GIFT: FIELD RECORDINGS OF TRADITIONAL MUSIC FROM SOUTHCENTRAL KENTUCKY
“My father died when I was seventeen years old, and I never will forget what he said. He called me to the bed, and he said, “‘Well, it’s left up to you to do the playing now.’” The new year begins with a fitting title, and it couldn’t be any more true! Dedicated to Street Butler (1904-1977), this field recording project spanned some twenty years, and for anyone with a hankering for down home rural music without the muss and fuss, this is the salt of the earth for you. These are raw and real, the purest forms the bluegrass state probably had to offer. The selections are culled from the Western Kentucky University Folkore, Folklife and Oral History Archive, all recorded between the years of 1959-1977. It was put together with funds from the NEA, Kentucky Arts Commission, and the Bowling Green-Warren County Arts Commission, and released by Meriweather records. I found a Merriweather label that does folk and old-timey stuff, but not a Meriweather. So, unless you go to the archive and get copies of these tunes for yourself, or the label changed it’s name to Merriweather and will someday re-issue this comp, I’m thinking this is your chance to enjoy them. A bunch of names are credited on the jacket, but no specifics for the field recordings, etc. The gatefold includes a nice booklet with info about each performer, photos, anecdotes, quotes, lyrics, descriptions of the instruments, and the particular types of playing, etc. 
Pretty consistent in terms of style, with the exception of a couple gospel tracks by the Taylor Chapel A.M.E. Church, and some electric blues by Bud Garrett (from Tennessee?). Otherwise its all glorious spoken word, traditional tunes done a capella, vocal accompanied, or instrumentals; typically banjo, violin, and or guitar. Amazing! Some of these are so heartfelt and earthy that they make me wish I was born in South Central Kentucky fifty years ago so I could have spent my days and nights reeling around them barefoot and overalled. On Isham Monday’s “Rock Creek Girl” you’ll hear a rooster sing in tune, and listening to Gladys Pace talk about the old days is like looking straight into another time. This compilation is an education in American folk tradition, with interpretations and renditions of songs long in the tooth. So get your sense of community on as you realize the glory in simplicity; take in deep slices from the vernacular well like The Walker Families “Hangman;” dare yourself not to feel lighter than air with Jim Bowles’ “Shout Old Lulu;” and while your at it, let J.E. Chelf and Gusty Wallace make your ears and heart glad.
Meriweather Records 1001-2, 1977
Street Butler - Elkton, Todd County
1. Young John Riley (3′20)
2. Higgins’ Farewell (3′40)
3. Jenny Jenkins (1′00)
Taylor Chapel A.M.E. Church - Bowling Green, Warren County
4. Do Lord Remember Me (3′48)
5. This Little Light of Mine (3′23)
Jim Bowles - Rock Bridge, Monroe County
6. Railroad through the Rocky Mountains (1′58)
7. Walk and Talk Together (’32)
8. Shout Old Lulu (1′27)
9. Miss Dare (2′25)
10. Ida Read (with Zelma Bowles) (1′35)
John Graves - Tompkinsville, Monroe County
11. Darling (1′25)
12. Getting on the Train (1′43)
13. Shucking Up the Corn (2′15)
Clorine Lawson - Cloyd Ridge, Monroe County
14. Row Us Over the Tide (2′08)
15. Courting Song (1′18)
16. Old Dan Tucker (’40)
17. Drunkard’s Lone Child (2′45)
18. Charles Guiteau (1′45)
Isham Monday - Cloyd Ridge, Monroe County
19. Susan Loller on Judio (1′35)
20. Rock Creek Girl (’52)
21. Green Mountain (’55)
22. Christmas Eve (2′20)
Pat Kingery and Troy Basil - Glasgow, Barren County
23. Yellow Rose of Texas (1′20)
24. Rocky Road Through Georgia (1′24)
25. Nancy Dalton (1′40)
Gladys Pace - Summer Shade, Metcalf County
26. Pearl Bryon (2′12)
27. Stern Old Bachelor (’55)
28. Last of Mohea (2′00)
29. Glady’s Pace Talks (2′10)
J.E. Chelf - Jonesville, Hart County
30. Going Across the Sea (1′43)
31. Hot Times (1′10)
32. Sweet Sunny South (1′32)
Gusty Wallace - Sulphur Well, Metcalfe County
33. Give the Fiddler a Dram (1′13)
34. Jennie Put the Kettle On (1′30)
35. Chicken Reel (1′15)
Bud Garrett - Free Hill, Clay County, Tennessee
36. Do Remember Me Baby (3′20)
37. Way Out in Free Hill (3′20)
38. I Done Quit Drinking (4′13)
The Walker Family; Sammie, Bernice, Ivan, and rickie Walker, Nell Walker Fernandez - Barren and Metcalfe Counties
39. Sundown (1′04)
40. Old Liberty (1′45)
41. Hangman (4′00)
42. Shortning Bread (1′15)
43. Sinful to Flirt (2′40)
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TIBETAN AND BHUTANESE INSTRUMENTAL AND FOLK MUSIC: VOL. 4, RECORDED BY JOHN LEVY
Here’s a favorite that contains primarily unaccompanied vocals and a smattering of instrumentals that’s as colorful a hybrid as you might expect from this musically diverse and totally unique region. Less expansive from the dominant folk forms from neighbors to the south, the ditties from the Tibetan and Bhutanese musicians on this record usually don’t exceed 4-5 minutes in length. In spite of the similarities, I’m sure there are plenty of distinctions to be made between Tibetan and Bhutanese music, but for the purposes of this record, the two neighboring cultures are presented together. Light and airy, many of these songs have a simplicity that favors the harmonic, with melody and bright tones given equal share. The dramnyen, a seven-stringed instrument with a drone string that sounds much like a banjo gives a universal indigenous-folk flair to many of the songs, while the Tibetan fiddle featured here and there sounds much like the Chinese erhu, but with a melodic emphasis not generally found in Chinese folk music. The vocal tracks are primarily a cappella, steeped in the devotional, yet darting curiously around azure skies like a long tailed kite in the wind, perhaps the unavoidable influences of Himalayan giants and the thin clean air. No doubt the styles, instruments, and traditions have all been hybridized throughout the broader region over the centuries, and hearing these tunes definitely reinforces that notion, but what makes these songs a standout for me is their simplicity, and the smattering of the familiar mixed with something totally unique. In the end these savory nuggets taste fine, go down easy, and leave you just full enough with room for a little something sweet. “Of the whole enormous area which was once the spirited domain of Tibetan culture and religion… now only Bhutan seems to survive as the one resolute and self-contained representative of a fast disappearing civilization.”
Lyrichord LLST 7258
Side A:
1. Song with lute self-accompaniement (3′48)
2. Song with lute self-accompaniement (1′36)
3. Tuning of Bhutanese lute (’37)
4. Lute Solo (2′29)
5. Whistle Flute, played by Gete Dope (1′40)
6. Folk-song sung by Droma, of Talo (2′12)
7. Folk-songs sung by Droma, of Talo (2′25)
8. Folk-song sung by Trin Lem, of Tongsa (4′59)
9. Folk-song sung by Trin Lem, of Tongsa (2′08)
10. Pawo, oracles’ dance and song, with pellet-drums 3′19)
Side B:
1. Tibetan Dramnyen, 6-stringed lute, played by Amanu, of Lhasa (3′56)
2. Ho-chhin, 2-stringed fiddle, played by Amanul (1′48)
3. Tibetan Minstrel, with small son, accompanied by pi-wang, 2-stringed fiddle (2′36)
4. Folk-song by men from Chhokhor in Bumthang District, Eastern Bhutan (3′05)
5. Uragi Ache Lhamo, women from Ura in Bumthang District, song with drum accompaniment (2′03)
6. Folk-song by men from Nub, in Tongsa Valley (1′47)
7. Folk-song by women from Nub, in Tongsa Valley (4′26)
8. Folk-song sung by Tsewang Lhamo, of Paro (2′42)
9. Ache Lhamo, Dance of Goddess, from the drama, the life of King Norzang, song with cymbal and drum accompaniment (3′07)
IRAN VOL. 2: ANTHOLOGIE DE LA MUSIZUE TRADITIONNELLE, SANTUR PAR MAJID KIÅNI
This one’s got a little pop and crackle, but it works itself nicely into the brilliant playing by Mr. Majid Kiani. Apparently this guy is considered an amateur… well not exactly, there is a notice inside the cover that reads: “The object of this anthology is to present authentic, traditional Iranian music, exempt from all acculturation or public concession, in its most erudite form, that is at the peak of technical and esthetic perfection. This aspect is almost as little known in Iran as in the West since, for reasons appropriate to their culture, the best masters of classic tradition are for the most part amateurs who remain on the outside of musical public life.” With that in mind, my guess is these performances are probably as tight as it gets with respect to Iranian traditional santur playing. The liner notes go on to mention Mr. Kiani’s background, which is no less the best the tradition had to offer at the time, which for this release was 1980. With it’s hammered rhythmic-string sound, it’s nearly impossible not to be drawn into the lush tapestries that a masterful santur player creates, and this record is no exception. That said, the Middle Eastern aesthetic rendered here with such virtuosity at first seemed a bit flat and mechanical to me, but upon closer listening, I discovered the music to be both soulful and spirited, tempered as much by personal nuance as style, all making it well worth its weight.
From the liner notes: “The hammers of the Iraqi, Turkish and Indian santurs are heavy and bounce on the string, creating a characteristic automatic tremolo. the very light Persian hammers do not rebound and the tremolo is controlled solely by a rapid, alternating movement of the right and left wrists (or, in certain schools, of the fingers holding the hammers). In contrast to the Gipsy style and the modern tenency in Iran, tradition calls for a delicate and precise tone-quality which is obtained only with light hammers of hard wood. Some players clothe the ends of the hammers with felt to soften the impact and to approximate the tones of the piano. This technique, by far the most widesperad, lacks the subtlety and richness of the traditional technique.”
Ocora, MU218Y, 1980
Side One:
1. Aae-E Bayat-E Kord (7′50)
2. Douze Sequences du Reng-E Shahr Ashub (10′00)
Side Two:
1. Dastagah E Homayum (23′10)
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IRAN: A MUSICAL ANTHOLOGY OF THE ORIENT, VOL. 1, EDITED BY THE INTERNATIONAL MUSIC COUNCIL UNDER THE DIRECTION OF ALAN DANIELOU
Since I’m already here, I might as well add this set of Iranian traditional tunes to the pile. In addition to the killer photo on the cover, these are wonderfully deep and lively renditions performed by three different musicians, Ashgar Bahari who plays the kamancheh on the first track, Golpayegani, performing vocals on the second and fourth tracks, and Ebrahimi playing the setar and tar the on the third track. Not sure why the folks at Unesco didn’t give the full names of all the musicians (unless they simply went by those names), nevertheless all render some totally wonderful performances on the record. The vocals are powerful, moving like mournful wallows and heartfelt pleas swaying together in the tall rye. Four songs in total; a short instrumental followed by a long vocal-instrumental, followed again by another short instrumental, and finishing with another long vocal-instrumental piece. The two song styles accompany each other nicely, as the short instrumentals serve as counterpoints to cleanse the palate, in particular the second instrumental (track 3), moving with the calculated intensity of a Jack Rose flourish. The first vocal track (2) is accompanied by the tar, while the second vocal track (4) is accompanied by the kamancheh. The first instrumental (1) is the kamancheh, and the second (3) the setar. Good stuff for that devotional moment at sunrise, as you dream into the day your coffee buzz eternal.
Unesco BM 30 L 2004
Side One:
1. Variations in the Chahargah mode (5′56)
2. Poem of Saadi (20′12)
Side Two:
1. The Dashti Mode (5′04)
2. Poem of Saadi (21′56)