Born in France in the early 60’s, Claude Bourbon grew up in Switzerland, where he was classically trained for many years. This finger picking guitarist has performed and studied all over the world; he has crafted an unbelievable fusion of classical and jazz, with ethereal Eastern influences, Spanish and Latin elements with strains of Western folk.
The unique Monsieur Bourbon is a formidable performer. He may have his roots in the blues, but he is inspired by music and song from all around the world, taking these sounds and weaving them into a performance of blues, rock, jazz, songs and melodies that defy a label, all delivered "...So here we have another fine example of the prodigious talent which is treading the boards in UK clubs. That said, if you see his name flagged up in your area, go along – based on this set you could be in for a very entertaining night."
Roy Bainton, Blues Matters
"... he has become a world-renowned player, highly acclaimed for his finger-picking style—plucking, picking and strumming at such speed that his fingers seem to appear just as a blur. This latest album utilizes strains of folk, western, jazz and blues through such melodic delights as the traditional English Dance, the hypnotic Rodrigo and a gorgeous version of the Rolling Stones’ Angie."
Maverick Magazine
"His fingerpicking is exquisite and if I closed my eyes I could clearly hear two guitars playing. Just when I recognized a theme he moved on with a mesmerizing cascade of notes which kept on flowing. He added a driving bass, for a version of “She knows how to stretch it”. By the time he sang the first verse he had 'stretched it' from Spain to the Caucuses, and from the concert hall to the bar room. His forte is obviously his wonderful guitar work, but he does occasionally burst into song and what you then get is something between Bob Dylan and Cat Stevens, combined with a French accent! C’est magnifique."
Dave Bailey
Tickets are $15, $10 (Students with ID), Kids 12 and under free.
To order online click here (tickets will also be available at door)
Alan Jabbour and Ken Perlman — Saturday, May 19
Fiddle Workshop with Alan Jabbour - 2pm-4pm,
Banjo Workshop with Ken Perlman - 4pm-6pm,
Concert - 8pm
Banjo player Ken Perlman and fiddler Alan Jabbour have redefined that great American invention, the fiddle-banjo duet, and brought it to new heights of complexity. Alan’s powerful fiddling style, with its syncopated bowing patterns and lyrical texture, is offset perfectly by Ken’s inspired approach to clawhammer banjo, which explores chord inversions, harmony lines, voice leading, note-for-note playing, and counter-melody. Their performances testify to the grace, beauty, and power of Appalachian music.
Alan and Ken present a program of Appalachian tunes, featuring most prominently the music Alan learned in the 1960s from his mentor, West Virginia fiddler Henry Reed. Stories that evoke the lives and cultural milieu of Reed and his contemporaries add an extra dimension to the presentation.
Ken and Alan’s joint CD, Southern Summits: 21 Duets for Fiddle and Banjo, made the “Best Records of 2005” list in The East Bay Express (Oakland, California).
Ken and Alan have toured together in Britain, Ireland, continental Europe, Canada, and much of the United States. They have also served on the faculty of more than a score of prestigious music camps and teaching festivals, including Augusta Heritage Workshop, Banjo Camp North, Common Ground on the Hill, Festival of American Fiddle Tunes, Midwest Banjo Camp, Northeast Heritage Music Camp, the Puget Sound Guitar Workshop, Rocky Mountain Fiddle Camp, Swannanoa Gathering, and the Tennessee Banjo Institute.
In the hands of fiddler Alan Jabbour and banjo player Ken Perlman, the 21 Southern Appalachian tunes on Southern Summits become living things, to be held, nurtured, fed and loved. Aside from their own distinctive talents as musicians, the fact that both have spent much of their careers as field collectors and observers enables them to understand the tunes as a vital part of the culture that produced them, and not just as cool pieces of music. ... and what makes Southern Summits an unusual delight is the fact that Jabbour and Perlman are among the most articulate musicians that old-time music has to offer. Sing Out
The Workshops:
Appalachian Fiddling Style with Alan Jabbour. In this fiddle workshop for intermediate and advanced fiddle students, Alan Jabbour will teach tunes that illustrate his variety of Appalachian fiddling style. The class will learn tunes precisely, phrase by phrase, with special attention to bowing patterns and certain left-hand techniques such as unisons, grace notes, and double stops. The bowing patterns will include certain intricate syncopated patterns that underlie the oldtime Appalachian style. Learning in the class will be by ear, though there will be detailed transcriptions for the note-readers to refer to later. Bring your fiddle and your recording machine.
Clawhammer Banjo with Ken Perlman. Improve your right and left hand technique and explore a more adventurous approach to banjo picking with one of today's most prominent clawhammer players and teachers. Skill level is projected as intermediate, but will be adapted to the playing abilities of those who attend. Among areas surely covered are drop and double thumbing, hammer-ons, pull-offs and off-string pull offs, basic syncopation and slides. More advanced groups will also get into playing up the neck, syncopation, and methods for playing backup.
Workshops are $20 each, the Concert is $15, there is a $5 discount for ordering both concert and workshop tickets. Kids under 12 are free at the concert.
To order online click here, (tickets will also be available at door)
Sandy Ross — Saturday, June 2
Concert - 7:30pm
Sandy Ross has been entertaining audiences with her own special blend of contemporary folk and acoustic blues for more than four decades. Originally from Phoenix, Arizona, she spent the ‘70s in Los Angeles, working as a staff songwriter for Warner/Chappell Music and producing demos on a single-song basis for nine other major song publishers including: Filmways Music, MCA Music, and Screen Gems/EMI. During that decade she had songs recorded by Kim Carnes and Anne Murray at a time when they were at the height of their careers, and indie released an LP of her own performances (A Lady of a Different Time - 1971). She was a regular singer-songwriter throughout the greater Los Angeles area and also booked other performers of many different genres at various Hollywood live-performance venues, including the Los Angeles Performing Arts and Folklife Festival and the internationally-renown Bla-Bla Café.
Sandy released three indie recordings in the 90s and toured the greater US four times doing more than 48 live syndicated radio shows and 120 coffeehouse/bookstore performances. In 1995, her third album (and first CD), Portraits of Innocence made the FOLKDJ-L Top 50 and received airplay on 387 folk radio stations including rotation play on 17 Americana reporting stations (This included WUMB in Boston, the only 365/24/7 folk station in the country.). The Portrait of Innocence cut, “All My Heroes Sang the Blues,” not only made the Americana rotation, but was featured on the CBC in Canada and made Top 40 rotation play in Hong Kong, China during that same time period. In 1998 her CD, Coloring Outside the Lines also made the FOLKDJ-L Top 50 (at number 9) when it debuted and in 1999 both CDs were incorporated into the Smithsonian Folkways catalog, in addition to the Fast Folk recordings she made for the two Los Angeles compilation albums. (Sandy has the distinction of being the only Los Angeles singer-songwriter to have been included on both LA Fast Folk compilations.)
In 2005 Sandy wrote and compiled the book A Place Called the Bla-Bla Café, which is an insiders look at Hollywood talent showcasing against the historically political backdrop of the 1970s. The book has received great reviews and accolades from indie book publishing organizations and readers’ websites, including a 2007 Independent Publishers Book Award (IPPY).
“Sandy’s music will move you, sometimes to anger, sometimes to tears and sometimes to stomping your feet.” – Sheri Stanley, Folk Music magazine,
Sandy Ross is an excellent singer with a big, soulful voice who has been entertaining Los Angeles audiences for many years with her original songs and bluesy covers. She does both on this great solo record, filled with her own songs as well as some nice renditions of traditionals, such as "St. James Infirmary." Strongly supported by the superb musicianship of Tim Emmons on upright bass and Jeff Gold on acoustic guitar, and produced by Ed Tree with Sandy, this is a good collection of songs from an artist who really knows what she's doing. – Paul Zollo, SingOut!
The Concert is $15, Students are $10. Kids under 12 are free at the concert.
To order online click here, (tickets will also be available at door)
Frank Fairfield — Saturday, June 9
Concert - 8pm
Frank Fairfield may have an old folk sound, but he's just 24, and he hails from California's central valley — not Appalachia.
He plays banjo and fiddle music, and has opened for acts such as Fleet Foxes. With his Brylcreem-parted hair and high-waisted pants, he brings an old-time aesthetic to his old-time music. On his self-titled first album, released last year, he plays the standards of the American folk repertoire — songs that have been played by many artists over generations. He also writes his own songs, but stops short of calling himself a songwriter.
"I piece together a thing or two or mash up one thing with another or make something up," Fairfield says, "but I wouldn't call it songwriting. Ira Gershwin was a songwriter. I'm just a kid that writes songs."
Fairfield says he thinks the banjo's reputation has suffered as of late, but argues that it can be a sweet and warm instrument. He adds that playing American folk music was a natural place to start for him.
"I'm just picking up where [music] left off and just keep playing and see what happens from there," he says.
Fairfield's latest project is a compilation album, titled Unheard Ofs & Forgotten Abouts. It showcases the work of other artists he discovered in his personal collection of old 78s from around the globe.
The Concert is $15, Students are $10. Kids under 12 are free at the concert.
To order online click here, (tickets will also be available at door)
John Statz— Sunday, June 17
Concert - 7:00pm
John Statz is a world-traveling songwriter, playing shows and writing and recording in places like Budapest, Slovenia, Quebec, and Anchorage. For his new album, Old Fashioned, he is bringing it back home. Whereas the previous album (Ghost Towns) was filled with worldly influences and subject matter, Old Fashioned brings us back to the heartland: Midwestern America.
Recorded in Iowa City with revered producer Bo Ramsey (Lucinda Williams, Greg Brown, Pieta Brown) this album is all about deep love, hard-working Midwestern folk, nostalgia for times past and of course, history.
“The singer-songwriter’s unquenchable wanderlust has taken him from Colorado to
Wisconsin to West Virginia to Hungary, and during his travels, he wrote Ghost Towns, a
full-length dripping with folk-rock immediacy and the kind of grit that cooled heels never
gather.” – Jason Heller, Westword – Denver, CO
“...a collection of beautiful songs...” “...music fireworks...” – Johan Schoenmakers, AltCountryForum – Netherlands
“...a very fine album from the first note to the last word.” – One Chord To Another (Finland)
“… a poignant album about the desolation and decay that like the bullet holes featured in
the cover art, riddle the modern world.” – Record Dept. Music Reviews – Oregon
"...a hard-chugging roots-rock record in the tradition of Neil Young and Tom Petty..." – Shepherd Express (Milwaukee)
"...dense arrangements and ramshackle jalopies like “Disclaimer” make riding through a
demilitarized zone in an old junker sound surprisingly comforting." – The Onion – Madison, WI
"Though yet to be released, Ghost Towns may just be one of my new favorite albums of the
year." – Sarah Seehafer, The Scene – Appleton, WI
"Ghost Towns makes it clear that Statz takes his art seriously. The album is a collection of
rootsy folk-rock that travels through places, time and emotions." – Rich Albertoni, The Isthmus – Madison, WI
“...this release achieves a perfect balance between those upbeat folk-rock gems and the
subdued singer-songwriter tracks. It’s great to hear John’s music fleshed out with a full
band." - Travis Wood, 5 Score Pachyderm – St. Louis, MO
Listen to tracks from John's latest album Old Fashioned
Special !! All tickets are $10. Kids under 12 are free at the concert.
To order online click here, (tickets will also be available at door)
Mike Compton — Tuesday, July 17
Concert - 8pm
John Hartford once said that Mike Compton knows more about Bill Monroe style mandolin than the Father of Bluegrass himself.
Mike was born in 1956 in Jimmie Rodger's hometown of Meridian Mississippi. His great grandfather was a fiddler. Mike was exposed to old-time music at an early age and received his first mandolin at the age of 15. He moved to Nashville in 1977 and worked for the next three and a half years with North Carolina legendary banjoist, Hubert Davis and the Season Travelers. He recorded on three of the group's records. In 1985 he was recruited by Pat Enright for the Nashville Bluegrass Band, and during Compton's initial stint in the group, 1985-1988, he appeared on the four albums that first brought the band to prominence. After a year working in the Catskill Mountains, Mike returned to Nashville and began working for John Hartford, which he did up until John's death in 2001. He was involved in Hartford's last half dozen recordings.
In 1991 Mike began working with the incomparable David Grier, touring the US and Japan. The two recorded a duet album shortly thereafter which was nominated for Album of the Year by the IBMA in 1992.
In the fall of 2000, after a tour of the southwestern US with Grier, Mike was offered his mandolin slot with Nashville Bluegrass Band and he didn't hesitate to rejoin. The Group has won two Grammy Awards, two Entertainer of the year honors from the International Bluegrass Music Association and four wins as IBMA's Vocal Group of the Year. They have become the acoustic music group to watch in the new millennium.
The NBB was the first bluegrass group to perform in the People's Republic of China and has also staged concerts in Egypt, Brazil, Crete, Bangladesh, Bahrain, Qatar, the Azores, Iraq and Israel, not to mention Denmark, Germany, France, Ireland, Switzerland, Turkey, Japan , Italy, Spain, and England. The group has performed with Lyle Lovett and Mary Chapin Carpenter and performed to a sold out crowd at Carnegie Hall, and backed artists as diverse as Bernadette Peters and Clint Black.
Spring of 2001 led the NBB into a concert series with the Nashville chamber Orchestra which led Mike on a new pursuit of music reading skills and basic music theory and writing.
Mike recently received Grammy Award acknowledgement for playing the mandolin on two award winning projects, "Oh Brother Where Art Thou?",Album of the Year and Best Compilation Soundtrack Album, and "Down From the Mountain", Best Traditional Folk Album, which included artists such as Dr. Ralph Stanley, Norman and Nancy Blake, Alison Kraus and Union Station, Gillian Welch/David Rawlings, Emmy Lou Harris, The Whites, The Cox Family, The Fairfield Four, Chris Thomas King, NBB, John Hartford, to name a few. He was also part of last year's sold out "Down From the Mountain" tours which included the original soundtrack cast and Ricky Skaggs, Patty Loveless, the Del McCoury Band, and Rodney Crowell.
The Mississippi State Senate honored Mike in March of 2002 with State Resolution No. 45 commending his accomplishments. The Resolution was awarded on the Senate floor and shortly thereafter followed by renditions of Bill Monroe's "Old Ebeneezer Scrooge" and "I'll Fly Away", which prompted the senators to sing along.
Mike was featured prominently on Dr. Ralph Stanley's recent work produced by recording industry legend TBone Burnette. Mike recently participated in the soundtrack for the upcoming movie" Cold Mountain" also produced by Mr. Burnette.
Mike does numerous workshops and music camps throughout the year. He is currently working on material for the tenor guitar, studying country blues mandolin styles and taking fiddle lessons. He is a prolific composer and treasures his memories of a friendship with his mentor, Bill Monroe.
The Concert is $15, Students are $15. Kids under 12 are free at the concert.
To order online click here, (tickets will also be available at door)
Cathy Barton & Dave Para — Sunday, October 21
Concert - 7:30pm
Cathy Barton and Dave Para have created dynamic performances acclaimed for 25 years for their variety and expertise in vocal and instrumental music. They have celebrated the musical traditions and folklife of Missouri and the Ozarks in festivals, clubs, concert halls, schools and studios across the U.S. and Europe. Their audiences are as diverse as their repertoire.
"This duo from Missouri make some of the best music you'll ever hear."
--Art Thieme
A versatile duo, Dave and Cathy play several stringed instruments including hammered and fretted dulcimers, banjo, guitar and Autoharp, as well as "found" instruments like bones, spoons, mouthbow and leaf. Their concerts present a range of music from the lively dance tunes they have collected in their home region to old ballads to new songs. They have conducted several instrumental workshops as well as those about songs from the Civil War, from American rivers, old gospel songs, children's songs and Christmas music.
Putting the song before the singer, Dave and Cathy are caretakers of a long musical heritage, and they are known for deep understanding and affection for traditional music. They also keep their minds and ears open as the roots and branches of folk music run deep and spread wide. Missouri is a social and geographic meeting place, and its rich cultural diversity continues to inspire Dave and Cathy’s music and broaden their repertoire.
Much of their Missouri music has been collected from some excellent and noted traditional musicians like fiddlers Art Galbraith and Taylor McBaine, gospel singer Thelma Conway, and collectors Max Hunter and Loman Cansler.
"Cathy Barton and Dave Para, as much as any folk musicians I know, carry on the sense of importance of folk music, the value of digging for old musical gold, of traveling far and wide to collect old songs and tunes, and of being friends with, rather than exploiters of the old-timers who have provided such wonderful musical foundations for us all."
--Ed Trickett
In their mission to introduce new audiences to folk music, Dave and Cathy have participated in the artists-in-education program for the Missouri Arts Council since the early 1980s. They have done folk arts residencies and assembly programs in schools across the state.They also created and serve as artistic directors of two annual folk festivals, the Big Muddy Folk Festival, in their hometown of Boonville, and the Boone’s Lick Country Folk Festival, in Arrow Rock, Mo.
Children of the folk revival, both Dave and Cathy can credit older sisters with sparking their interest in folk music in the early 1960s. Their life in rural Missouri has focused that interest.
A recognized master of the frailing banjo style Cathy has twice won the Tennessee Old-Time Banjo Championship. The late Roy Acuff often called her his "favorite banjo player" because her playing reminded him of earlier country music sounds. Cathy can also be credited for some of the growing interest in the hammered dulcimer in the Midwest. In the mid-1970s, she introduced it to the Walnut Valley Festival in Winfield, Kan., and has since provided a number of current players with their first hearing of the instrument.
While earning college and graduate degrees in humanities and folklore, Cathy worked as an assistant folklorist at the Ozark Folk Center in Mountain View, Ark. She also toured with Ramona (Mrs. Grandpa) Jones and played at her dinner theater there for a number of seasons.
Dave Para took his sister's guitar to classes at the Old Town School of Folk Music in his hometown Chicago and rekindled his childhood interest in folk music. While attending college in Cathy's hometown of Columbia, Mo., Dave managed the Chez Coffeehouse, a focal point of folk music in Central Missouri for 20 years. There he started accompanying several fiddlers and began playing in local string bands. He has since been noted often for his expert and distinctive back-up guitar style.
"We would like to recommend Cathy and Dave Para highly as professional entertainers. They are both very dependable and quite knowledgeable of the music they perform. We have been in the entertainment world for some 50 years, and we know of no one that cares about music as much as these two young entertainers."
-- Grandpa and Ramona Jones.
Of their ten recordings, the first few and most recent few were-self produced. In 1982 the Walnut Valley Occasional called their "Ballad of the Boonslick" album "the finest acoustic music heard this year." The release of their "On a Day Like Today" album in 1986 for Folk-Legacy Records was a special achievement. This small, family-run record company renowned for exceptional recordings of important traditional and contemporary folk musicians has greatly influenced Dave and Cathy and helped to inspire their study of traditional music in their own community. Teaming up with the company's founders, Sandy and Caroline Paton, they produced an album of lesser known Christmas music, "'Twas on a Night Like This," which the American Library Association named a Notable Recording in 1990. They have appeared on several other recordings with the Patons, Ed Trickett, Ramona Jones, Bob Dyer, Wade Hampton Miller, Jay Round and Ron Penix, Judy Domeny and Lisa Redfern.
In 1993 and again in 1995, Dave and Cathy conspired with friend and musician Bob Dyer to produce two landmark recordings of songs from the Civil War in Missouri, Kansas and Arkansas, "Johnny Whistletrigger," and "Rebel in the Woods." Both albums were named "Notable Recordings" by the American Library Association.
These two albums have gained the trio wide respect among Civil War historians in the region and put them in demand for seminars and performances at national parks, re-enactments and historical meetings throughout the state, including the third funeral for Jesse James in 1995, after the remains of the famous outlaw were exhumed for DNA testing.
