[Ingo]

Right now I'm listening to a supergroup recording with Norman Blake, Tut Taylor, Sam Bush, Butch Robins, Vassar Clements, David Holland, and Jethro Burns. Most of the songs on here are pretty straight forward instrumental bluegrass but there are a few that are very much jazz. One song features a fiddle playing a very freely formed melody. I don't think I've ever heard such a jazzy sounding tune that featured the fiddle but it really makes a lot of sense.

Anyone know of any jazz with a violin/fiddle?

 

[FalconP]

Stephen Grappelli
Regina Carter
Not terribly familar about their works though.

 

[Afrikane]

 

[blem]

Duke Ellington's Jazz Violin Session is a "must"

Amazon.com: Duke Ellington's Jazz Violin Session: Music: Duke Ellington

 

[ralphp@optonline]

Along with the musicians already mentioned add to the list Billy Bang, Leroy Jenkins, the Uptown String Quartet, The Turtle Island String Quartet and the Kronos Quartet (only some of the their early jazz related releases).

 

[milkpowder]

A friend introduced me to Stephen Grapelli's music (or rather his jazz performances). It's pretty good music making!

 

[autorock]

Mahavishnu Orchestra, although they're more jazz rock fusion.

 

[Spyro]

Absolutely! Check out the legendary Jean Luc Ponty.

An electric violin can sound like a guitar or a keyboard too.

 

[tru blu]

Of course, Joe Venuti and Stephane Grappelli kinda wrote the book on swinging the violin. Maybe the place to begin is Venuti's work with guitarist Eddie Lang, which was an early influence on the Quintette du Hot Club France featuring Grappelli and Django Reinhardt. Other names to watch out for are trumpeter Ray Nance (he doubled on violin in Duke Ellington's orchestra) and Stuff Smith, whose records I'm not terribly familiar with. Smith was a big influence on Billy Bang, whom I tend to like more live than on disc (Bangception, Willisau 1982, a live duet with drummer Dennis Charles, is nice).

For more stormy, contemporary stuff, I'm way into Mat Maneri's work with avant-garde pianists Matthew Shipp and Russ Lossing.

Shipp's String Trio:

Critical Mass
By The Law Of Music
Expansion, Power and Release


Lossing/Maneri/Mark Dresser:

Metal Rat


Question for the OP: What's the name of that disc with Vassar Clements? Really curious, 'cuz that guy could play anything.

 

[sejarzo]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Ingo /img/forum/go_quote.gif Right now I'm listening to a supergroup recording with Norman Blake, Tut Taylor, Sam Bush, Butch Robins, Vassar Clements, David Holland, and Jethro Burns. Most of the songs on here are pretty straight forward instrumental bluegrass but there are a few that are very much jazz. One song features a fiddle playing a very freely formed melody.

On LP or CD? I had that LP and gave it to a guy who was supposed to rip it to CD for me after I sold my TT rig.....but he disappeared.

I bought it when I lived in Tennessee for a short while and was heavily into the contemporary bluegrass/David Grisman (who later worked quite a bit with Grappelli) stuff, which to me always seemed to be the "jazz of country music", so to speak.

Is the cut to which you are referring solo fiddle, or fiddle/guitar--Vassar and Jethro, on the first cut of the second side of the LP, if I recall correctly? If it's that one, it's actually a variation on the same theme that was used by Dvorak in the Largo of his Symphony 9, that in turn was inspired by a spiritual hymn.

 

[sejarzo]

Found it!

Vassar Clements Merchandise - VPCD35 / Norman Blake / Tut Taylor / Sam Bush / Butch Robins / Vassar Clements / David Holland / Jethro Burns

"Take the A Train" is one of the all-time greatest Ellington/Strayhorn tunes, and yes, Vassar played it wonderfully......if that is the cut referred to by the OP.

That whole album was beautifully recorded, too. It was one that I'd take along to stores when shopping for new gear.

Side note: Most people who are 50-ish know Jethro Burns as half of "Homer and Jethro", who often appeared on "The Beverly Hillbillies" as a novelty comedy/country duo. What they don't know is that Jethro was truly one of the all-time greatest mandolin players....not just a funny guy.

 

[Ingo]

Quote:

Originally Posted by sejarzo /img/forum/go_quote.gif Found it! Vassar Clements Merchandise - VPCD35 / Norman Blake / Tut Taylor / Sam Bush / Butch Robins / Vassar Clements / David Holland / Jethro Burns "Take the A Train" is one of the all-time greatest Ellington/Strayhorn tunes, and yes, Vassar played it wonderfully......if that is the cut referred to by the OP. That whole album was beautifully recorded, too. It was one that I'd take along to stores when shopping for new gear. Side note: Most people who are 50-ish know Jethro Burns as half of "Homer and Jethro", who often appeared on "The Beverly Hillbillies" as a novelty comedy/country duo. What they don't know is that Jethro was truly one of the all-time greatest mandolin players....not just a funny guy.

Yeah, I have it on LP. The two songs that I was really enamored with are 'Going Home' and 'Vassar and Dave'. This is probably the best recording I have on LP and it's also probably one of my top 5 quietest LPs. In the future I'm probably going to run this one into the ground over and over. There's TWO of the greatest mandolin players on one record: Jethro Burns and Sam Bush! Not to mention my favorite fiddle player.

Are you a big newgrass fan sejarzo? How about Béla Fleck's "Drive" and "The Bluegrass Sessions"? Or Strength In Numbers - "The Telluride Sessions"? There are so many good recordings in this type of music it's plain silly. Also, The Newgrass Revival had some mind-blowing instrumentals during the era that Béla Fleck was playing with them.

 

[NiceCans]

Jean Luc Ponte

a bit away from traditional jazz, more of a fusion, but excellent!

 

[sejarzo]

Honestly, I am more a classical enthusiast at this point. Never much into Béla Fleck, actually--can't explain why I find his music less appealing, but that's always been the case.

"Going Home" on that LP is surely one of the best "acoustic music" cuts I've ever heard when it comes to blending superb musicianship with excellent sonics. I love the little conversation at the start where Vassar and Jethro banter a bit how Jethro ought to play it....the playing blows you away.......but then the final chord seems to go sour! It seems if that was just a one take deal. Amazing. It's been years since I actually heard it, believe it or not....maybe that's a good indication of how great that track is!

The album I would love to see on CD is David Grisman's "Quintet '80" (with Mark O'Connor, Darrol Anger, Mike Marshall, and Rob Wasserman.) Grisman had been recording for Rounder for quite a while, signed with WB, released "Quintet 80" and "Mondo Mando"......and was then released from his WB contract, or it simply ended, perhaps. Neither of those LP's ever made it to CD release. DG did re-record some of the tunes with his newer ensembles on Acoustic Disc, but I preferred the original versions.

I can highly recommend a CD called "PsychoGrass" by Anger and Marshall......with an insane version of "Whiter Shade of Pale":

Amazon.com: Psychograss: Music: Psychograss

Definitely has the jazz/bluegrass fusion thing going.

Side note: Most also don't realize that Homer and Jethro actually lived in the Chicago area, not in Nashville...Homer in the southern suburbs, and Jethro up north at some point. I grew up a mile or so from Homer's place, and he would always wave to us on the school bus when he was outside, and chat with my mom at the supermarket. Unfortunately he died early....and tragically, his wife died not long thereafter. My best friend from junior high married Homer's daughter, and in recent years, my son attended high school with and was a good friend of Homer's grandson. And once, while boarding an early morning flight from O'Hare to Atlanta, I saw an old guy up ahead, wearing a tour jacket with a mandolin embroidered on the back. Turned out to be Jethro, but I never got the chance to approach him and tell him how much I loved that album and "Going Home".

 

[sejarzo]

Quote:

Originally Posted by ralphp@optonline /img/forum/go_quote.gif ......The Turtle Island String Quartet.....

Saw them live in ~1990, maybe, in their first incarnation with Darol Anger. Outstanding and a really funny group of players. I love most classical music, but string quartets in the strictly classical sense always strike me as a bit "too technical", as if they're playing really hard stuff that other string musicians would appreciate....but everything I've heard Turtle Island do is much more approachable.

I even won an autographed copy of "4+Four" from the Telarc web site a couple of years ago, too!