The Glory-Beaming Banjo

M y latest Ward Jarvis tune is "Tomahawk." Jarvis learned this tune from Tommy Jackson , either on record or radio, according to the field recordings David Brose made in the 1970s. Jackson was a prominent Nashville session fiddler during the 1950s. The tune appears on Jackson's " Square Dance Tonight " album, released in 1957. Jarvis can be heard playing it on the Field Recorders' Collective album ( FRC402 ), from the recordings of Jeff Goehring. Brose's recording of Jarvis can be heard on the Slippery-Hill website. Jarvis plays "Tomahawk" in AEAE tuning and is credited for making the tune old-time. There's another variant usually attributed to Missouri fiddler Bob Holt , available on the 1998 Rounder release "Got a Little Home to Go To." I took my first crack at "Tomahawk" on June 18. Below is my first attempted recording of the tune, which is only twice through because of a major flub in the third repeat of ...

T hree months have passed since I provided my last update on my "Year of Ward Jarvis" project. As you may recall, I targeted six tunes to learn by Athens County, Ohio, resident and West Virginia native Ward Jarvis. The first one I learned was " Head of the Creek ." Next up is "Icy Mountain," another AEAE tune. My source recordings were from Jeff Goehring via the Field Recorders' Collective and from David Brose via some kind folks at the Fiddle Hangout. I also referred to the notation from the Milliner-Koken Collection of American Fiddle Tunes and a YouTube video by David Bragger . I took my first crack at "Icy Mountain" back on April 22, but I didn't really focus too hard on learning it until mid-May. I struggled with it for weeks, but then my progress took a major leap on June 6. I feel like I finally have a handle on the full tune, though I’m still working out some kinks in the B parts. A quick banjo note: I have also figure...

S ince declaring this The Year of Ward Jarvis earlier this year, I have dedicated myself to learning some tunes from the repertoire of Ward Jarvis, a fiddler who lived in Athens County, Ohio, and was an influence on a number of old-time musicians in the state. Over the last couple months, I managed to track down the recordings of David Brose and digital copies of the two LPs he produced, thanks to some helpful folks at the Fiddle Hangout . The first tune on my list was "Head of the Creek," played in AEAE. My primary source was Jarvis's playing on the Field Recorder's Collective release FRC402 , with a transcription from the Milliner-Koken Collection of American Fiddle Tunes . I also have Jeff Goehring's version on FRC601 . In addition, there are some recordings available on YouTube, such as Jimmy Triplet , Kerry Blech and others . Some of those versions are played in GDGD. A few of the videos mention Lester McCumbers as the source, as in the Blech video h...