Jim Besser

Wow - I'm the original owner of this concertina. A fine, incredibly durable instrument with a boisterous sound and great playability. In the years it was in my possession it never required service; these things are built like Sherman tanks. I was sorry to let it go, but it was surplus to my needs.

A friend will be spending several months in Exeter, and she's anxious to find some good, welcoming sessions in the general vicinity. Any suggestions?

English, played by a very skilled player.

I play this for a singer who does English music hall songs - but also realized that it's almost a perfect tune for stepping practice for my Northwest clog ladies!

Thanks! THat solves the problem. I snagged dots. That Robin is always a couple of steps ahead!

Does anybody know the name of the catch hornpipe (sounds Irish to me) played in the video of the 31 key Crabb anglo for sale at The Button Box? http://buttonbox.com/concertinas-in-stock.html#anglo It's driving me crazy, I need to scratch this itch by knowing the name!

Be sure to post a link so we can all buy this! Sounds like a great project.

Fickle Moon is just an incredibly lovely tune. Dots in Jody's first tunebook, for anybody who's interested.

Thanks. The baritone is great fun to play. Mostly I'm using it in band situations - basically replicating what a string bass would do. Eventually I'll record and post and example.

Me too - Sxsudx. See you there, David. And Dexter too, of course. He has an interesting style on Anglo. I like that Princess Royal, very different from the way I play it.

The cool thing is that the Button Box folks solved the problem of very low reeds sounding slowly. This instrument plays as fast as my other boxes, although air management takes a little getting used to.

Don't plan to use it for solo playing, but just had to give it a whirl on a bass-heavy tune. https://soundcloud.com/concertinist/rufus-baritone-bettermp3

Ear learner, mostly. But in recent years I've become more reliant on dots to remind myself how tunes start or to navigate the tricky bits when learning. In band situations, rely a lot on charts.

Looks like a different instrument than Sally's F/C Dipper. It was at the Button Box a few years back, and was the most amazing instrument I ever laid hands on - resonant reeds that had an organ like quality. I know it sold to a c.net member, and then was resold, I believe. I still have dreams about that instrument. The buy it now price - wow.

Looks like a different instrument than Sally's amazing F/C Dipper. It was at the Button Box a few years back, and was the most amazing instrument I ever laid hands on - resonant reeds that had an organ like quality. I know it sold to a c.net member, and then was resold, I believe. I still have dreams about that instrument.

Not late - a good dance tune is appropriate any time of the year.

Sometimes, when I get tired of the tunes I practice every day, I go back through old CDs and tunebooks, looking for great tunes I missed the first few times through. And Jody Kruskal's fine tunebooks and CDs always provide a wealth of good material. Last week I came across this tune, which I tried a long time ago, liked and promptly forgot about. Big mistake - it's a really fine, driving dance jig. Here's a first try. https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/u/68325595/PumpkinMoonJDB.MP3 Played on a 30 button Jeffries G/D Anglo. The dots can be found in Jody's first tunebook, Feet in the Clouds, full of really fun tunes.

A somewhat improved version of the Bob Webb rag, slavishly copied from the playing of Bob Walser. https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/u/68325595/Schooner_improved.MP3 Played on a 30 button CG Morse Anglo.

Yes, I listened to Norm and Ray every Saturday night. I can' hear a recording of Nonesuch without thinking of them Or the comedy bits ("My wife is always living in the past; now she wants to get divorced in the Virgin Islands.") During the height of the 60s Folk Scare, there was another show that aired on WGN - Traveling On, with Jack Taylor. IT was more Kingston Trioish. And I bet you hung out at the Medici. Sometime I'll show you my cool Medici Tshirt (Logo on the front, "Obama Eats Here" on the back)

Me too, Mike, from about 1963. Still hear those announcers voices in my heads. Maybe there's a drug to cure that.

Bob - I assume you know about this, but just in case you don't: the Pritzker Military Museum and Library is starting to digitize World War I sheet music. LInk to PDFs and MP3s. There's not too much here, I assume the project is just starting. http://www.finditillinois.org/ww1Music/

I heard this a few days ago in a video clip of a performance by Bob Walser. The Schooner was written by the late Bob Webb. I believe he played a McCann duet, but I"m not sure; Walser plays Anglo. I did it in G on a C/G as a first take, but I suppose I should try it in G on the G/D to replicate his nice bass runs. It's a great tune, and I'd love to hear what others do with it. Feel free to offer constructive feedback, of course. https://soundcloud.com/concertinist/the-schooner-jim-besser Sorry, I haven't seen any notation for this tune.

Wow, love the variations, and the plunge into minor. You're playing a duet, aren't you?

Aren't they all 'WIPs?' (works in progress). Nicely done. Nice stately pace. Interesting chords on St. Catherine's. I think I like them.

Really admire your clean playing! I think there was an extensive discussion of the tune on Melodeon.net a while back.