Jody Kruskal Posted April 9, 2007 Share Posted April 9, 2007 As it turns out I will not be going, though I had planned to. I got a lucrative gig here in NYC for earthday where (shame shame) I will not be playing concertina. Have fun! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
David Barnert Posted April 10, 2007 Share Posted April 10, 2007 Jody, congratulations to your fiddle playing buddy (of whom you've spoken often in this forum), Sam Zygmuntowicz, who got a very nice mention in an article that took up most of the Op-Ed page of Saturday's New York Times. I know I'm being a bit off-topic here, but as Sam has played a supporting role in Jody's stories about his playing and tune writing, members of the c.net forum might be forgiven for thinking of him as "family." At the same time, I didn't want to start a new thread on a topic that has nothing to do with concertinas, so here we are in the thread about NEFFA, simply because it is where Jody posted, which reminded me of this. The article is on line at http://www.nytimes.com/2007/04/07/opinion/07marchese.html although it might only be accessible to subscribers of the premium "Times Select" service. It's about violin makers, and the perceived differences between modern ones and the old masters. The title is "Second Fiddle to an Old Master" and it contains the following snippet: It is another quietly concealed fact in the music world that a number of top violinists keep antiqued modern copies in their collection and play them when their fine old fiddles are out of kilter. Do listeners really notice the difference? A few years ago I attended a concert where a world-renowned violin soloist performed a concerto with an internationally acclaimed orchestra. He was supposed to be playing a very expensive Stradivari, but instead he used a violin made that very year in Brooklyn, by a top luthier named Sam Zygmuntowicz. Did the audience rise up as one and heckle him for the ruse? No, they gave him three standing ovations. Sam also gets the last word in the article:Sam Zygmuntowicz, carving away each day in Brooklyn, likes to remind his customers of a fact so obvious it is often overlooked. He's even made it into a pin and stuck it over his workbench. It reads, "Strad Made New Fiddles." Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jody Kruskal Posted April 11, 2007 Share Posted April 11, 2007 Yes, Sam is much in the news these days which means that he has less time to play music with me! Shucks. But we still manage to do a few things and he is one of the the featured fiddlers on my Poor Little Liza Jane CD released last month. Check out this fascinating article and video at Newsweek, filmed just a few days ago as part of the media blitz around John Marchese's book release of "The Violin Maker" that follows Sam step by step as he makes a fine violin. Lots of time spent on Sam's research including some nifty animations of how a Strad vibrates. Isolating the Violin's Song Sam Zygmuntowicz is one of the world's great violin makers and even he has a hard time saying exactly what makes a great instrument sound so magical. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jim Besser Posted April 11, 2007 Author Share Posted April 11, 2007 Yes, Sam is much in the news these days which means that he has less time to play music with me! Shucks. But we still manage to do a few things and he is one of the the featured fiddlers on my Poor Little Liza Jane CD released last month. I've had Sam's "Jump when the Trumpets Blow" CD since it came out, and its long been a favorite. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mark Evans Posted April 22, 2007 Share Posted April 22, 2007 (edited) That was a lot of fun today Jim and David. An anglo, a Haydn and an engish, not a bad combination at all. Nice sunny afternoon well spent. Animaterra was great as usual. What a shame Alison didn't bring the Jefferies. The new location was confusing for me, but so was the old location the first time. P.S. Actually, the combination of the three systems was a hands down freakin' blast. I can truely understand the appeal of a concertina band. It was also very pleasant to spend a little time with C.net members in real time. I was just o happy to be there. In our cookie cutter one size fits all (what's Britteny up to now) world, it's a relief to spend an afternoon with folks who dare to set their own course and tack against the wind. Edited April 22, 2007 by Mark Evans Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jim Besser Posted April 22, 2007 Author Share Posted April 22, 2007 Actually, the combination of the three systems was a hands down freakin' blast. I can truely understand the appeal of a concertina band. It was also very pleasant to spend a little time with C.net members in real time. I was just o happy to be there. In our cookie cutter one size fits all (what's Britteny up to now) world, it's a relief to spend an afternoon with folks who dare to set their own course and tack against the wind. Definitely a blast, and it was interesting how many passersby seemed to be listening to us. Enjoyed every minute of it, gentlemen. For my money, the best festival in the country; so many good musicians with instruments and a h ankering to jam. And who's Brittany??? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JimLucas Posted April 22, 2007 Share Posted April 22, 2007 In our cookie cutter one size fits all (what's Britteny up to now) world, it's a relief to spend an afternoon with folks who dare to set their own course and tack against the wind. And who's Brittany??? So soon we forget. Britney is yesterday's pop tart. I don't know what she's doing right now, as I think it's been a few weeks since she last skewered (speared?) herself in the media. Brittany, as far as I know, is still in France. (And not to be confused with any Brit. ) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
David Barnert Posted April 22, 2007 Share Posted April 22, 2007 The fated meeting between me, Jim, and Mark was everything it was meant to be and more. Mark and I have been threatening to meet for years but were never able to pull it off until yesterday. The three of us (actually four, but Allison hadn't brought her concertina) met after the Animaterra concert and went outside (the weather was incredible--snow in Sunderland last week, T-shirt weather in Mansfield this week) to find a shady place to play. For most of the next hour (I finally had to run off for our 3:00 Morris performance) playing all the usual tunes, with many onlookers, interested questions and offers to play along. But we weren't just playing. We were communicating, listening, bouncing things off each other, passing ideas around. In other words, making music. A rare pleasure. Thanks, guys. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mark Evans Posted April 22, 2007 Share Posted April 22, 2007 (edited) We were communicating, listening, bouncing things off each other, passing ideas around. In other words, making music. A rare pleasure. Thanks, guys. Yes we were. It was very much a conversation and a rare delight because it required nothing as mundane as words and syntax. I got on a bus for the remote parking lot with reluctance, but going home time had arrived. The teenagers only mildy looked up from their computer and grunted as I walked in the door. Eventually, Claude asked if there were "those dudes with the print skirts dancing again this year." "What's up wid' dat Dad." My reply, "tacking against the wind son, tacking against the wind." Edited April 23, 2007 by Mark Evans Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
David Barnert Posted April 22, 2007 Share Posted April 22, 2007 (I finally had to run off for our 3:00 Morris performance)One of my guys just sent me this: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
asdormire Posted April 22, 2007 Share Posted April 22, 2007 Dave, the students are quite old at your local high school, and their mother dresses them funny.--Or is that just the local britney fan club? Alan Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Animaterra Posted April 23, 2007 Share Posted April 23, 2007 Yes, a good time was definitely had by all! I am SO sorry I decided at the last minute to leave Jeff at home- I was over-focused on the fact that 4 of the six singers who came from my chorus were there for the first time and might need Nanny to watch over them. No fear- once I gave my regrets to the Cnetters, I couldn't find a-one of them! But I did my usual walk-five-paces-run-into-folks-I-haven't-seen-since-last-year bit and spent most of my shortest-stay-at-NEFFA-ever schmoozing. It was a great festival for morris dancing! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jim Besser Posted April 23, 2007 Author Share Posted April 23, 2007 (edited) questions and offers to play along. But we weren't just playing. We were communicating, listening, bouncing things off each other, passing ideas around. In other words, making music. A rare pleasure. Thanks, guys. A truly magical moment. Both David and Mark are amazing players, and our little ensemble sounded pretty darned good. Seems to me there were a lot more concertinas this year at NEFFA. Saw a BUNCH of Morse anglos, a few Englishes. Lots of those little black instrument cases. Kudos to the Button Box for fueling the concertina boom. Watched Tom Kruskal play for a while, sounding as incredible as always -- then noticed he was playing a Morse instead of his usual Crabb. The only bummer: I couldn't stay for Brian Peters session. Edited April 23, 2007 by Jim Besser Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jim Besser Posted April 23, 2007 Author Share Posted April 23, 2007 walked in the door. Eventually, Claude asked if there were "those dudes with the print skirts dancing again this year." "What's up wid' dat Dad." My reply, "tacking against the wind son, tacking against the wind." Like everybody else at Neffa! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
David Barnert Posted April 23, 2007 Share Posted April 23, 2007 Dave, the students are quite old at your local high schoolWhat, you never heard about those weird guys in their 50s who hang around high school entrances? Now you know they're just morris dancers. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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