by Howard Marshall 
            The version of Cotton Eyed Joe considered the older fiddle tune is sometimes associated with Appalachian and Southern fiddling due to its appearance in 1926 on a recording by Gid Tanner and His Skillet Lickers. The celebrated north Georgia string band recorded a series of seven 78 rpm records (fourteen sides) collectively known as “A Corn Licker Still in Georgia.”[1]  The Skillet Lickers recorded from 1925 to 1931 and over a million copies were sold, with the records marketed as “Entertaining Novelty Records.” The recordings were essentially …

 
by Anthony Barnett
 SP
What do you think of the effect of pickups on jazz violin’s acceptance and whether it is a positive, negative or neutral trend?
Any opinions on the
    1. current crop of pickups?
    2. acoustic vs. solid body instruments?
    3. appearance of 5 string models?
AB
I am not a practicing violinist myself so I am unable to answer from a musician’s point of view. But I do have some observations from a listener’s point of view, partly as a result of my own listening but also as a result of exchanges, …

by Carl Rahkonen
The first time someone hears Scandinavian fiddling they may be struck by its unique sound, which can be as beautiful and austere as the Scandinavian landscape.  Together with incredible rhythmic complexity, this music can sound as exotic as any music on the earth.  It is a sound that can be particularly addicting!
The sound of Scandinavian fiddling can be traced to the influence of older instruments in the culture, representing a “parallel” tradition:  In Norway it’s the hardingfele and in Sweden the nyckelharpa.   Many North American Scandinavian fiddlers also …

By Tim Woodbridge
1939 found Don Messer in something of a quandary.  Despite the successes chronicled in Part 2 and continuing, it must have seemed that he was constantly required to justify himself to distant CBC executives. In 1936 the network had reduced the proportion of musical programming from 70% to 50%.  In 1938, following a change in administration, the network required all performers to re-audition.  What was probably the final straw came when Messer’s request to be included in the lineup of programs from a proposed CBC studio in Halifax …

“Boil the Cabbage Down” first position fingering pattern (2^nd finger close to 3^rd finger, typical beginner’s pattern). Tonic note is an open string (e.g., A, in Boil the Cabbage). This position is typically taught to beginners without regard to staying in a single key across the instrument. So, you get a major scale if you start on the G string 0123 and then go to the D string 0123 (G scale). You get the D scale by starting on the D string 0123 and going to the A string 0123 and the A scale is A:0123 E:0123. However, if you wanted to play a second octave of any of these scales, you would use a different finger pattern. This chart represents the beginner finger pattern, then, rather than proper notes for a particular scale.

by Howard Marshall
In a section on couple dances in my forthcoming book on the history of fiddling in Missouri, the Cotton-Eyed Joe dance and tune became a focus of interest. The following essay is offered to readers for discussion. Readers are encouraged to contact me by email at MarshallH@Missouri.Edu with corrections and ideas for improvement. 
Relatively few people have seen dancers perform a schottische or varsouvienne, even if they remain favorites at old-time country dances. Today, no couple step dance is better known than the Cotton-Eyed Joe – a dance that …

by Anthony Barnett
SP: Any comments on the divide between the stylistic approaches of the Grappelli and Stuff Smith and their respective statuses both in the jazz world and among music fans that are not jazz aficionados? Where does the Manouche/French Gypsy violin style stand in your concept of the jazz world?
AB: Let’s talk, as we have long promised ourselves, about the Hot Club of Robinson County. It may well be the best Hot Club there is. Why? Because, as we know, it doesn’t exist. There is no Robinson County. That …

By Tim Woodbridge
As described in the previous installment, when Don Messer was 16 he went to Boston, where his Aunt Mary ran a boarding house.  According to biographer Johanna Bertin, he did well for himself, eventually becoming an assistant manager of a store in the Woolworths chain, with prospects of assignment to a store of his own.  On the other hand, his long working hours made for a lonely existence, and Bertin notes, his work visa was running out and he would soon be faced with deciding whether to seek …

by Anthony Barnett
SP: More generally, speak to misunderstandings of jazz violin exhibited by the jazz community and/or violinists.
AB: That is a big question. I am tempted to answer that things are much better but I am often given cause to wonder.
For example, 2009 saw, to my knowledge, three centenary celebrations of Stuff Smith: one in The Strad by classical violin guru Tully Potter (in-depth and in many ways excellent), one in Strings (largely sounding out other violinists), and an hour on the BBC in which the host, a well-known jazz …

by Stacy Phillips
The past few years have seen a relative bonanza in fiddle-oriented nonfiction in print. Check out the previous review article I wrote for the October 2004 edition of Fiddle Sessions. Here is a rundown of nine of my favorites that are not mainly music transcriptions or instruction.
“Fiddler of the Opry – The Howdy Forrester Story” by Gayel Pitchford (Viewpoint Press – 2007) is a biography of the most important Nashville fiddler in the 1950’s and `60’s.  He composed many now standard tunes as well as variations of pieces …