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 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: Comment on the evolving position of violin in the ragtime, early, swing, bebop and current eras of jazz.  
AB: First, let me say I am not the knowledgeable person about ragtime and, say, early string bands. Document CD’s (http://www.document-records.com/index.asp) are a good source of, if not always accurate information, at least the string band music itself. I would also mention the two very useful early blues violin compilation CD’s put out by Old Hat (Folks He Sure Do Pull Some Bow! and Violin, Sing The Blues For Me …

by Tim Woodbridge
May 9th was the 100th anniversary of the birth of Don Messer (1909-1973), the great Canadian fiddler and cultural icon. Measured by popularity, influence and long running success on radio, recordings, and television, Don Messer was arguably the most important Canadian fiddler of his generation, if not the 20th century. His instantly recognizable style — bright, precise, lively and accessible, earned him the loyalty of millions of Canadians (and many in the United States). He and his band, the Islanders, toured extensively throughout Canada, reinforcing an image …