Old-time
Artist(s) / Notes
Favorite fiddle tunes
Ruthie Dornfeld (Old-time)
Years ago after hearing track one (Old Belled Cow/ Drunken Billy Goat
Ruthie //Dornfeld and Joel Bernstein reach fabulous heights, at times merging the timbres of fiddle and harmonica into some sort of fierce new instrument we've never before heard. Keith Murphy's guitar accompaniment is light, powerful, in the pocket, often bearing a flowing Celtic slant.
Ruthie plays the prettiest version of Dry and Dusty. (Unfortunately, not on the Amazon preview, because that track is a medley, and we only hear the first song, Boatsman.) Joel comes plinking in, and then Keith's there with a Texas-style backup, full of sop and a delightful non-stop weave bass runs.
Old Belled Cow/ Drunken Billy Goat
Ducks On the Millpond/ 28th of January
—John Hartford (Old-time)
Great album! Simple but stellar. Just fiddle and old-time banjo ... oh, plus John Hartford and Bob Carlin, two musicians who really know how to listen and respond. They play many of the tunes at a nice relaxed 'Missouri tempo' which leaves room for lots of tempered inventiveness.
I always knew that Hartford was a fiddler, but for years I thought of him more as a songwriter, entertainer and a 'medicine show' comedian. Little did I know he's a truly remarkable fiddler.
Few fiddler's play with as much dynamic expression ... and I can't think of another fiddler who uses a nearly classical sautillé stoke, which Hartford drifts in and out of regularly on this album. Though this type of stoke is practically foreign to the genre, it's just another way that Hartford plays with expression, and I don't mind it at all! He had a marvelous mind for detail and variation.
Hartfird is also responsible for getting the recordings of Ed Haley available to the public.
Many thanks to Gillian Welch for her recording of Hartford's In Tall Buildings
John Hartford
Hartford fiddles some great tunes on Hamilton Ironworks, and is accompanied by a solid string band.
Fiddlers usually learn they're tunes by ear directly from another fiddler (... at least that's the way it was in the old days.) Out of deference to his friends and mentors Hartford pays homage on each track, citing his source in short a narrative (actually in an improvised 'song.') This often includes an anecdote or two, describing encounters with fiddlers, and how he became acquaintented with the tune presently under his bow.
At times Hartford's rambling tributes begin to wear ("Yeah!") and there's nothing particualrly artful or poetic about them. Sometimes I just want to hear the uninterupted tune. But for better or worse, Hartford's words embed historical notes which can't get lost, unlike liner notes! Assuredly that was the prime intent.
There's a long list of fiddlers with sound and clarity superior to Hartford's. He squaks his tone a considerable amount of the time, and occasionally shrills a whistled edge. Nevertheless these are fine recordings, excellent reditions of the tunes, well anchored rhythmically, true in spirit, with an indelible honesty and warth, and a unique finesse. Personally, I enjoy the great majority of Hartford's variations and liberties.
Bruce Molsky (Old-time)
Bruce Molsky just oughta be a national treasure. While imparting his own sensibilities to these tunes, his way with the fiddle channels deep into America's musical past.
Not many fiddlers can play and sing. When Molsky does he's a regular one man band, and clearly one of the best. You should hear him sing live. In concert Molsky's singing and fiddling on Cotton Eyed Joe sound just like the recording.
He's has a great DVD on singing and fiddling, below.
From various albums:
Singing with the Fiddle — Accompanying Old Time Songs and Ballads (Old-time; Educational DVD)
This tutorial DVD has 1 1/2 hours of instruction and demonstration ... and Molsky is an excellent teacher. He leads you through accessible steps, such as singing harmony to scales, and he explains how to pick fiddle notes that sound great with a melody, and thus he encourages you to pave your own path and find ways of fiddling accompaniment to songs you want to sing.
Southern Old-Time Fiddle Tour (Old-time; Educational DVD)
Get this DVD if you're ready to explore alternate tunings on fiddle. Molsky teaches six tunes, each in a different tuning ... none in standard GDAE tuning! He breaks down the tunes, teaching attainable sections with attention to slurs and details of style. The DVD includes a booklet with accurate standard treble clef notation, but no slurs. Beautiful tunes, great playing, excellent guidance.
Very enjoyable even if you just want to watch.
Dirk Powell (Old-time)
A master of fiddle, banjo and song. There's something so pure and honest in Dirk Powell's musicianship.
He's such a great singer too. Just listen to Waterbound
Dirk Powell & Tim O'Brien (Old-time)
Here's a nice collection of tunes and songs. That's Tim O'Brien singing on Cluck Old Hen
Freight Hoppers (David Bass on fiddle) (Old-time)
OK, as you can see, I'm devoting less time to some of these reviews. Please don't equate lack of words with lack of enthusiasm. I really dig the Freight Hoppers, and if you get a chance to see David Bass, don't pass it up!
Suffice it to say David Bass and the Freight Hoppers light a fire under these tunes.
Tony Furtado (Old-time, New Acoustic)
What can I say, Tony Furtado does amazing things with banjo. I've always been a big fan on his tunesmithing — and I heard plenty of that in our days as bandmates. His melodies are unique, engaging and natural ... and he's got a true penchant for giving them great titles.
Unlike may solo albums, this one's got a real band sound, and Tony wisely highlights those who participate: Stewart Duncan (fiddle), Tim O'Brien (fiddle and vocal), Butch Baldasari (mandolin).
I'm so the album includds Lyle Lovetts's "Me Up on My Boat." I might have never heard it otherwise. And Tim O'Brien's fine rendition of Man of Constant Sorrow was recorded years before O Brother Where Art Thou hit the silver screen.
OK, I should start a 'favorite banjo tunes' page too, but in the meantime ... here's a delightful album from a young artist.
Great tone and detail here ... and the subtleties are easily heard because the album features small ensemble playing: just guitar and banjo, just banjo and fiddle, or fiddle banjo and guitar ... plus some solo banjo.
And Hurt plays a few tunes at delightfully 'slower than normal' tempos, like Old Dangerfield. Beautiful guitar backup.
Have a listen!
Cumberland Gap / Johnny, Don't Get Drunk
Texas-style Fiddle
Mark O'Connor (Texas-style)
Fiddle fame came early to Mark O'Connor in the fiddle contest circuit, and he matured rapidly into one of the most brilliant fiddlers and improvisationalists on the planet.
In his contest years O'Connor won national fiddle contest chamionships over and over again. At the Grand Master Fiddle Contest in Idaho Gary Lee Moore once said, "Let's just give Mark the trophy send him home and have a real contest!" A few years earlier Mark won the Grand National title at age 16.
O'Connor is a master of Texas-style, gypsy swing and jazz violin, and a remarkable studio musician. Over the years he's appeared on countless studio recordings, and the result is notable. Often O'Connor's twenty second solo — probably an off the cuff improvisation — is the most riveting portion of the entire album!
I've been consistently thrilled by O'Connor's live performances, in bluegrass, new acoustic music, and gypsy swing, so it's odd that I usually find but two or three cuts of significant appear per album. O'Connor is an eleven-star fiddler ...but I can only rate his albums with four out of ten stars. Nevertheless, there are a few GREAT tracks on many of his albums. Definitely check out the recommended tracks. THEY'RE INCREDIBLE!
Don't Let The Deal Go Down
I do HIGHLY recommend Mark O'Connor's "A Texas Jam" album — unfortunately it's out of print. Let's hope it comes back some day!
If I've got my facts straight this ablum is a home recording made at a celebratory jam session after Mark won the Grand National Fiddle contest in Weiser Idaho in 1977, at age 16. There's a ton of good romping, tune brawling and string strutting from Mark and his Texas-style compadres: Benny Thomasson, Texas Shorty (Jim Chancellor), Terry Morris ... plus a regular does of caterwauling and mid-tune teasing from those present.
A cut from "A Texas Jam" made it onto O'Connor's Heroes album. The whole album is like this. Incredible playing by all:
Sally Johnson (as played on A Texas Jam, now only found on O'Connor's Heroes album)
Luke and Jenny Anne Bulla (Texas-style)
This is an impressive and inspiring kids album with true a grown up sound. These kids can play!
Chancellor's Waltz is a beautiful Texas-style waltz, and a great background for improvising in the key of C. Play a C major scale, C pentatonic scale or C relative blues.
Martin's Waltz 
0:00 — Key of D — play D major scale
0:28 — Key of A — play A major scale
0:56 — Key of D — back to D major ...
1:52 — Key of A
2:20 — Key of D
This album features the great Benny Thomasson (Mark O'Connor's teacher), Vernon Solomon, Bartow Riley, and a particularly scratchy Lewis Thomasson delivering some rather soggy versions of his tunes.
This album is representative of many of the great fiddle resource albums. The recordings aren't high quality, and the players may be past their prime, sometimes brought out of retirement by researchers making field recordings, or caught off guard by a rare opportunity to record, many times with studio musicians who don't know the style or reoertoire or the chords, resulting in rhytmic and harmonic collisions that are not the fiddlers fault. Nevertheless, the tracks often contain excellent examples of tunes from a specific repertoire, played in a regional style.
Not every track is a winner, but even some of the rough cuts are chuck full of good Texas-style fiddlin' ideas. It's 24 tracks for $9, so who cares if yu get couple of clunkers you never listen to again.
From the CD Album on the right (not available currently in MP3):
Cattle in the Cane
Billy In The Lowground
Tom And Jerry
Celtic Fiddle (Irish)
Frankie Gavin and Alec Finn (Celtic)
Here's an album of Emerald fireworks!!! An endless cascade of sublime brilliance, both on fiddle and bouzouki accompaniment! This was truly a historical partnership that produced a profound result ... as fresh to my ears today as the time I first heard it decades ago. If this recording doesn't stir you, then I won't buy you a pint of Guinness or Harp.
Few accompanists have been as incisive, artistic, innovative as Alec Finn. How does someone take a non-Irish instrument, apply it to Celtic melodies, many that may have never been set to chordal accompaniment, proceed so prolifically without a roadmap, miraculously forging a masterpiece backup style that became part of the foundation for modern Celtic accompaniment? From ground zero to pinnacle ... it's astonishing. For example consider Finn's accompaniment on the Turlough O'Carolan tunes, Carolan's Draught
Oh, yes ... and Mr. Gavin. He has a few equals, but it's hard to surpasses his playing on this album. I'd say he's my favorite Irish fiddler. If he doesn't know his limits, it's fine, because I don't think he has any.
Martin Wynne's, Austin Tierney's (Reels)
The Bunch of Green Rushes, Sean Frank (Reels)
Martin Hayes (Celtic)
The Green Gowned Lass and Connor Dunn's alone are worth the price of the album. (Unfortunately you can't hear either of these two tunes on the Amazon preview, because they are the second tune in the set ... but trust me they're great!)
Martin Hayes is one of few fiddler's capable of maintaining endless stream of extemporaneous Celtic fiddle consciousness. Hear for yourself as he applies endless invention to the aforementioned tunes. Nothing outlandish mind you, just natural variations to the fabric ... alternate essence.
Hayes recharacters some familiar tunes, imbuing entirely new texture and meaning by rendering them at unusually slow tempos. Across the album tempos are moderate overall, and thus the collection of tunes is a welcome relief from the "I can fiddle it fastest" syndrome.
Just as serence as Haye's fiddling, Randal Bays' guitar accompaniment is stunning all throughout: innovative, meticulous, and within the genre. Bays is up there with the all-time great accompanists, like Alec Finn and Mícheál Ó Domhnaill and Dónal Lunny.
Joe Bane's/The Green Gowned Lass
The Whistler From Rosslea/Connor Dunn's
The ablum to the right, The Lonesome Touch, is another opportunity to clearly hear the nuances of Irish fiddle. There's lots of solo playing, and the guitar accompaniment is light and sparse.
Hayes does a great job on one of my favorite Irish jigs:
Tell Her I Am
This is a great album ... but presently available from Amazon only on CD.
Lucy Farr is a wonderful tune for beginners. Hayes plays it in Bb, as do many. But that is not beginners territory. But you can play in in A or G, which makes the fingering far simpler.
album.Noel Hill and Tony Linnane (Celtic)
Here's another great blend of fiddle and metal reed, where the instruments sound as one. There are many unaccompanied tracks, and Alec Finn joins in on a couple of tunes.
I've learned many tunes from this album. I guess that's a significant testimonial. Indeed it was a virtual vinyl Celtic textbook for me, in the days of phonograph, and really drew me into the style.
I love hearing the melodic Irish tradition straight up without accompaniment, as it appears on many of the cuts, and nonetheless and sounding perfectly complete. Gives you a sense of the early tradition when sessions were comprised of primarily of melody and percussion, and chordal accompaniment was rare.
This album is not currently available as MP3 download, but you can buy the CD. The links on the left is for the CD.
Since no MP3 previews are available for this album, here are couple of examples of Noel Hill's playing from a De Dannan album:
Randal Bayes and Joel Bernstein (Celtic)
The music on this album is almost completely Celtic, yet the album's namesake is Pigtown Fling (also known as Stony Point, Wild Horse at Stoney Point, Fiddle and Banjo) which is the name of an American fiddle tune. Rather odd indeed, an American tune name for a Celtic album ... but get over that! There's precision, punch and delight in these entirely engaging performances, plus impeccable tone and timing!
Randal Bays is a true musician's musician, a fine Celtic fiddler, an excellent finger-style guitarist, and notably, the guitarist on Martin Hayes' first album. Bays plays fiddle and guitar on this album. (Yes, he overdubbed guitar, but by the rollicking spirit you'd never guess!)
Joel Bernstein is an truly amazing multi-instrumenaltist, playing concertina, harmonica and banjo. He gets such a remarkable sound from his harmonica, at times you'll think he's playing his concertina. (Don't miss his collaborations with Ruthie Dornfeld on Ways of the World.)
Sligo Maid/Dowd's #9/The Boys of Tulla 
— Preview/Buy Album: Pigtown Fling —
Patrick Ball (Celtc / O'Carolan)
OK, it's not a fiddle album. In fact every track is solo harp, but it's a great introduction to the music of Turlough O'Carolan. For those unfamilar with the man and his legacy, he's a famous, blind Irish harper and the composer over 200 tunes — many of striking beauty. These tunes are favorites of coutless instrumentalists. You'll hear them played on fiddle, guitar, pipes, whistles, piano, even orchestra. Numerous guitarists have created remarkable arrangements, for example, listen to Pat Kirtley's arrangenent of Planxty Irwin
Patrick Ball beautifully fashions O'Carolan's tunes on his steel strung harp. If you see him in concert you bound to enjoy his music and lore, as Ball is also an expert story teller.
More about O'Carolan at this Wikipedia entry: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Turlough_O'Carolan
Bluegrass Fiddle
Michael Cleveland (Bluegrass / Old-time)
Michael Cleveland was Rhonda Vincent's fiddler for a number of years, and small wonder. He is one of the best backup fiddlers in bluegrass. On Flamekeeper, his first solo album, we're fortunate that he included some songs where we can here him weave his magic.
Cleveland plays lots of old-time tunes, but in his hands there's always a that extra drive and bluegrass detail. He really burns 'em up!
Bryan Sutton (Fiddle: Tim Crouch)
Bryan Sutton's 'Bluegrass Guitar' album hosts plenty of hot fiddle. The repertoire culls many tunes from the old-time repertoire. The overall sound is definately bluegrass, with lots solo trading throughout.
Byron Berline (Bluegrass and Old-time)
Byron Berline's a truely versitile and meticulous fiddler. He's a crackerjack bluegrass fiddler, who played with Bill Monroe. He's a three-time Grand National Fiddle Champion at Weiser Idaho, which means he's know a piece about Texas-style fiddin'. He's well steeped in old-time, however he usually adds a progressive edge. and peppers his recordings with variation and a shake of off the cuff innovation. No surprise them that he's also a skilled tunesmith.
He's an excellent improvisationalist, capablel in a wide rage of styles, from country to swing, which served him well as in numerous bands as a popular LA studio musician. He was close friends with the Dillards and recorded with them and the crossover bands Poco, and The Flying Burrito Bros.
Double Trouble is a duet ablum with just fiddle and banjo, featuring John Hickman, so you get to hear Berlin's fiddle up close and personal. Here are a couple of examples:
My favorite ablum of his is Dad's Favorites ... unfortunately this is not available presently on Amazon.
Though the bulk of his performing and recording was with traditional musicians and progressive tranditionists, due to his creativity versatillity Berline crossed LOTS of musical boundaries. Can you name other old-time fiddler who recorded with Bob Dylan, The Rolling Stones, Rod Stewart, The Eagles, The Byrds, The Doobie Brothers, The Band, Alabama, Manhattan Transfer? That, and his occasional use of full drum sets, was sure to ruffle feathers of the purists.
Additionally Berline wrote so many tunes, it musta been hard to find a band or album to properly showcase them. Most of Berline's ablums contain two or three originals. My favorites are Huckleberry Hornpipe and Birmingham Fling and Fall Creek
In homage, to the right is a link to his aptly names album, Outrageous, where each track is a Berline original. Some tunes are great, others not quite as memorable, but I think you be impressed with the caliber of musicians who like to keep company with Byron Berline.
Hats off to a fiddler with seemingly endless energy, who excelled equally in live performance and recording, and whose crossover creativity surely introduce many ears to their first fiddling delight.
Rhonda Vincent (Hunter Berry, fiddle) (Bluegrass)
Great Album!
There are a few songs that are particularly fun to improvise with, such as One Step Ahead of the Blues
Rhonda Vincent and the Rage (Bluegrass)
Rhonda Vincent and her band are at their best on Lonesome Wind Blues ... and it's great recording to improvise with.
If you're not real fast with your scales yet, use some slow down software, and play an A blues blues scale with this track: 1 b3, 4, b5, 5, b7. It'll work through the whole song. That's right, A blues even though the song is in the key of C. (The C chord structure makes the A blues scale sound like a C relative blues scale: 1,2,b3, 3, 5, 6. Ya don't need to understand that, just have fun!) You can throw in a little C blues for extra twang, especially when wrapping up a verse or chorus.
I'm a big Rhoda Vincent fan, and if you ever get a chance to see her live, do so! That said, of her many albums this is not one of my favorite.
Alison Krauss and Union Station (Bluegrass and beyond)
Capable of achieving heights in traditional, bluegrass and Texas-style fiddling. Alison Krauss is a trail blazer, somewhat of a bluegrass expatriot (in the positive sense of the word) who has created a modern sound, playing mostly new songs, with a traditional bluegrass performance style and instrumentation.
New Acoustic Music
David Grisman (DAWG/ New Acoustic Music)
'New acoustic' music really got started with David Grisman's DAWG. This is the David Grisman Quintet's first and, I think, most powerful album. There are great tracks on other albums, but this one is strongly engaging throughout.
It's bluegrass instrumentation adapted to a new form of music — the driving energy and innovation of gypsy swing, but a more modern sound overall, mainly Grisman's own compositions.
Darol Anger (New Acoustic Music, and beyond.)
Darol Anger is a true pioneer of 'new acoustic music' and he was the fiddle voice in the David Grisman Quintet for many years.
Aside from setting a standard of excellent in ensemble performance, Darol is all about fiddle rhythm. He overhauled Richard Greene's innovative notion of rhythmic fiddle accompaniment, refining and elevating it to a whole new level and vocabulary. Darol wrote the manual on being rhythmic with fiddle. He's the guru and grand master. Listen to the beginning of Melt The Teakettle
Darol's Chops and Grooves DVD demonstrates and teaches lots of 'chop accompaniment' styles, based on the techniques that he developed. This is a really a fun DVD to watch, with hot fiddle by Casey Driessen and 'chop cello' by rockin' Rashad Eggleston.
Darol teaches improv and licks for playing blues fiddle in the DVD to the right. Check it out. He's really a thoughtful teacher.
Gypsy Swing (Parisian Swing)
Django Reinhardt & Stephane Grappelly (Gypsy Swing)
This is the real thing. Recordings from the 30s and 40s, of the Hot Club of France, where it all started.
And yikes! 51 classic cuts of the Hot Club of France (a double CD set) for under $17! That's 59 cents per track for a peek at a truly historic collaboration!
Hot Club of San Francisco (HCSF)
Paul Mehling has got it goin' on. The legend and the fire lives on in the HCSF. Make a point to see the Hot Club of San Francisco live next time they appear at Yoshi's.
The future of Gypsy Swing is in good hands with Evan Price. He plays with verve, precision and On earily ablums you hear Julain Smedley on fiddle.
Connie Evingson (Gypsy Swing)
What a voice! Early swing songs with a 'hot club" gypsy swing edge.
Gypsy swing was founded largely on American jazz songs of the 20s and 30s ...but rarely were they sung! Here's a chance to here a compelling voice render them midway between the American origin and the Hot Club of France.
$6.99!!!
Django Reinhardt & Stephane Grappelly (Gypsy Swing)
Yikes! 51 classic cuts of the Hot Club of France (a double CD set) for under $17! That's 59 cents per track for a peek at a truly historic collaboration!
Not yet available in MP3
Not yet available
on Amazon
Joe Greene (Bluegrass/Texas style)
This is truly one of all-time my favorite fiddling albums. Joe's always out to smoke it, and he invariably make lots of commotion, but you never a speck of effort. If you want to here somebody nail it, and then pour on the variations, Joe's your guy.
Joe Greene's fiddling is a unique blend of bluegrass and Texas-style ... but perhaps that's largely due to the context, with some bluegrass-style solo sharing, and Scruggs style banjo back throughout, Joe's Texas edge get bluegrass-ified, and to good effect. (I only wish we could hear the fiddling on this album with Texas backup. That would surely be one of my favorite Texas style albums!)
This album was one of my early listening favorites, so it warmed my heart when — after being out of print for three decades, it became available again! It's amazing what goes out of print!!! Anyway, now that Joe's back in circulation, his fiddlin's likely to increase yours ... no kidding. Great cross-country driving music.
Sorry to say, Joe Greene's other available album, twin fiddling with Kenny Baker, is not nearly as compelling.
Cattle in the Kane
Katy Hill
Kingsport (Temperance Reel)
Salt River (Salt Creek)
Dusty Miller
Favorite Fiddle Tunes | Theoretically Correct home page