The second Edinburgh old-time jam was held at The Tass Bar, Royal Mile, Edinburgh on 6th April (it's held on the first Tuesday of each month from 9-12pm). It was a great success, and on this occasion the four regulars (banjo, fiddle, guitar, mandolin) were joined by some quality guests. Sandy and Alison made the trip from Glasgow and delighted us with great
songs and tunes on banjo (nylon-strung), mandolin and guitars. Gordon Reynolds from local bluegrass outfit Okefenoke joined in on a few standards; a fellow named George Touchstone from Boston asked if he could play with us and showed us some of the material he plays with his group back home, (The Dixie Butterhounds - any of you out there?). We were also approached
by some Appalachian clog dancers who were very happy to be able to dance to live music for a change. The other pub clientele were very appreciative, and I felt that the evening was a huge success, and will get better.
Here's a list of the tunes that were played at the session:
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Clutching At Straws: Monthly Old-Time Jam at The Tass Bar, Edinburgh
Tuesday 6th April 1999 (in order of playing)
Cherokee Shuffle (D)
Liberty (D)
Nail That Catfish to a Tree (G)
Bully of the Town (song)
Great Big Taters in Sandy Land (A)
Angeline the Baker/Arkansas Traveller (D)
Mazurka Seychelloise
Yellow Barber
Valley Forge
Mole In the Ground (song, D)
The Storm Is On the Ocean (song, C)
28th of January (A modal)
Kitchen Girl (A modal)
Sunflower Dance
Betty Likens (A modal)
Cluck Old Hen (A modal)
Old Joe Clark (song, A)
Wild Rose of the Mountain/June Apple (A)
Whistlin' Rufus
Liza Jane (A)
Benton's Dream (A)
Brown's Dream (A)
Shenandoah Falls
Sandy River Belle (G)
Hell on the Wabash/Seneca Square Dance (G)
I'll Fly Away (song, G)
Flowers of Edinburgh/East Neuk of Fife (G)
Turkey In the Straw (G)
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The third Edinburgh old-time jam was held at The Tass Bar, Royal Mile,
Edinburgh on 4th May (it's held on the first Tuesday of each month from
9-12pm).
Again, it was a successful evening. Sandy and Alison once more came
through from Glasgow, while Ray Stewart (banjo) came down from Aberdeen,
and some good Edinburgh musicians came along too. This gathering is
becoming an important one for old-time music in Scotland; participants
often look as if they've come upon an oasis after crawling through the
desert.
Here's a list of the tunes that were played at the session:
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Clutching At Straws: Monthly Old-Time Jam at The Tass Bar, Edinburgh
Tuesday 4th May 1999 (in order of playing)
Mississippi Sawyer (D)
Angeline the Baker (D)
St Anne's Reel (D)
Liberty (D)
Wolf Hill (by Ray Stewart)
Devant ta Porte (song)
Sunflower Dance
Over the Waterfall (D)
Shooting Creek
Quince Dillon's High D (D)
Dust In the Lane
Seneca Square Dance (G)
Cherokee Shuffle (A) [1]
Little Log Cabin (song)
June Apple (A)
Salt Creek (A)
In the Shadow of the Pines (song)
Salt Creek (another version)
Classical banjo piece
Bill Cheatham
Hot Corn, Cold Corn (song)
The Big Sciotty (G)
Bluegrass Mountain Home (song)
Willow Creek
I'll Fly Away (song)
Nail That Catfish to a Tree (G)
Betty Likens (A)
Possum Up a Gump Stump
Untitled
Durang's Hornpipe (D)
Ruth's Rag
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[1] We usually play this in D, but fiddler Ray showed us it in A.