Best of the Welcome Columns


Best of the Welcome Columns

Author: Alston, Ed
Fusion Happenings

This ramble won’t advocate anything. Whether and how bluegrass should evolve or expand are topics that interest me, to be sure. But there’s little or nothing I might add to the insightful opinions of numerous learned CBA message board contributors over the past couple of months. Today I’ll merely share a few random examples of lately observed musical fusion. About a week ago I was listening to XM’s weekly “Track-by-Track” bluegrass show. DJ Kyle Cantrell was interviewing Steve Martin & the Steep Canyon Rangers, as he played each track of their fine “Rare Bird Alert“ album. At one point Kyle probed into Steve’s early development as a banjoist. Steve told about being inspired by a pop/rock instrumental tune from the early 1960s, which prominently featured a banjo’s chords. On the spot, Steve couldn’t remember the number’s title. So he proceeded to hum a few bars. That didn’t help Kyle identify the tune. However, I instantly recognized it as “Washington Square,” performed by the one-shot Village Stompers in fall of 1963. Unfortunately I was driving and couldn’t respond to Kyle’s suggestion that some listener then and there e-mail him that info…maybe some other CBAer did so? What I recalled most about “Washington Square” from my rock’n’roll-crazed youth was that I’d never before heard such a compelling example of musical genre fusion. In this case it was folk combined with dixieland jazz…a delightful blend of banjo and saxophone, among other instruments from those two genres. I later noted some irony, when Kyle played SM & SCRs’ bluegrassed version of Steve’s clever 1970s pop/rock novelty tune, “King Tut”. Talk about musical genre fusion! I wasn’t thinking about fusion last Monday evening when I listened to TED -- acronym of band members’ first names -- an Orange County bluegrass trio playing in San Luis Obispo. TED’s repertoire proved to be heavily, almost exclusively traditional bluegrass. One notable exception struck me: “It Doesn’t Matter Anymore”. Younger readers may recall Linda Ronstadt’s 1970s hit version. But we geezers know well that pioneering rock’n’roll genius Buddy Holly sang the original version….which reached #13 on the rock charts a few weeks after his untimely death at age 22 on Feb. 3, 1959 (“the day the music died,” as Don McLean later sang). Buddy’s original version reflected something of a musical genre fusion, though I didn’t really notice until years later. Prior to release of “It Doesn‘t Matter Anymore,” so far as I’m aware, no other rock’n’roll hit song had ever incorporated the sound of violins. Sure, mainstream pop songs often featured violins, And country songs famously sported fiddles. But music historians all seem to agree that no pre-1959 rock song included the sound of a violin. [However, many historians overlook Buddy’s historic innovation, and instead point to the Drifters’ release four months later (June 1959) of “There Goes My Baby,” as the first rock’n’roll hit to feature violins. In any event, the rock music production floodgates thereupon opened to the silky sounds of satiny strings. One possible explanation for slighting Buddy‘s song: It was written especially for him by Paul Anka, one of pop music‘s royalty…hence some historians may view the song as more pop than rock.] Anyway, for TED to render a bluegrass version of “It Doesn’t Matter Anymore” gave me pause. But, as much as I’ve always liked Buddy’s original version, and tend to favor traditional bluegrass, I gave TED high marks for making their blended rendition work. I’ll surely seek out their next local gig….to hear that very song again, if nothing else. Fusion wasn’t much on my mind Tuesday, either, when I noticed Del McCoury’s band was to perform on Dave Letterman's show that evening. After all, Del’s band is well known for its adherence to traditional bluegrass sounds. Whoops! It happened that Dave had slated the New Orleans Preservation Hall Jazz Band to play together with Del’s group. Hard to imagine any more momentous musical genre fusion! To make a long story short: It worked! See for yourself the two bands' uniquely blended version of "I'll Fly Away" posted on youtube.com -- http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vZflO132rEg&feature=player_embedded In a way, the Village Stompers may have presaged this New Orleans jazz/bluegrass fusion. Courtesy of amazon.com,, I just perused the track listing for their “Washington Square” album. It includes a number of popular folk songs from the early 1960s. But the title to track #4 stunned me: “Blue Grass”. Two words, but still. Where fusion may take bluegrass (or vice-versa), I can’t say. But after hearing Del combine with the N.O. Jazz Band, I was just as pleased as I was upon first hearing Snap Jackson & The Knock On Wood Players perform. If this means that Bluegrass’s Big Tent has grown, I’m okay with it.

Posted: 7/21/2011