Strings Across Genres brings together a diverse array of artists, from the bluegrass legends like Bill Monroe and Earl Scruggs to the innovative sounds of Bela Fleck and Tony Trischka. The banjo weaves through each genre, from Celtic to jazz, creating a rich tapestry of melodies and rhythms. You’ll discover the echoes of legends like the Pegram Family Album and León Gieco, blending traditions and stories into every strum and pluck.
Strings Across Genres
A banjo’s twang snakes through bluegrass–its tempo brisk, melodies intricate, themes unyielding. Bill Monroe’s ensemble births this auditory tapestry, Earl Scruggs’ fingers orchestrate a new dialect of strings. Folk channels tales and social critiques, Pete Seeger stages the banjo in protest’s theatre, his weavings of tradition thread through melodies of justice.
The Celtic lore marches with bagpipes and the banjo joins its parade. Gerry O’Connor strums legends and nature into vibrant tunes, intertwining strings and lore. Early jazz, vivid with New Orleans’ brassy blasts, once clasped the banjo close. Johnny St. Cyr’s rhythm anchors the Dixieland age, standing out like a tempo lighthouse – until guitars steal away the light.
Shadows of Sound
Argentine folk dances with landscapes and tales of peasant life. The banjo, an infrequent guest, adds a twist to the sound portrait, an unexpected brushstroke in an acoustic tableau. African roots pulse within the banjo’s fashioning. The banjar and banza echo through time, birthing rhythms of call-and-response, now whispering anew through modern African fusions.
Bela Fleck emerges, folding jazz and banjo into a supernatural duet with Chick Corea. Cross-cultural whispers ripple in “Aguas de Marco”. Tony Trischka swaps solos, mingles fiddle and mandolin around the banjo’s string dance. Ron Block’s clawhammer style strikes a tune, “Bum Ditty” echoes through mountains and folk fiestas alike.
Legends and Strings
The Pegram Family Album cracks open, rustic echoes of “Good Ol’ Mountain Dew” spill forth, a mélange of voices and strings under a ten-gallon hat. The timeless twang envelops, circles back to origins, nostalgia etched in each strum. Larry Mathis joins brothers Bailey on stage with Charles and Danny, as cycles spin through echoes of bluegrass past.
León Gieco bridges continents, singing with Pete Seeger across borders, the Argentine’s voice resonates with threads from the American revival. Julian Winston’s anecdote from the Bronx presents Harry and Jeannie West, collectors of more than instruments, dealers in notes of cultural essence.
Echoing Legacies
In the realm of Allmusic, the Cheap Suit Serenaders embellish history with clawhammer flair. It’s a nod to yesteryears, a trio of albums threading banjo strings through early 20th-century ballrooms and jazz halls. The melodies linger, tap to the rhythm of history, whispering tales and strumming legacies in quiet persistence.
Just without strident fanfare, strums carry stories, melodies meander continents, and banjoists etch their essence on untrodden paths. The strings are neither bold nor subtle. They simply are–resonating history, spinning tales woven from notes, never quite what is expected yet always present.
Tracklist :
Guinness World Record Todd Taylor Fastest Banjo
Todd Taylor held the Guinness World Record for fastest banjo—210 BPM playing “Dueling Banjos” solo in 2007. He set and held the record until surpassed, earning Grammy nods and inspiring South Carolina to name “Banjo Day” in his honor .
Steve Martin, Bela Fleck, Tony Trischka Banjo Hdtv The Crow
Steve Martin’s “The Crow: New Songs for the 5‑String Banjo” (2009) includes the virtuosic title track featuring Bela Fleck and Tony Trischka. Blending bluegrass with flair, the album won the 2010 Grammy for Best Bluegrass Album .
Making The Oilcan Banjo
“Making the Oilcan Banjo” shows the crafting of a homemade banjo from an oil can. This DIY folk instrument tradition dates back to early Appalachian roots—visual demos abound.
Ron Block Banjo Dvd
Ron Block is a noted banjo player (of Alison Krauss & Union Station) and has released an instructional DVD—focusing on traditional and modern bluegrass techniques—widely used by advancing players.
Bum Ditty For Clawhammer Banjo
Aguas De Marco On Banjo