Rob MacKillop - Posted - 04/07/2014:  08:48:09

These are two tenor banjo pieces, published by A. J. Weidt in 1921. He was one of the great tenor banjo pioneers who had previously written and played the 5-string. I recorded these on a great Deering tenor on my album: cdbaby.com/cd/robmackillop2

Here they are on cello banjo. They are great fun to play, though I almost never made it to the end of Monday Morning Blues...Well, it was in fact a Monday morning...

Hope you like them.

VIDEO: Blue Stocking - AJ Weidt - Cello Banjo (click to view)

VIDEO: Monday Morning Blues - AJ Weidt, 1921 - Cello Banjo (click to view)

trapdoor2 - Posted - 04/07/2014:  09:19:07

Well, you already know I am a Weidt fan...and a MacKillop fan. Hard to beat that combination!

I really like how Weidt seems to capture the essence of his time. The progressions and cadences all evoke the early part of the century. "Monday Morning Blues" really sounds so much like a generic TPA tune that, if you didn't know better, you could assign it to Berlin or Von Tilzer or any of the usual TPA suspects and nobody would question it.

Well done. You continue to produce emotional and evocative performances via sensitive use of dynamics and hidden tonalities...on an instrument that is often decried for lacking the same.

Rob MacKillop - Posted - 04/07/2014:  09:24:09

Cheers, Marc. I've forgotten what TPA stands for!

Rob MacKillop - Posted - 04/07/2014:  09:26:41

Tin Pan Alley! Doh!!!

G Edward Porgie - Posted - 04/07/2014:  10:41:23

As usual, some expressive playing. I do, however, feel that both of these sound better on a standard tenor banjo. That growling of the 'cello banjo evokes the bear's discovery of Goldilocks. Was she, perhaps, wearing blue stockings?

CGDA - Posted - 04/07/2014:  12:03:33

I feel these tunes as two nice examples of a late ragtime..."Monday Morning Blues" seems more a ragtime than a blues, to my ear. That's only my irrelevant remark in front of your masterful rendition. It's a pleasure to see how much you enjoy this syncopated rhythm!  Exactly what I expect from a bluesman like you.

The unusual tone of the cello banjo sounds someway uncanny: I would like to play one of these vitaminized tenors...

You did a great job, as usual!

Marco

Edited by - CGDA on 04/07/2014 12:04:15

Rob MacKillop - Posted - 04/07/2014:  12:45:30

George - it is not a question of better or worse. This is the one I had to hand. It just sounds different, and I was just having fun, not making any claims about it being better than a tenor. I enjoyed playing them on the tenor also.

Marco - some people really make Monday Morning Blues swing, which helps bring out the jazz element. But, like you, I detected a rag influence, so I tried to bring that out. You are clearly a genius for noticing ;-)

RUBY2 - Posted - 04/07/2014:  13:37:08

Awe inspiring as always Rob.

I do love that Cello banjo.

Monday morning blues is Amazing and if it wasn't for the 'playing Twister' with the left hand I'd pick that to learn next. I might try one of his others however. 

Great to see you  playing banjo again  Rob.  :-)

Debs - Posted - 04/07/2014:  13:45:09

That cello banjo sounds great in your hands!

Rob MacKillop - Posted - 04/07/2014:  13:48:45

Thanks, Richard. Thanks, Debs. I love this style of tenor banjo playing, though it can be difficult. And cello banjo playing is much more physical, in a way, than regular tenor playing. All good wholesome fun, though!

G Edward Porgie - Posted - 04/07/2014:  15:05:27

Rob, I think you've misinterpreted my comment. I'm not claiming one version is unquestionably better than another, I was stating MY opinion only. I did say, "I... feel" not "I'm the tenor banjo cops, and you're under arrest!"

My only other comment is this: Doesn't the fact that these are being played an octave lower put these in the baritone range, instead of the tenor? Music professors everywhere might have fits if you refer to these as "low tenor" (not that I'd object to seeing a few of the pedagogs I've been subjected to writhing about and foaming at the mouth).

Rob MacKillop - Posted - 04/07/2014:  15:35:14

Ha, don't worry, George. As for "low tenor" - it is being played here as a tenor banjo, but at a lower pitch. That's all I meant. 

Paul Roberts - Posted - 04/09/2014:  17:24:26

I have one of these octave tenors and I appreciate how masterful what you're doing here is. The string spacing is quite wide, which gives a hefty reach for the left hand. 

The wound nylon strings and low tuning imbue these pieces with a nice relaxed feel. Also, you convey your enjoyment of playing these tunes, and that rings through your sound.

Rob MacKillop - Posted - 04/10/2014:  00:03:58

Thanks, Paul. You're an amazing player on these beasts yourself. 

Dogface - Posted - 04/10/2014:  15:32:43

Rob, mi Amigo, you are a consummate musician and I always admire your skills...it's just that try as I might I just cannot seem to enjoy cello banjo music... I wish I could ;) Thanks for posting this anyway... Guess I'm just trapped in a box of some kind..

Rob MacKillop - Posted - 04/10/2014:  23:06:15

Ha, don't worry, Mark. If I ever make an LP, you can play it at the faster speed, so it sounds an octave higher - and super fast! 

G Edward Porgie - Posted - 04/16/2014:  13:45:58

If you do produce that LP, do you recommend 45 RPM or 78 RPM for getting that octave higher sound?

It can be fun speeding up or slowing down records. My brother and some of his friends slowed a Dolly Parton tune down once, and had everbody believing it was Glen Campbell doing the singing.

Sometimes I wonder if Harry Reser recorded things at a lower speed so they'd be faster on playback. If I touch a hot stove, my reflexes won't move my fingers as fast as his usually did, and I have a good reaction time.