ramblin - Posted - 12/07/2014:  14:55:40

I was recently thinking about this - just because...  and posted one tune from each on youtube...  in no particular order:

Walt Koken

Dan Gellert

Pat Conte

I did post about it on my website, which you can read if you like: donegone.net/?p=363 , and you can read a little bit about why I like them, or you can just talk about who your three are and why (something I actually like hearing about). I do like a lot more than three, but long lists can be such a drag! :)

banjobrewer - Posted - 12/07/2014:  15:11:52

Riley Baugus
Chris Coole
Adam Hurt

If you asked three weeks ago the list would look different, as it will three weeks from now. These just happen to be the one I am hooked on now. It would be tough to bump Baugus of the list. Just something about his style and voice.

J-Walk - Posted - 12/07/2014:  15:24:17

Impossible choice, but here's what comes off the top of my head.

Richie Stearns

Chris Coole

​Dan Levenson 

mdthib - Posted - 12/07/2014:  15:31:05

My favorites:

Richie Stearns
Riley Baugus
Adam Hurt

You didn't ask for four, but I always enjoy watching YouTube to learn the basic versions of tunes Dwight Diller plays.

ramblin - Posted - 12/07/2014:  15:32:20

I understand about the rotating nature of the list... two of my favorite players are Ray Alden and Mike Seeger, who moved rather recently and all too soon into "great banjo players of the past"...

blockader - Posted - 12/07/2014:  15:51:40

Kirk Sutphin

Dan Gellert

Donald Zepp

R.D. Lunceford - Posted - 12/07/2014:  15:52:14

Dan Gellert
Adam Hurt
Me...because I am the only one that
plays tunes *exactly* how I like to hear them!!!

zac987 - Posted - 12/07/2014:  16:23:20

Don Borchelt

Chip Arnold

Adam Hurt

(If I could pick a fourth, it'd be Jason Romero)

In no particular order. They each embody different OT textures that I really love. Adam is my favorite 'clawhammerist'. He gets those sweet sounds that I normally only hear from finger style banjo playing. Jason is a triple threat, and he can play pretty much any style very well.

Edited by - zac987 on 12/07/2014 16:28:37

davidbragger - Posted - 12/07/2014:  16:40:12

Dan Gellert

​Kirk Sutphin

Paul Brown

All three are ultimate masters of style, repertoire, mojo, downbeat, blue notes, etc. They are hardcore traditionalists who have done their homework and taken the art form forward by simply being themselves. Most importantly they play the banjo (and fiddle) with a sense of power and intricacy that doesn't succumb to the modern melodic, film score sound that I personally am not too fond of. When these three play and speak, we should all listen.

I hope I'm not the only one that feels this way about them. They are definitely three of the great masters, IMHO. So good, that I lump them right in with all my favorite dead guys like Wade, Dink, Fred, Tommy, Hobart, Steele, Jenkins and many more!!!!  

--David

chip arnold - Posted - 12/07/2014:  16:53:17

Thank you, Zac. Very proud to be on your list.

Blackjaxe47 - Posted - 12/07/2014:  17:10:03

Living "Old Time Banjo" players......hmmmmmmmmmmm.

Jason Romero

Adam Hurt

Chip Arnold

dpalmer - Posted - 12/07/2014:  17:31:11

I would list:

Richie Stearns, John Herrmann, and David Winston.

And in the lesser known category: Mike Fleck and Brian Slattery.

DanP.

frailin - Posted - 12/07/2014:  18:11:46

Nice

JanetB - Posted - 12/07/2014:  18:30:10

Adam Hurt
John Herrmann
Mac Benford

+ many more!

R. Blakeslee Gilpin - Posted - 12/07/2014:  18:33:07

Gellert, Herrmann, Hurt.

Oh but I likes Pat Conte SO MUCH!

Edited by - R. Blakeslee Gilpin on 12/07/2014 18:33:52

Mtngoat - Posted - 12/07/2014:  18:41:59

George Gibson

Cyndy - Posted - 12/07/2014:  19:02:17

Dan Gellert. And, really, my list could just stop here.

Jonas Friddle. When he's playing solo.

And the third slot is still open.

Fairbanks - Posted - 12/07/2014:  19:40:14

I really like Adam Hurt, Reed Martin, and Walt Koken. I am sure there are other really fine players I have yet to even learn of. Wait until FRAILIN finishes this next amazing project! I can't wait!

Paul R - Posted - 12/07/2014:  23:17:32

Too many to list, so I'll restrict it to actively touring Canadian-based pickers I've seen live (in alphabetical order):

Chris Coole

​Frank Evans

Jason Romero

Emiel - Posted - 12/07/2014:  23:51:07

Art Rosenbaum

​Cathy Fink

 

We had this before. What is oldtime?

Are Kendl Winter, Erin Inglish, Abigail Washburn oldtime? Probably not, though they do clawhammer a lot... (not that oldtime is clawhammer exclusively...).

By the way, men been mentioned exclusively up to now...

Edited by - Emiel on 12/07/2014 23:52:24

Bill Rogers - Posted - 12/08/2014:  00:12:26

Walt Koken

​R.D. Lunceford

Tie:  Jim Ruth  and  ​Lukas Poole

oldwoodchuckb - Posted - 12/08/2014:  02:06:12

Holding me down to three is setting a task that would fry my brain. Now if anyone would care to ask about my 30 favourite old time players - I think I could manage that with only minor burns around the edge.

As to living - for as long as anyone listens to Clarence Ashley, Dock Boggs, Shortbuckle Roark, Uncle Dave Macon, Mike Seeger, and a few dozen others, they are still very much alive.

UncleClawhammer - Posted - 12/08/2014:  02:23:07

Cathy Barton-Para

Walt Koken

Tie: John Cohen/Tom Paley

My main beef with most contemporary old-time players (if that's not too much of an oxymoron) is that they don't sing very much.

plunknplinkntwang - Posted - 12/08/2014:  02:53:03

Dan Gellert, Riley Baugus, Clifton Hicks

but also

Mac Traynham, Franklin George, Dwight Diller,

and also

and also

and also

and also

and also

and also....

jduke - Posted - 12/08/2014:  03:32:25

I doubt I could narrow it down to just three, but David Holt would be sure to be on my list.

GMB - Posted - 12/08/2014:  06:10:52

John Balch

Jason Romero

Adam Hurt

Zischkale - Posted - 12/08/2014:  06:53:55

Can't really beat your list, though I do plead ignorance to Pat Conte--will need to check him out. Also judging by this thread, I need to open my ears up to Adam Hurt. 

Thanks for posting, I'm really enjoying your post and site in general, can't believe I hadn't heard of it before. You really nail Dan Gellert's Black-Eyed Suzie!

Clawdan - Posted - 12/08/2014:  07:49:20

Tom Riccio, Richie Sterns and Mark Olitsky. Course I also like Bob Carlin and even me! HA LOL!

Thanks for a mention of me here.

Dan

Viper - Posted - 12/08/2014:  08:09:08

All mine have been listed, but not all together ... 

Mark Olitsky, Dan Gellert, John Herrmann 

Twangmeister - Posted - 12/08/2014:  09:13:37

I'm going to go with

Dan Levenson - I learnt from his book.

Frank Lee - Stumbled on a Youtube video of his, loved his bluesy style and bought his Homespun DVD.

Joel Mabus - A recent thread (very quickly locked) featured J-Walk linking to an old blog of his where he gave a shout out to Joel's Banjo Monologues cd. I had a listen to clips and downloaded it from Amazon. I really love his style of playing as well as all of his stories. Thanks J-Walk!

Andrew

FRAILER57 - Posted - 12/08/2014:  11:32:00

David Holt

Mike Snider

Bruce Molsky

​Mike Snider was mentored by Grampa Jones, and many others.He's funny as all getouttahere!

​David is teamed up with Laura Boosinger  (angel voiced and also a great picker) and Josh Goforth. They put on a great show. 

Bruce, ---- What can I say? Fantastic fiddler, and picker.It's just like sittin' in the parlor with him .

Edited by - FRAILER57 on 12/08/2014 11:45:51

robinja - Posted - 12/08/2014:  11:46:39

As a fiddler, I love the way these three play with fiddlers:

Frank Lee

John Herrmann

Mark Olitsky

DoubleG - Posted - 12/08/2014:  13:49:14

Richie Stearns

Frank Lee

Mark Olitsky

Don Huber - Posted - 12/08/2014:  15:48:23

To keep things lively, I'll add three names not mentioned:

*Brad Kolodner...one of the best young banjo players to come along since...
*Lena Ullman...a Swedish banjo player living in Galway. Every note she plays rings with passion.
*Jeff Miller...Missouri's finest banjo player who moves effortlessly from OT to BG. No wonder Rhys Jones, Jim Lansford, and Chirps Smith have included him on their recording projects.

Dock Jekel - Posted - 12/08/2014:  16:26:31

Lists of players like those listed above are an interesting source to find new names to check out on I-Tunes....

Jason Romero did such a great job playing back up banjo on his album Back Up And Push.  I listen to those tracks a lot recently.

Players like Tom Sauber and Bruce Molsky are absolutely 'crazy' good at multiple instruments, banjo included! 

I really admire JD Lunsford's clawhammer sound; 'brushy', 'precise', 'earthy' (beverage descriptions?)

Perhaps Bob Carlin deserves... even more credit...  for his contributions to great clawhammer banjo recording.

Is Adam Hurt is a machine?, can he make a mistake? (Hey Adam, : )

Have you ever heard Bob Flesher play Cacklin Hen?  He won the Galax competition only... what?... 8 times?

But if I were to make any deals with the devil... I might sell it all to sound like Fred Cockerham playing Reuben!  or Wade Ward doing just about any tune!

Marc Nerenberg - Posted - 12/08/2014:  17:07:41

Taj Mahal - Though he only has a tiny banjo recorded output, his playing in it is just great. Since I encountered it in my formative years as a banjo player, it's probably been the biggest single influence on my own playing.

Dan Gellert - I'm not alone in finding him the finest living exponent of old time banjo playing.

Stephen Wade - His playing is so tasteful and varied , and he's an absolute fountain of information.

Claude-Hammer - Posted - 12/08/2014:  17:22:29

Great topic!

Today it's Frank Lee, maybe Bertram Levy, and how can you not just love Riley Baugus? This list is always in flux and I LOVE a number of other players already mentioned.

Dock Jekel - Posted - 12/08/2014:  17:33:06

R.D. Lunceford (sp.) 

orangikan - Posted - 12/08/2014:  17:57:11

The main name I would add to all the fine players already mentioned: Tim Bing. Here's a little bit of why: youtube.com/watch?v=4aZB5LuKlao

The other name I would add is Nathan Bowles, mostly because of this: paradiseofbachelors.com/premie...-round-up

Great thread!

J-Walk - Posted - 12/08/2014:  18:28:29

Ah, Tim Bing! That is probably my all-time favorite banjo video. 

ScottK - Posted - 12/08/2014:  21:09:06

To Emiel's point that women seem to be under-represented on this list, here's a bunch of living female old time banjo pickers that I like (some local to Portland and unrecorded):  Hanna Traynam, Lisa Alcott, Amy Hofer, Steph Noll, Martha Thompsom, Kim Johnson, Maxine Gerber, Gabrielle Macrae, Maggie Lind, Candy Goldman, Maya Whitmont, Laura Boosinger, Gail Gillespie, Lynne Piper, Cathy Fink, Janet Burton, Leela Grace, Evie Ladin, Sara Wood, Elizabeth Laprelle, Molly Tenenbaum, Carla Gover, Abigail Washburn, Kendl Winter.  I'm hard pressed to pick three favorites from just this list, but at the moment I'd probably call it Molly Tenenbaum, Evie Ladin, and Gabrielle Macrae.  But that would probably change frequently depending on who I'm listening to or playing with at the moment.  :-)

ScottK - Posted - 12/08/2014:  21:37:19

I don't think I could pick just three favorite living old time banjo players.  Too many great players out there all with distinctive styles.  I love just about everyone who have been mentioned so far.  Reed Martin and Dan Gellert are pretty high on my list.  A few more that I like a lot that I didn't see mentioned yet (or not often):  Brad Leftwich, Joe Newberry, Rafe Stefanini, Taylor Grover (Foghorn), Charlie Beck (Tallboys), Bret Ratliff, Matt Kinman, John Haywood, Randy Wilson, Travis Stuart, Jimmy McCown, Howie Bursen.

Three favorites on a more personal level:

Bill Boyer, because he's the banjo player I get to play fiddle with most often, though sadly not often enough.  (My fault, working too much.)  Besides that, he's a great picker.

Brendan Doyle, because I love to stumble upon him in hallways late at night at festivals when he's engrossed in a fiddle-banjo duet jam with some great fiddler.  Always great to listen to.

Johnny Fitzpatrick, from Seattle's Porterbelly and formerly from Nettle Honey.  I love his fluid driving style of clawhammer.

Scott

pastorharry - Posted - 12/09/2014:  01:27:22

Patrick Costello
Jerry Van Dyke
Taylor Swift

Bill Rogers - Posted - 12/09/2014:  03:09:42

quote:

---

Originally posted by pastorharry

Patrick Costello

Jerry Van Dyke

Taylor Swift

---

twelvefret - Posted - 12/09/2014:  04:25:05

Jim Pankey

youtube.com/watch?v=MdOr-OfyXNU

Clyde Davenport

youtube.com/watch?v=kzOJLcQEWCA

Adam Hurt

youtube.com/watch?v=HuMIh1-_yiM

droppedthumb - Posted - 12/09/2014:  04:25:13

glad to see tom riccio turn up in the list! :D he's a fave of mine too for good old raw power playing.



love reed martin for sheer virtuosity and crazy vision well beyond the reaches of clawhammer.



dan gellert is awesome.



but y'know-- sitting down and playing with new folks, i swear-- every time i sit down with people i don't know, i find new 'favorites'. most times, i don't listen to banjo players consciously though.. i'm a banjo player, i'm supposed to listen to the FIDDLER... :D

Edited by - droppedthumb on 12/09/2014 04:25:47

JanetB - Posted - 12/09/2014:  05:48:10

Ed Britt

daveh - Posted - 12/09/2014:  05:55:12

Scott Killops!!! You go young fella.

oldwoodchuckb - Posted - 12/09/2014:  11:37:48

Part of my problem with coming up with a list is that I don't tend to have absolute favourites. My list of Favourite Movies is currently at about 675 titles! I disguise it as my list of1000 Movies That Every Movie Buff Ought To See - but the fact is they are just my favourites.

But I can tell you who was the biggest influence on my playing - - - - Ritchie Stearns. He was a teenager when I first ran into him circa 1978. I was born in 1945 - you do the math, I'm too old to figure it out. Teenager he may have been but Ritchie was already an amazingly creative musician with a tremendous amount of drive. He has learned a lot since and is now one of the finest all-round musicians I've ever met.

Is he my favourite to listen to?

No. Ritchie's musical tastes, while they do include OTM are very wide - as are my own, but other than OTM we have almost nothing in common. While I can appreciate his playing, I really don't enjoy listening for very long.

I know Adam Hurt is a big influence here, and I can appreciate him too. However, I find his playing mannered and fussy and again don't wish to listen to him very often or for very long. This is not a value statement but one of 'Taste'. He is a great clawhammer banjo player - but not to my taste.

Bruce Molsky is another banjo (and fiddle) giant - but I find his Kingston Trio sounding versions of Old Time Songs quite annoying. So I only have his instrumental tunes on my chief listening device - my old Macbook which is in my bedroom and serves as my giant iPod when I want to hear OT, Big Band Swing, Central/South American music, Torch Songs, late 60s Rock, Larry Vincent doing songs that were considered smutty when I was a toddler in the post-war 40s, or any type of music other than Classical - for that I use the full stereo and CDs - no mp3s no iTunes etc. I want absolutely full fidelity from my Beethoven, Bach and Brahms. To say nothing of my Gesualdo, Monteverdi, and  Buxtehude.

 I like Bob Carlin's playing and think he is a major talent, but rarely play any of his CDs - his style is just not my style. 

Ken Perlman is an incredible musician but I'm only in the mood for Melodic Clawhammer occasionally. I do love to hear him live, and wish I could still get out to one of his rare local appearances.

So who do I listen to?

RD Luncefort is one of the few living banjo players I frequently turn to, along with Fox and Winegar, but there are others - I just can't think of them off-hand. Listening to play lists is similar to listening to radio but there is no announcer to tell you what just played, and over time I forget. I really spend a lot of time with the Old Dead Men as they are sometimes called - Clarence Ashley, Dock Boggs, Buell Kazee, Tommy Jarrell, Fred Cockerham, etc. As I said earlier - for as long as people listen, they are not really dead.