Paul Roberts - Posted - 01/13/2016:  19:36:28

A few of me  got together for a multi-track jam, on an adaptation of an old Yemenite folk dance tune. Cello banjo, nylon-strung banjo, and a cittern strung like a banjola. Double C. Cheers.

Gypsy Banjo Band

Laurence Diehl - Posted - 01/14/2016:  08:22:22

Wow. Great stuff Paul - really enjoyed the ensemble sound, thoughtful arrangement and stellar playing!

guitarman8491 - Posted - 01/14/2016:  09:54:35

Paul..very nicely done..the few of "you" sound great. Very creative!

JanetB - Posted - 01/14/2016:  10:21:29

I admire your recording abilities, and of course your playing and creativity as well.  I can picture some folk-dancing to this one....

Paul Roberts - Posted - 01/14/2016:  11:14:16

Doug and Janet, thanks very much for your kind words.

Laurence ~ to receive this kind of affirmation from the artist I've long considered the hangout Heavyweight Champ is more than enough to get me back in ring to push the record button.

In the introduction to my interview with Laurence Diehl, five years ago, I wrote:

Laurence Diehl is a musician’s musician whose ability to play the banjo in so many genres - from his original compositions to bluegrass, jazz, rock, blues, and beyond - is widening the perception of where it’s possible to go on the instrument. An exceptionally talented banjo and guitar player, Laurence toured for many years playing in bands that covered a wide range of musical genres.

Laurence is highly accessible to musicians throughout the world because the place he enjoys sharing his music and communicating with others is on the Internet. No longer constantly hitting the road as a performer, Laurence’s chosen creative domain is the premier banjo website Banjo Hangout. There he posts his music and communicates with musicians from beginners to professionals, encouraging them to cultivate the many creative possibilities of the banjo. Laurence Diehl stands out as a brilliant musician and a magnanimous role model in today’s banjo world. 

You can read my interview with Laurence Diehl here: banjocrazy.com/articles/diehl_1.shtml

Laurence Diehl - Posted - 01/14/2016:  11:29:53

So nice of you Paul, if anything I said encourages you to once more hit the record button then my work is done. Rock on!

Paul Roberts - Posted - 01/14/2016:  13:41:19

Thanks again, Laurence. The Internet still amazes me, with our ability to instantly show our work to others and get feedback from those share our interest - all from the sanctuary of one's own home. As a former touring artist, I know you appreciate this too. 

Banjophobic - Posted - 01/14/2016:  14:46:23

That's some great playing, both you and the ensemble! Gypsies should start  using banjo from now on,,,

Paul Roberts - Posted - 01/14/2016:  17:56:14

John, much appreciated. Your comment spurred some research. I found out that Django Reinhardt's first known recordings, made in 1927, were of him playing the banjo and guitar. He had spent most of his youth in Romani encampments close to Paris, where he started playing violin, banjo, and guitar.

So that I don't get in trouble with any real Gypsies, I go with the definition of a "free-spirited person", something I've always wanted to be.   

rickhayes - Posted - 01/14/2016:  17:58:01

Enjoyed it Paul.  Now if we could only get the folks in Yemen to start dancing instead of fighting.

Paul Roberts - Posted - 01/14/2016:  19:02:40

Doesn't it go something like,

... and they shall beat their swords into plowshares, and their spears into banjos: nation shall not lift up sword against nation, neither shall they learn war any more. Instead, everyone will dance and sing in celebration of God's creation.

At least that's the way I remember it. Sorry, Isaiah, if I jumped too far off the track, but I just can't pass up an opportunity to be a pitchman for the banjo, one of mankind's most powerful weapons for peace and goodwill.  

robmac07 - Posted - 01/14/2016:  19:12:37

Great arrangement Paul. Years ago I used to be an avid Short wave listener and Ham radio operator. I remember stations with music that had that sound. It had a mystery of far away cultures and magic places. This was well before the internet of course.