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JanetB - Posted - 01/26/2018: 09:33:26
Quaker Girl is a tune title, as well as a CD title. When you listen to Tony Ellis’ original tunes you hear good old-time music. You might not know by listening to this slow and easy tune that he’s also a rapid-fire 3-finger picker, was tutored by Don Reno, among others, as a teen, and worked for Bill Monroe as one of his Bluegrass Boys at the age of 20. Tony received backstage tutoring from Earl Scruggs as well at the Grand Old Opry and learned from him the importance of putting melody in the music, as well as using syncopation.
Originally from North Carolina, after two years traveling with Monroe from 1960 - 1962, Tony Ellis stopped playing professionally and began college, family life, and a career in earnest. He continued to play banjo and fiddle in Nashville. Moving to Circleville, Ohio for his job found him isolated from the musical life he’d known, so he began playing by himself at the kitchen table over coffee, as he said, using double C tuning to compose many of his tunes, as well as single C, F, and modal G. He tenderly remembered his grandmother’s frailed and 2-finger picked banjo. Writing new melodies that sounded old was his goal, remembering that he had promised himself not to copy Monroe’s sound if he continued and formed his own band. He says the music he wrote spoke to his soul.
Tony and "Granny"
Stephen Wade was instrumental in producing some of Tony’s CDs once he became aware of the beautiful tunes. Through Stephen’s last track on his new CD Across the Amerikee (Cherry Blossom Waltz) I became aware of Tony.
His band is called Tony Ellis and the Musicians of Braeburn, named after a farm in Scotland. It includes his wife, Louise Adkins, and son, Bill (William, named for Bill Monroe). These days Tony doesn’t perform much, but likes to fiddle around with fiddles in the shop at his home. He’s a great fiddle player, too, by the way, which you’ll see if you watch the LOC video, linked below. He confesses sneaking his sister’s violin into the barn as an 8 year-old to figure out how to play.
Legendary banjo player Steve Martin interviewed Tony in the Banjo Newsletter, July 2011 interview . He related how upon hearing the Tony’s tune The Wild Fox, Steve was inspired to noodle around in double C tuning and eventually wrote the well-known tune The Crow. Steve asked Tony about Quaker Girl:
“BNL: Well anyway, I immediately wrote my tune The Crow, just fooling around in double C. And so my new banjo career was off and running. But I’m thinking of songs like Quaker Girl that has such a beautiful melody. It’s the kind of song you can sit around and play all day.
TE: Well, it’s a simple melody, but it’s sort of a pretty little melody.
BNL: Right, and it has an unusual twist in it. It goes to the minor chord. And you played that on a fretless, and you down-tuned, right?
TE: Right, it’s tuned down low, with nylon strings. And I played 2-finger style, it sounds almost like frailing. That was a technique that Don Reno showed me, the 2-finger style that sounds a little like frailing.”
This hour-long Library of Congress video lets you see and hear Tony and his family band. You can also hear a solo performance of a TOTW back in October, 2008—Cherry Blossom Waltz. The Ohio Arts Council documented his life story here: Interview with Richard Baker and at 15:06 he plays Quaker Girl 2-finger style, apologetically saying it’s “simple, don’t expect much,” but that it’s warm-sounding and has a distinguishing minor note.
Tony’s son, Bill, said, “His touch on the banjo is very different from other banjo players, it’s orchestral in a way….My dad thinks of the banjo as a little orchestra….Play every note like it’s the last note you’re going to play. Put feeling in it.” At the end of the day his dad is a composer. Here’s an interview with Tony's son. Tony says he liked parlor music of the 1800’s—beautiful, classical music. His grandmother played beautiful lullabies. And in this interview with Tony by Marc Fields he was in rehearsal with Earl Scruggs, Steve Martin, and Pete Wernick for “The Great American Banjo: A Conversation with Music.”
“Marc Fields: What images or feelings does the banjo evoke in you? When you hear a banjo…
TE: Probably the first image that comes to mind when I think of the banjo early on was my grandmother playing for me at bedtime. Instead of getting a bedtime story, I’d say “Granny, get the banjo” and she’d play a pretty little piece on the banjo for me to have to go to sleep with. So I have very wonderful, early memories of the banjo. Then of course Earl Scruggs. Don Reno. These wonderful banjo players that I was so lucky to have in my life, one time or another. So all these things come to mind, all these people.”
Tony has definitely played with some of the best and IS one of the best. At age 78 he’s not performing so much, but still likes jamming and working on fiddles and playing them. I’m grateful he was accessible to ask questions and friendly as well.
My tab is for clawhammer, but you can find Tony’s 2-finger tab in his book The Banjo Music of Tony Ellis. Here is a nice slow example of it from Tobias: 2-finger picking of Quaker Girl. Listen to an old-timey banjo (sounds like a fretless) played by BHO member vrteach: Quaker Girl played by Erich Schroeder.
I’ve taken to learning several tunes by Tony Ellis and haven’t stopped yet. You can hear them on my website and find tabs under a separate heading for him, too: mybanjoworld.com/tony-ellis-tunes.
JanetB - Posted - 01/29/2018: 23:42:58
Thanks for listening, Cyndy, and finding the tune that Quaker Girl reminds you of. I felt the same gentle folksy spirit in both tunes.
I heard from Tony and in his words "the Quaker Girl tune was written with a simple melody in a finger & thumb (two finger) style that might reflect another time in banjo history. Steve Martin likes the tune a lot and plays it very well. It seems to be an enjoyable tune that is easy to play."
Originally I had wanted to cover Cherry Blossom Waltz because it has already become one of my favorite all-time tunes. Here's information I would have presented that would have enhanced the original post (banjohangout.org/archive/130292). Perhaps one day TOTW will open up to doing "seconds" on past tunes. There are six versions on BHO of Cherry Blossom Waltz, but only one of Quaker Girl. I hope that changes!
In Tony's words: "Thanks again for your interest in my tunes. Regarding Cherry Blossom Waltz - in mid 1989 my son and I were contacted by the Ohio Arts Council in Columbus, Ohio and were asked to come to a meeting made up of some people from Suzuka Circuit ( an amusement park and formula one racetrack in Japan, similar to Disney World) there were several other musicians from individuals to one larger group - The Ohio Village Singers. We all took our turn at a few tunes doing whatever we did and had a great time. About two months later I received a call from Tim Lloyd (OAC) to notify us that we were chosen to go to Japan in March,1990 for a month of playing at their venue. We did 55 hour long shows and some other side activities such as playing games in an ice arena with Japanese children - getting acquainted with these young folks so as to make them grow up with good memories of Americans. It was an amazing experience! Knowing we would be going there I wanted to write a tune to honor our hosts so I began working on a tune in late 1989 and had it pretty much ready by March, 1990 except for a name. When we arrived in Japan the Cherry trees were just beginning to blossom and while there they came to be in full bloom. Hundreds of mature cherry trees in full bloom were stunningly beautiful so I named the tune 'Cherry Blossom Waltz.' I played it in D so my son could use a low D bass string for effect. It was published with Merrywang (Stephen Wade) as were many of my tunes."
Edited by - JanetB on 01/29/2018 23:44:11
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