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What do you think are the best J.D. Crowe moments?
Yesterday, I learned the solo from “I’m Walkin” off of the J.D. Crowe & The New South record. Crowe always has a magical ability to play standard Scruggs licks, but syncopate/vary them in such interesting ways. This solo is a great example of this, and it caught me off guard: I had to really turn my ears on to capture the nuance and timing.
With this in mind, I’d like to go learn more solos in this vein. Any suggestions?
You might take a look at the J. D. Crowe sticky in other banjo related forum as it has several videos of J.D. playing and several discussions about his style.
Go here: banjohangout.org/topic/380083
The first song of his that really stuck out for me is the opening break on "I'll Talk It Over With Him". When people talk about playing with "drive" I think of that break.
youtube.com/watch?v=CbURhvveMs8
I also really like his 2nd break on Blueridge Cabin Home. It sounds like quintessential JD to me.
youtube.com/watch?v=7uN2MZGX7H0
Great all around, but this lick was so good that someone told the cameraman to focus on the banjo.
;^)
youtu.be/gK0iMLvCfFM?t=103
Back in the early Seventies, I put a lot of miles on my car driving back and forth from Cincinnati to Lexington to see J.D. at the Red Slipper Lounge in the Holiday Inn North. Occasionally, I would take my tape recorder and plug it into J.D.'s PA. I shared some of those recordings with some of my old friends, and a few of the recordings have made their way onto YouTube. One of my favorites is "Sittin' On Top Of The World". J.D. plays a neat lick at the end of his last break, but he does something else that demonstrates his subtle sense of humor. At the 2:35 minute mark of the recording, Tony Rice flubs his G-run; check out what J.D. does at the 2:40 mark.
Edited by - RB3 on 01/25/2025 09:43:58