Bluegrass

Mando Greats! The Harrisburg Mandolin Ensemble

Kayla

Current-Line up for HMEKicking off the new year, Mandorichard spoke with fellow mandolin player Henry Koretzky, a member of The Harrisburg Mandolin Ensemble. Koretzky and Mandorichard discussed the band’s origins, the history of the mandolin and the instruments that each member of the band plays. Their shared love of the various instruments in the mandolin family produces sounds closely related to bluegrass and jazz music.

In this interview, Koretzky sheds some light on the mandolin and its role in American orchestral history along with other facts about the band. Check it out below!

Photo courtesy of The Harrisburg Mandolin Ensemble: (L-R) Greg Rohrer, Pete Netznik, Kevin Neidig (front), Henry Koretzky, Tom Cook

The Interview

Henry Koretzky of The Harrisburg Mandolin Ensemble, Recorded live on WVUD, Jan. 5, 2016; Host: Mandorichard
33:22
32M

The Music

Artist Song Source Year
Harrisburg Mandolin Ensemble Something Snappy Recorded Live Oct. 4, 2015, at Delaware Nature Society’s Harvest Moon Festival  2015
Harrisburg Mandolin Ensemble Flatbush Waltz, Natasha’s Waltz Recorded Live Oct. 4, 2015, at Delaware Nature Society’s Harvest Moon Festival  2015
Harrisburg Mandolin Ensemble Waterbound Demo @ Harrisburg Mandolin Ensemble Website   2011
Harrisburg Mandolin Ensemble Moonflowers Demo @ Harrisburg Mandolin Ensemble Website   2011

 

Russ Barenberg: Musical Dualities

Sarah
Russ Barenberg

Russ Barenberg

Today on the Music Room, we talked to Russ Barenberg, described by songwriter Jon Weisberger as “perfectly blend[ing] a mastery of roots music tradition with melodic originality.”  His music is exceptionally lyrical, relying primarily on composition rather than tempo to provide the energy, and incorporating various genres and instruments.

This energy and collaborative spirit carries over into his own life.  Starting in 1970 on the guitar with the bluegrass group Country Cooking in Ithaca, NY, by 1977 he’d joined the electric string band Carried Away on the electric guitar, and in 1979 moved to Boston and joined the triple fiddle band Fiddle Fever, but not before recording his debut solo album Cowboy Calypsocalypso.

While he settled in Nashville by 1986, he has only continued traveling, visiting workshops throughout the United States and Europe as a teacher and educational author, and he has participated in Transatlantic Sessions, an international collaboration by artists in both the US and Europe, produced in Scotland, and producing TV episodes, live performances, and series albums.

Speaking of television, he also did extensive work in Ken Burns features, including the critically acclaimed film The Civil War, and his most recent solo album When at Last, with the single “Little Monk,” nominated for a 2008 Grammy (Best Country Instrumental Performance).

 

The Interview

Russ Barenberg
(Recorded live, September 15, 2015; host, Mandorichard)
21:36
20.7 MB

The Music

Artist / Song / Album / Year / Notes
Russ Barenberg / Cowboy Calypso / Cowboy Calypso / 1979 / (Excerpt in podcast)
Jerry Douglas, Russ Barenberg, & Edgar Meyer / The Travels of Mr. Hulot / Skip, Hop, and Wobble / 1993 / (Excerpt in podcast)
Russ Barenberg / Halloween Rehearsal / Halloween Rehearsal / 1987 / (Excerpt in podcast)
Russ Barenberg / Magic Foot / Moving Pictures / 1988 / (Excerpt in podcast)
Russ Barenberg / When at Last / When at Last / 2007 / (Excerpt in podcast)

(Note: Due to copyright considerations, the podcast contains excerpts of the music included in the full radio program.)

The Railsplitters: The faster they go!

Richard Gordon
The Railsplitters: Dusty Rider, Christine King, Leslie Ziegler, Lauren Stovall, & Peter Sharpe (l. to r.)

The Railsplitters: Dusty Rider, Christine King, Leslie Ziegler, Lauren Stovall, & Peter Sharpe (l. to r.)

The Faster It Goes, The Railsplitters‘ newest CD, starts off with a lively roller-coaster of a song co-written by our guest tonight, the band’s bassist Leslie Ziegler, with the band’s banjoist, Dusty Rider. So we started the interview by taking a ride on “Tilt-a-Whirl,” then welcomed Leslie to the show.

Leslie’s appearance on The Music Room was timely because The Railsplitters are appearing Sunday, September 6, at the Delaware Valley Bluegrass Festival. She was a gracious guest and shared a lot of insight into The Railsplitters’ song-writing, meeting in Colorado, and varied musical and geographic backgrounds.

What a lively and innovative bluegrass band they are. Tempo changes, hot chops and tasty licks, powerful vocals, stellar instrumental work, a camaraderie that comes through on every track, and even five-part harmony–great stuff. Listen to the interview, then get your hands on their CDs. You will not be disappointed.

The Interview

Leslie Ziegler of The Railsplitters (Recorded live 9/1/15)
30:30
29.3 MB

The Music

Artist / Song / Album  / Year

The Railsplitters / Tilt-A-Whirl / The Faster It Goes / 2015

The Railsplitters / Planted on the Ground / The Faster It Goes / 2015

The Railsplitters / Spray / The Railsplitters / 2013

The Railsplitters / Room at the Top of the Stairs / The Railsplitters / 2013