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Five banjo players
will be our first Features on TheBanjoMan.com. Billy
Faier and Peggy Seeger are living treasures. Lynwood
Lunsford is our first bluegrass banjoist. Emerging
artists are Brian Anderson and Fred Simon. This ongoing
series will present a who’s who of banjoists,
past and present, bands, luthiers, academic institutions
and teachers, collectors and businesses.
We’ll
be adding a new feature about every two weeks.
Get to know your banjo players! Features include
a biography, a tune in Mp3 form to hear, the music
and tablature to learn to play it––Know,
Hear, Play!
BILLY FAIER
Billy first came to my attention through Pete Seeger’s book How to
Play the 5-String Banjo and his book, The Goofing Off Suite,
a book of transcriptions from Pete Seeger’s 10 inch LP so named. Billy’s
extraordinary playing paved the way for many urban banjo players, and along
with Pete Seeger influenced many. Four of his albums, The Art of the Five
String Banjo, Travelin’ Man,Banjo, and Banjos, Birdsong
and Mother Earth are evidence that Billy has been one of the most
creative and innovative banjo players for many years, far ahead of his time.
Only a fraction of the tunes he’s written or arranged are available in
recorded form. He tells me at least another 50 have been written! They need
to be heard. I encourage everyone to visit Billy’s website, www.billyfaier.com,
and then contact him telling of your appreciation and desire to see that these
pieces are recorded. The banjo world can take heart also in that Billy is writing
out his banjo tunes and arrangements (among them the Prelude to J.
S. Bach’s third Partita for Solo Violin, BWV 1006 in E), which will preserve
the knowledge of how these pieces are played. Fiddle Tune is Billy’s
contribution. The tablature is his own. Listen and learn.
PEGGY SEEGER
Peggy’s banjo playing is intriguing and individualistic. I’m pleased
to report that she’s recently been playing and recording more banjo!
We at The Banjoman.com are highly honored to engage her participation. TheBanjoMan.com,
with The Aeolian Harp are promoting her house concert, being the first of many
live concerts. Like Billy Faier, she is a living treasure and has contributed
a wonderful legacy of recorded music over her career since the late 1950’s.
She is spoken of highly in her half brother Pete Seeger’s book, How
to Play the 5-String Banjo. Her method book, Peggy Seeger––The
five string Banjo American folk styles was published in 1960. Both books
served as early tutors for me. I first heard some of her LP’s about 1965.
A large legacy of her recorded music, much with her playing the banjo, can
be found on her website, www.pegseeger.com. She’s
Coming Home, as yet unreleased (it will be on the third disc of her Home
Trilogy CD series), premiers on thebanjoman.com, with the music and tablature.
Have fun learning to play it! Her concerts are a rare treat. If she’s
playing anywhere near you, go see her!
LYNWOOD LUNSFORD
Lynwood Lunsford has had plenty of professional banjo playing experience, notably
as Jimmy Martin’s banjo player, and also with several other bands.
He now performs with his own band, The Misty Valley Boys, who can
be found on the web at www.llmvb.com.
He has offered The World is Waiting For the Sunrise, a pop standard
often played by plectral banjoists. Lynwood told me “It was one of
my late grandfather’s favorite tunes to play on mandolin and when I
recorded it, I tried to play it as closely to his version as I could.” This
arrangement is in the key of C and there’s a lot to learn from it,
both about presenting a melody in the bluegrass banjo style, and Lynwood’s
outstanding rendition of the tune. Tone, timing, expression. It’s all
here.
BRIAN ANDERSON
Brian lives about 10 miles away from me and has gained national attention as
the winner of the Winfield banjo contest in 2005. He’s highly regarded
by the likes of Scott Vestal and Bill Evans as you’ll see in his biography.
His first CD, Brian Anderson––The New Generation features
12 original compositions showcasing his creativity. His CD is available for
$15 plus $2 for postage and shipping costs.�� Contact him at: BrianAndersonMusic@juno.com
Mozambique Rag is in
G minor (g), but uses standard G tuning (gDGBd).
I’m pleased to present Brian as our emerging
American. Enjoy listening to and playing through
this one, which is not too daunting a task for the
intermediate to advanced player.
FRED SIMON
Our international guest artist, Fred Simon is a native and resident of France.
His innovative and versatile banjo playing will be a treat for all. Dansayon is
Fred’s original composition. I learned of Fred only a short time ago
through Rod Newland, an expatriate Englishman now living in France, who wants
to learn some classical banjo. Fred is a versatile musician, who plays jazz,
bluegrass, Celtic and classical music. His album Camel Ride––Ange
du Désert can be obtained through TheBanjoMan.com––see
our new section by clicking on Shop.
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