And a Happy and Peaceful New Year to you all!

Contents: IFS Archives – editorial - Keltic Konnections – Jethro Tull review – Dar Williams revisited – KFK December

IFS ARCHIVES

We are trying to complete the IFS FolkNotes Archives. If anyone has a full set of the FolkNotes -- all of 1993, 1994 and 1995 -- the Board would like to borrow them and Xerox them so that we can have one complete set. We hope to digitally scan all the early issues, in order that complete sets would be available on CD.

We promise to return them in the same condition we receive them. If you have any of the missing issues, please contact Carol (053) 850098 or Larry (053) 801202.

--Carol

Editorial - Psst, Is He Toting an Accordion? and Is He Really Going to Play it?

Did you hear the one about the driver who left an accordion in his vehicle on a street in Harlem! When he returned, he found that the car had been broken into and, horror of horrors, there were now two accordions inside.

Aside from the quality of the alleged humor in this anecdote, it is nonetheless noteworthy that there are certain individuals in this here folk community who tend to look down their noses at accordions. Not you, of course. Although these people tend to mumble and shift from foot to foot when confronted with the legitimacy of the accordion as a true folk instrument, they can’t help exuding an aura of contempt. Why? Well they don't rightly know.

Now I will be the first to concede that there are much more important issues with which we have to deal these days. You will all therefore be delighted to know that a certain Mr. Gittelson has loaned me such an instrument of late. So, sooner or later, you all will be subjected to the bellows of my accordion as it were. Gird up your loins! “Larry's got a squeeze box, folks!” (Gee doesn’t that really cheer you up now?)

Actually, accordions and their relatives are not unknown among us. Sandy Cash plays an English concertina, which works on the same technical principle as the accordion. And if you really want to get picky, so does the harmonica. Of course in this latter case air is blown onto vibrating metal strips with the mouth. In the case of the concertina and accordion, the air is pumped via bellows and passed on to various metal reeds, which are selected with keys or buttons.

In all seriousness, the accordion has been a folk instrument for centuries throughout Western and Eastern Europe. I have heard many an Irish folk song played on an accordion. When I was a child, I heard many a sea shanty from many a land with accordion accompaniment. All of us are familiar with the folk tunes of the Balkans played on accordions. Via Russia, the accordion came to this country with the early Jewish Pioneers. Indeed, for the first few years of the existence of the State of Israel, all of the popular army musical groups accompanied their music with virtually nothing but accordions. I recall hearing that one of these groups, the Nachal Troop group, did some serious soul searching before they finally let a guitarist into their midst. Can you believe it! This situation persisted in Israel until the late sixties.

At the time of my Bar Mitzvah in 1963, I wanted, and received, an accordion. That was my idea of getting a life (ed. note – poor tragically afflicted soul). So now you all know how long I've been playing, and I'm pretty darn good if I say so myself (which I do.) Now at that time, there were lots of accordions in the music stores of Haifa where I lived. There were great big ones and little teeny weensy ones. There was one model called a “Lady”, which had some sort of device on it called a clapper. I have no idea what it did, but it sounded obscene to a 13-year-old. I wound up receiving a huge old-fashioned one, which wasn't entirely to my liking because it didn't have enough controls on it -- even then I wanted bells and whistles. People, I have a dream! I dream that some day; I will own such an accordion. Yea, recently the spirit moved me to seek out just such a gem. But just to show you how the times they are a-changin’, when I went poking around a few music stores in Jerusalem, I couldn't find one solitary accordion, not even a stripped down used model. Ain’t it a shame that the instrument, which was the backbone of modern Israeli folk music, has virtually disappeared?

Like any instrument, an accordion can be misused and abused, like when I used to play rock music on mine (although Lucy in the Sky didn't sound bad.) When properly played, by myself for instance, an accordion can be soft, harmonious, alluring, yea positively sexy! Oh you doubt, do you! Oh ye of little faith, beware! For someday, in the near future, you will see (and hear) for yourselves. (Cackle, cackle) I’m coming soon, to a folk club near you!

--Larry Gamliel (with a little help from his friends)

Keltic Konnections

"What's the single most common misconception about Scottish music? That it's Irish!" commented Paul Jennings (the drummer for Old Blind Dogs) in a recent North County Times interview.

Scottish music really has its own sound. Amazingly, San Diego County is home of the Highland Games and host to the Black Watch and just full of Scots. I'd like to share some of my favorites with you.

Old Blind Dogs. Venue: Oceanside Public Library. This is a band that started its current tour in the Kennedy Center in NY and it can stand on its own, either as an instrumental or as a singing band. We chanced upon their music in the early 90's whilst in Scotland and their tapes have always been among our most frequently played. We were a little nervous when we learned that 3 band members had been replaced and African drums added; but we weren't disappointed in any way. Their other main instruments include bagpipes, low D penny- whistle, and other pipes, citterns and guitars. Their music features smashing fiddling and harmonies by veteran Jonny Hardie while the lead singer, Jim Malcolm, captures all the buoyancy and spirit of the earlier group, singing originals and traditionals in Scots and Doric dialects. Greeeat! Well worth a listen and now Green Linnet Records has picked them up. Highly recommended: The World's Room, (GLCD1201). They're on websites such as www.stoneyport.demon.co.bio/obd98gigs.html and they were interested to know there are folk in the know in Israel.

Men of Worth. Venue: A Methodist Church in Encinitis. If singing with the instruments is your thing, you're gonna love Men of Worth. One laddie from Ireland (Jimmy Keigher), one from Scotland (Donnie Macdonald), together they make a very big sound accompanied by banjo, mandolin, accordion, bodhran and 12 string guitar. They do traditional music, whimsical music and I loved their treatment of the contem- porary dilemma of being "an exile" -- facing mixed emotions of attachments to roots long severed in a place far away. Not sappy sentimental, but very "right on" songs. My recommen- dation is a CD/tape called In Full Flight (Mahog Music MMCS203). Not their latest, but it had those songs I loved the most on it. One of their websites is: www.menofworth.com They also expressed interest in Israel as part of a tour. Check them out.

Alasdair Fraser. Venue: Antique Tall Ship anchored in San Diego harbour. Alasdair is an understated, virtuoso fiddle happening, what can I tell you. He must be soof an international treasure, being a storehouse of traditional tunes, and he writes his own tunes as well. In the end he had everyone following him and his singing fiddle up the stairs from the belly of the ship onto deck for proper dancing, as the music always intended. Fraser records for Culburnie records and worth a listen is Return to Kintail recorded with guitarist Tony McManus. Check out www.culburnie.com for more information.

All of these performers had good humor and warmth on stage and off.

There were a lot more, and virtually all good, but those are my top three picks in this category for now. I especially love the small venues and the under $20 tickets (sometimes at a bargain $6!). It's truly amazing>.

--Judi Ganchrow

From “Farewell Philip”

THEY’RE OLD AND I’M OLD, BUT I DON’T FLAUNT IT - Jethro Tull In Concert

I suspect that even the most purist members of the folk community have heard of Jethro Tull. During the Seventies they were widely regarded as one of the most dynamic and inno- vative of "progressive rock" groups. Their sound incorporated many musical strains, from electric hard rock and blues, to acoustic guitars with more than a trace of Celtic influence, not to mention the all-pervasive flute of the group’s leader Ian Anderson. Jethro Tull’s influence may be seen today on such local groups as Black Velvet, Celtic Camel, Essev Bar and Blue In fact, this last group opened for Tull during their recent visit to Israel.

Jethro Tull perhaps does not command the popularity, which it enjoyed during its heyday. But a loyal cult following still exists as demonstrated by the turnout for their three performances in Tel Aviv and Haifa. While I am not a Tull fanatic, and although the tickets were not cheap, I allowed my arm to be twisted by my friend Marcie to attend one of the shows with her.

So what did I see? For one thing there was the group's guru, Ian Anderson, trying to deal with middle age with grace and humor. I am told that what he has lost in the length of his hair has been well counter balanced by the gain in his circum- ference. Indeed, he and guitarist Martin Bar are all that remain of the original group. It is chilling to think that at least two of the members have passed away. Thus, of necessity, the sound has changed. Most notably, the organ has evolved into a full-fledged synthesizer. I'm not sure I liked that. Be that as it may, the instrumen- tation was superb. The group was tight during a performance consisting of many old favorites and some new material. Personally, I found the recent stuff less inspiring than the material of their glory days, but that may well be my subjectivity creeping in.

What is not subjective but rather a plain sad fact is that Ian Anderson; the voice of Jethro Tull, no longer has a voice. Marcie and I were both despondent that this once appealing, distinctive and unique voice is a mere husk of its former self. There is no getting around it: his nasal rasp and whine set my teeth on edge, to say nothing about his frequently singing offkey.

This is a total shame, especially since his flute playing has never been better. What a dichotomy! The newer material was apparently written to take his current voice limitations into account, so I suppose it didn't sound so bad. In fact it contains exotic and oriental influences with which Philip Griffin would have felt quite at home.

And yet, despite the ardent support of the cultists in the audience, some of whom literally were beside them- selves, I came away with the sad conviction that Jethro Tull is a faded, jaded emblem that has not stood the test of time. Unless Ian can get his voice in order, or find a substitute, I think they should leave well enough alone.

--Larry Gamliel

Ofer Golany

Cry, Cry

Seven Years is definitely too long to stay away from the old country, but I couldn’t have picked a better time or region to visit if one has a love for folk music.

Just to give you an idea of how popular folk is in the Baltimore/Washington area, these are a few of the concerts I missed in the short time that I was there: Bob Dylan, Ani De Franco, Tom Paxton, Hot Tuna, The Nields, David Roth.

I did manage to catch Lucy Kaplansky, John Gorka, Dar Williams, Christine Lavin and a wonderful trio, Modern Man. This article will talk about two of the concerts, those that featured 2/3s of the folk supergroup Cry, Cry, Cry - Lucy Kaplansky and Dar Williams.

The Lucy Kaplansky and John Gorka concert was held in an old church in Baltimore (the original venue was the JCC in Baltimore, go figure).

Apparently the venue was as strange for the performers as for me since they both commented on the fact that they were playing in a church. Kaplansky, mentioned her Jewish heritage, then said, “What the hell, let the show go on” and was quickly flustered at mentioning hell in church.

Lucy is known to most of us for her great harmonies in Cry, Cry, Cry, and teaming up with the likes of Hugh Blumenfeld and Greg Brown. Well she is no slouch on her own. Dressed in black and armed with an acoustic guitar, she held the audience spellbound with country influenced songs from her solo albums. When she performed a medley of Cry, Cry, Cry material, with John Gorka filling in for Richard Shindell it was pure magic.

John Gorka is a one of the new age folkies who have been around for a while. On the album Tribute to Pete Seeger that was recently critiqued in FolkNotes by Jill Rogoff, John covered the song The Water is Wide. His writing is very urban, very crisp, and very powerful. He has a wry sense of humor and obviously enjoyed himself on stage. His pleasure was only surpassed by the pleasure of the audience. The evening was 3 hours of folk at its best.

After 10 days of Mom, Dad, aunts, uncles, brothers, sisters-in-laws, cousins, nephews and nieces I was definitely ready for another concert. (I also remembered why I made aliyah).

To say that I was psyched to see Dar Williams is a bit of an understatement. Her sense of humor, simple melodies and sensitive lyrics make her one of the most respected and popular artists in the folk world today.

The concert was held at the Berkshire just outside of Washington D.C., one of the great folk venues in the East Coast. Opening for Dar was a young man who was harmless enough but not dazzling enough that I remember his name. A Josh Something from Canada played some nice acoustic music.

In last month’s review of Dar in concert, Judy was surprised and disappointed by the electric guitar. Though Dar’s earlier albums were acoustic, Williams’ album End of the Summer was very electric and she rocked.

I am not sure of their names, but the band consisted of a drummer, an excellent guitarist who also sang harmony, and a woman bass player who added tremendously to the evening.

Like Judy I sat up front in this very intimate venue, unlike Judy I had no problem hearing the vocals and I totally enjoyed her perfor- mance. In particular I appreciated the fact that she told the history behind all of the songs.

For an encore the band played a twenty-minute version of Iowa followed by a second encore of Williams alone with an acoustic guitar playing The Babysitters Here. Personally, I was enthralled from the first note to the last and Dar with or sans band is invited to the Karmiel Folk Klub whenever she is in the area (Syria, Iraq, Lebanon, whatever).

-- Larry Rosenfeld

Joanna & Harold

Shay Tochner Turns 50, Part II

Shay Tochner has been celebrating his birthday for years at the Tel Aviv Folk Club. With the usual array of great talent, all the folkies in Gush Dan get to enjoy Israel’s best.

Well Shay finally put the show on the road and brought some of that great talent up North. After eight years of begging, crying and threatening, Shay played the Karmiel Folk Klub.

The evening opened with Rahel Jaskow singing and accompanying herself on guitar. Rahel showed her professionalism when there was a break in the middle of the set due to someone passing out. After he came to and was given a clean bill of health from MDA, Rahel fiher set as if nothing had happened. There is no doubt that Rahel has one of the most beautiful voices in Israel’s folk world.

Shay started the second half with a guitar solo doing what he called some sophi- sticated guitar picking. Well after about 30 seconds, he had the audience eating out of his hand and kept them there all night long.

Joanna Katzen then joined Shay for a few duets. This was the 1^st time that we have had the pleasure of hearing Joanna. She was a true delight and I am sure that the folk community will be enjoying her talents for a long time to come.

Then Moni Arnon joined Shay for more than an hour of nostalgia from the 60’s and 70’s. As someone in the audience noted, it takes two Israelis to bring the best of American music to Karmiel.

At the end of the evening Rahel and Joanna joined Shay and Moni for some of the best sounds ever to grace the KFK. No one can harmonize like Rahel, and with Joanna bringing it all together, the audience was so mesmerized, we even forgot the jokes told by Shay earlier in the evening.

-- Larry Rosenfeld

Milestones:

Happy Birthday to: Rachel Adelman, Malcolm Admon, Rachel Berlinger, Bracha Fuchs, Naomi Deutsch, Menachem Vinegrad, Yehudit Vinegrad, Sherry Whetstone

Happy anniversary to: Malcolm & Judy Admon, Mike & Jill Rogoff, Menachem & Yehudit Vinegrad

Refuah Shlema to: Haim Tsur after his recent heart surgery.

NOT TRAD ADS - fee is NIS 10 (NIS 5 for members).

**Sandy Cash's new CD, EXACT CHANGE, is available for 60 NIS, plus 15 NIS shipping (per order). Send a check, along with your name and shipping information to P.O. Box 1639, Bet Shemesh, 99522. For more information, call Sandy at 02-991-9686 or contact her at: sandycash@bigfoot.com

**SHELLEY ELLEN - guitarlessons, performances and her CD Shot out in the Night (03) 674-5356. **Jill Rogoff's THE CELTIC CRADLE and ACROSS THE NARROW SEAS (ALC 129) are available on cassette. Tel/Fax (02) 679-0410.

**SUZALEH'S SILK ART - Glassed and Framed, modestly sized and modestly priced, door signs, mazal tovs, etc. Handmade by Sue Tourkin-Komet (02) 676-3346.

**DAY OF REST -- Rahel Jaskow's new CD. Unique renditions of traditional andslightly off-the-beaten-track Sabbath songs. NIS 65 plus NIS 10 postage. Contact Rahel Jaskow, 35/2 Aza Street Jerusalem 92383 or rjaskow@actcom.co.il

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FolkNotes Staff: Sherry Whetstone, Larry Gamliel, Carol Fuchs