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Long Time To Be Gone by Nora Brown

Long Time To Be Gone by Nora Brown Releases August 26th, 2022. Order Today!

Nora Brown returns with her third full-length album, Long Time To Be Gone (out 8/26 via Jalopy Records). Recorded at the historic St. Ann’s Church in Brooklyn Heights, this mesmerizing collection of traditional tunes and songs follows her performance on NPR’s Tiny Desk Concert series, where she was lauded for bringing “incredible, surprising depth to the Appalachian music she plays”; and 2021’s Sidetrack My Engine, which debuted at #6 on the Billboard Bluegrass Chart.

“I recorded my last project in an underground tunnel,” says Brown, “but this time we were working in a cavernous church, which allowed us to really experiment with all the sounds that different locations in the sanctuary and different mic configurations could produce. When you listen, you can hear the expanse of the space pretty clearly, which was really important to our approach on these recordings.”

[Nora Brown plays "Miner's Dream" during the recording session for "Long Time To Be Gone" at St. Ann's Church] This album offers a snapshot of a remarkable young artist, showcasing both her instrumental abilities and her poignant, understated vocal delivery. The songs draw on the lived experiences of a broad swath of Americans, keeping their stories and spirits alive with reverence and vitality. Brown plays a variety of unique instruments on the record, too, including an 1888 Luscomb banjo owned by her great-great-grandfather, a fretless tack head banjo built by her dad, and an historic 5-string banjo that belonged to one of her mentors, New Lost City Ramblers member John Cohen (the instrument was played by Roscoe Halcomb on his iconic High Lonesome Sound album and is now in the permanent collection of the Library of Congress).

Born and raised in Brooklyn, Brown first began learning stringed instruments at the age of six from the late Shlomo Pestcoe, who instilled a belief that music is meant to be shared. In the decade to come, she would go on study with old-time masters like Cohen, Lee Sexton, and George Gibson, win numerous banjo and folk song competitions around the country, and have her work featured everywhere from NPR’s All Songs Considered to WNYC’s Dolly Parton’s America. Brown made her Billboard Bluegrass Chart debut in 2019, hitting #7 with her first album, Cinnamon Tree, and followed it up in 2021 with the critically acclaimed Sidetrack My Engine, which American Songwriter proclaimed to be “an exhibit of sonic heirlooms carefully amended to meet a modern moment with vintage elegance.”

Brown will preview Long Time To Be Gone with an intimate 7/11 performance at the City Winery Loft in NYC before celebrating the album’s official release with an 8/26 headline show at St. Ann's Church in Brooklyn, where the collection was recorded. 

Track List:

Side A 1. Jenny Put the Kettle On 2. Miner's Dream 3. Bertie Mae's Chilly Winds 4. Southern Texas 5. French Waltz 6. Cumberland Gap 7. Shortnin’ Bread 8. Will Davenport's Tune

Side B 1. Wild Goose Chase 2. Coal Creek March 3. Little Satchel 4. Wade’s Tune 5. Coke Oven March 6. Po' Black Sheep 7. Flowery Girls 8. Rye Whiskey - Little Birdie

Recorded at St. Ann's Church, edited and mixed at Studio808A by Joseph "joebass" DeJarnette Mastered by Don Fierro Produced by Eli Smith Jalopy Records JR013 Album releases August 26, 2022

Up to date tour info at: www.concertedefforts.com/roster/nora-brown/ www.norabrownmusic.com

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Songs of Slavery and Emancipation

Songs of Slavery and Emancipation Releases June 17th, 2022 on Jalopy Records Order Now!

"To those songs I trace my first glimmering conception of the dehumanizing character of slavery. I can never get rid of that conception. Those songs still follow me, to deepen my hatred of slavery, and quicken my sympathies for my brethren in bonds." - Frederick Douglass

The Songs Of Slavery and Emancipation project presents recently discovered songs composed by enslaved people and explicitly calling for resistance to slavery. Some originate as early as 1800 and others as late as the outbreak of the Civil War. The project also includes long-lost songs of the abolitionist movement, some of which were written by fugitive slaves as well as free black people, challenging common misconceptions of abolitionism. Listen and order your copy at: jalopyrecords.bandcamp.com/album/songs-of-slavery-and-emancipation

Thirty one songs are presented in a beautiful hard cover bound double CD and digital download containing new performances in a traditional style by numerous contributing artists.

An accompanying 64 page liner notes booklet includes complete lyrics as well as reproductions of historic documents.  The liner notes also include essays by the album’s producer Mat Callahan, scholar Robin D.G. Kelley and activist organizer Kali Akuno.

The album is also available via digital download and streaming services.

A companion full length book, to be published by the University Press of Mississippi, documents the sources of these newly released songs, as well as providing historic context: www.upress.state.ms.us/Books/S/Songs-of-Slavery-and-Emancipation

A documentary film documents the entire project and is available for screenings.

The CDs and book will be published in June, 2022 by the University Press of Mississippi in conjunction with Jalopy Records.

“These songs of slavery and emancipation, some written more than two hundred years ago, are not only important historically; they have a direct bearing on today’s movements for social and economic transformation. When you hear songs like “Nat Turner” or “Hymn of Freedom,” it’s almost as if they were written yesterday. They bring inspiration and revolutionary clarity to contemporary struggles. Songs of Slavery and Emancipation brings a whole era of resistance forward into the twenty-first century. To forget the lessons of the revolt and rebellion of the enslaved or the organizing of the abolitionist networks and the Underground Railroad is to condemn people to the false belief that because one of us is Black and the other is white we can’t unite, we don’t have anything in common, and we can’t work together. And this goes for people of all ethnicities, places of origin, and genders.

We must not forget this history. These songs can make an important contribution. They provide a popular art form that can help people understand all Americans’ history and participate in our contemporary struggles. Songs of Slavery and Emancipation carries crucial history that enlivens our collective memory and helps keep the spirit of resistance strong and moving forward.” - Kali Akuno Executive Director of Cooperation Jackson

Throughout the history of slavery, enslaved people organized resistance, escape, and rebellion. Sustaining them in this struggle was their music, some examples of which are sung to this day. While the existence of enslaved people’s songs, especially spirituals, is well known, their character is often misunderstood. Songs of enslaved people were not only lamentations of suffering or distractions from a life of misery. Some songs openly called for liberty and revolution, celebrating such heroes as Gabriel Prosser and Nat Turner, and, especially, celebrating the Haitian Revolution.

The fight for freedom also included fugitive slaves, free Black people, and their white allies who brought forth a set of songs that were once widely disseminated but are now largely forgotten, the songs of the abolitionists. Often composed by fugitive slaves and free Black people, and first appearing in the eighteenth century, these songs continued to be written and sung until the Civil War. As the movement expanded, abolitionists even published song books used at public meetings. Researcher and producer Mat Callahan presents in this collection recently discovered songs composed by enslaved people explicitly calling for resistance to slavery. Some of the songs originate as early as 1784 and others as late as the Civil War. He also presents long-lost songs of the abolitionist movement, some written by fugitive slaves and free Black people, challenging common misconceptions of abolitionism.

The Songs of Slavery and Emancipation album presents sixteen songs of enslaved people and fifteen abolitionist songs, placing them in proper historical context and making them available again to the general public. These songs not only express outrage at slavery but call for militant resistance and destruction of the slave system. There can be no doubt as to their purpose: the abolition of slavery, the emancipation of African American people, and a clear and undeniable demand for equality and justice for all humanity.

Track List:

Disc 1 Slave Songs

1. Agonizing, Cruel Slavery Days performed by Alden "Max" Smith

2. The Dirge of St. Malo (Louisiana Creole)

3. The Dirge of St. Malo (English) performed by Givonna Joseph vocal Kamau drum

4. Hymn of Freedom

5. Uncle Gabriel the Negro General

6. The Negro's Complaint performed by Berea Songs of Slavery and Emancipation Ensemble

7. Recognition March of the Independance of Hayti performed by Dr. Kathy Bullock piano, Cherokee Griffiths flute, Dr. James Dreiling trumpet

8. The African Hymn

9. Nat Turner

10. My Father, How Long?

11. March On

12. Children, We All Shall Be Free

13. Ol' Massa He Come Dancing Out

14. The Year of Jubilo

15. The Enlisted Men (the Negro Battle Hymn) performed by Berea Songs of Slavery and Emancipation Ensemble

16. Rebeldia na Bandabou Niata, On the tambú (drums) Rendel on the chapi(hoe) Rayson, Ompi tio and Broertje"

Disc 2 Abolitionist Songs

1. Song of the “Aliened American” performed by Sacred Harp singers from Western Massachusetts

2. A Song for Freedom performed by Berea Songs of Slavery and Emancipation Ensemble

3. Stole and Sold From Africa             performed by Hannah From

4. Right On!                                         performed by Sacred Harp singers from Western MA

5. Flight of the Bondman     performed by Bern Ensemble

6. The Underground Railroad performed by Berea Songs of Slavery and Emancipation Ensemble

7. To The White People of America performed by New York Ensemble

8. Liberty performed by  Sacred Harp singers from Western MA

9. The Band of Thieves performed by Bern Ensemble

10. The True Spirit performed by Bluegrass Ensemble Berea College

11. Come Join The Abolitionists     performed by Sacred Harp singers from Western MA

12. The Voice of Six Hundred Thousand Nominally Free   performed by Bern Ensemble

13. We’re Coming! We’re Coming! performed by New York Ensemble

14. Woman's Rights performed by Sacred Harp singers from Western MA

15. What Mean Ye? performed by Sacred Harp singers from Western MA

More information at: ArtHistoryPolitics.com

Album artists are available for performances.

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The Old Church by Roscoe Holcomb - Releases Dec. 3rd / Pre-order now!

The Old Church by Roscoe Holcomb Jalopy Records JR011 Releases Dec. 3rd, 2021

Listen and order at: https://roscoeholcomb.bandcamp.com/album/the-old-church

A LOST RECORDING OF UNTAMED APPALACHIAN MUSIC.

In 1972, the renowned and singular folk musician Roscoe Holcomb left his home in rural Daisy, Kentucky and embarked on a west coast tour with Mike Seeger, which included a performance at The Old Church in Portland, Oregon - a beautiful Carpenter Gothic church built in 1882. Decades later, two particular reels were discovered deep within a pile of 1/4” tape in a shadowy corner of the KBOO Community Radio archives in Portland. Incredibly, those tapes contained the sole surviving evidence of a strikingly intimate and raw performance by Roscoe Holcomb, whose cascading and haunting banjo, guitar and voice echoed and saturated the room and hushed audience.

In contrast to Roscoe’s rarely documented (and at times restrained) live performances at folk festivals and television programs, Roscoe seems to have felt more familiar and spiritually moved in the old church that night. Heard here are standout versions of Appalachian folk-blues classics such as Single Girl, John Henry, East Virginia Blues, Swanno Mountain and more. Once cited as Bob Dylan’s favorite singer, Roscoe Holcomb appears at the peak of his powers here, showcasing his immense vocal talents and deep feeling for the music of his home on an extended a cappella version of “The Village Churchyard”. The recording itself is warm and mysterious, sounding like the room itself is alive with the spirit, while the rumbles of trucks and hints of city sounds peek through the walls from the outside streets.

160 gram black vinyl LP in gold & black color reverse-board jacket. Jalopy Records JR011 Mississippi Records MRI-135 Jalopy co-release with Mississippi Records.

Roscoe Holcomb - Banjo, Voice

Recorded Live at the Old Church, Portland, Oregon, 1972 Audio Restoration & Mastering: Don Fierro Tape Transfers: Gordon Ashworth Photographs: John Cohen, courtesy of Rufus Cohen Layout & Old Church Drawing: Gordon Ashworth Produced By: Eli Smith, Gordon Ashworth & Cyrus Moussavi

Acknowledgements: Brooks Lynn Overton The Halcomb Family Mike Seeger John Cohen Rufus Cohen Mike Munger KBOO Community Radio

“Rocky Mountain” aka “Across the Rocky Mountain”, written by Roscoe Holcomb

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All By My Ownsome by Jackson Lynch is out now! + Dec. 18th release show at the Jalopy Theatre!

All By My Ownsome is the first solo offering from Jackson Lynch, issued by Jalopy Records as a vinyl LP with specially printed tip-on jacket art and via digital download and streaming.

The album features five original songs by Jackson Lynch as well as traditional folk, blues and gospel songs.

Born in Ireland, Jackson Lynch moved to New York City's East Village at a young age. Formerly residing in New Orleans he remains an integral part of the music world there with his band The Janks.

Now living in Red Hook, Brooklyn, Jackson Lynch plays solo, with The Janks and with his string band The Down Hill Strugglers, hailed by Amanda Petrusich in the New Yorker as, "the very best interpreters of traditional material presently going.” Give a listen! and order at: jacksonlynch.bandcamp.com/album/all-by-my-ownsome

Beautifully and locally printed in Brooklyn, the vinyl edition of "All By My Ownsome" features cover photos by noted photographer Horatio Baltz and was recorded live to tape by Jon Atkinson / Bigtone Records.

The record itself is made from reclaimed vinyl, manufactured at Brooklyn Phono in Sunset Park, Bklyn. The cover art is printed at a local shop in Red Hook, Brooklyn and is hand applied as a "tip-on", an old fashioned style of jacket art.

"Long recognized as one of the NYC folk scene’s best singers...Jackson Lynch’s time in New Orleans was clearly well-spent, as he put together folk, blues, gospel, and early jazz influences on an album that’s half original and half choice material interpreted masterfully." - American Blues Scene

All By My Ownsome / Jackson Lynch

Track List:

A.

1. In My Time of Dying

2. Hurt Me

3. Baby Boy

4. Let’s Leave Here

5. In the Land Where We'll Never Grow Old

B.

1. Thanks

2. High Time

3. Heaven Has a Radio

4. Thirty Hours on a Train

5. Tomorrow Night

Jackson Lynch - Guitar, Voice Recorded live to tape at the Jalopy Theatre, August 2020 Recorded and mixed by Jon Atkinson / Bigtone Records Mastered by Jon Atkinson & Don Fierro Cover photo by Horatio Baltz Cover design by Sean Riley & Jeff Tocci Jalopy Records 2021 JR010

A1 Traditional, arrangement by Josh White A2, A3, A4, B2, B4 by Jackson Lynch A5 by James Cleveland Moore, Sr., arrangement by Alfred G. Karnes B1 by Leonie Evans B3 by Reverend Billy H. Grady

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Sidetrack My Engine by Nora Brown - Releases Sept. 24th!

Nora Brown, at 16 years of age, plays with beauty and depth in the performances captured on her new album, Sidetrack My Engine. Recorded in mono, live to tape in a large 19th century vaulted stone cellar, below the streets of Brooklyn, the album combines the raw and immediate quality of a field recording with the recording quality of a studio album.

The album is available via digital download and on 10” white vinyl in a signed and numbered first edition with liner notes booklet, letterpress download card, and custom printed 100% recycled chipboard jackets with art drawn by Nora Brown.

Give a listen! and order the record here: https://norabrown.bandcamp.com/album/sidetrack-my-engine

The songs, and instrumentals on this record draw the listener in: They are poignant and transformative, challenging listeners to allow this old and “outsider” music into their present day life, alongside the music on the radio, TV and front pages of the internet. Nora is joined on several songs by Jackson Lynch and Jerron “Blindboy” Paxton, hailed by the New York Times as “easily the most talented young acoustic bluesman to come along in many, many years.”

These songs were learned by Nora through the continued tradition of visiting elder musicians in her community, from old records and from field recordings in archival collections.

The record opens with 8th of January, a tune commemorating the Battle of New Orleans in the War of 1812. Nora learned this tune from an archival recording of the great African American banjo and fiddle duet, Frazier and Patterson. The essential American ballad Frankie and Albert was learned in person from the contemporary Eastern Kentucky banjo player, John Haywood. The Very Day I’m Gone was adapted by Nora from a version sung by the ballad singer Addie Graham. Wedding Dress came to Nora from John Cohen and is heard here in her own arrangement and version.

Releases September 24, 2021

Credits:

Nora Brown - voice, banjo Jackson Lynch - fiddle Jerron “Blindboy” Paxton - bones Recorded by Jon Atkinson / Bigtone Records Mastered by Joseph Dejarnette / Studio 808A Produced by Eli Smith Artwork by Nora Brown & Benton Brown

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The Secret Museum of Mankind - Guitars Vol. 1: Prologue to Modern Styles

The Secret Museum of Mankind - Guitars Vol. 1: Prologue to Modern Styles

Pre-order starts: 2/2/21 Release date: 3/26/21 Order now! at: www.jalopyrecords.bandcamp.com/album/secret-museum-of-mankind-guitars-vol-1-prologue-to-modern-styles

Curated by 78-rpm record collector Pat Conte, The Secret Museum of Mankind - Guitars Vol. 1: Prologue to Modern Styles, is the first new volume in the legendary series since 1998.  It is also the first volume of the Secret Museum to focus on a specific instrument, the guitar.  This new Secret Museum volume seeks to show the diverse range of guitar sounds and styles developed and practiced across the globe.

The Secret Museum of Mankind - Guitars Vol. 1: Prologue to Modern Styles presents guitar and guitar related music, recorded across the world from Spain, to Papua New Guinea, Greece to Ghana to India and more. The collection is drawn from Conte’s pioneering and remarkable personal collection of 78-rpm discs, recorded in the 1920’s-1950’s.

The album is available via digital download and on vinyl, in a beautiful gatefold package.  It includes a liner notes booklet by curator Pat Conte, original drawings of rare and unique guitars in Conte’s collection, by artist Jeff Tocci, and beautifully remastered audio by Don Fierro.  Additionally, the interior gatefold design features a selection of historic images of guitarists, also curated by Conte and drawn from his collection.

A limited edition of 50 fine art lithographs of the “Bell Guitar” by Jeff Tocci, featured on the cover of the album is available along with the album.

“After hours and hours of intense listening, it is safe to say that one could take one's complete education in authentic world music right here… The historical significance of these releases goes without saying, and the quality of the music is enormously high. Mr. Conte has lovingly culled his collection for tracks that would best represent each genre. The listener is rewarded with new insights and revelations with each visit, indeed, this IS a museum. The cumulative effect is inspiring and it is almost impossible not to be transported in one's imagination to the various places and times represented by these tracks.” - Michael Shapiro, RootsWorld

Track Listing:

Side A

1 Oudi Jorghi: Vlach Longassi (3:00)          

2 Guillermo Gomez: Guajiras (2:58)

3 Jack Gregory: Minore Tou Teke (4:05)

4 Sam: Kweku Ewoosi (3:08)

5 Giuseppe Cammarato: Ricordi? (3:15)

6 Jeronimo Villarino: Sevillanas (2:24)

7 Pierre Borel & Polo Quilici: Complainte Corse (3:11)

Side B

1 Cuarteto Aguilar: Fiesta Mora en Tánger (3:12)

2 Dakshmina Mohun Tagore & Sujit Nath: Ragini “Pilu” (3:16)

3 Ramón Montoya & Amalio Cuenca: Solea (3:55)

4 “S. Giorgiadis”: Pireotiko Taximi (3:02)

5 Maestro Pasquale Taraffo: Serenatella Spagnuola (2:41)

6 Agustín P. Barrios: Marcha Paraguaya (3:10)

7 Moses Zwe-Zwe: Khumbula Ubaba (1:44)

8 Les Freres Joyal: Petit Boogie (2:42)

9 Anon. Guitar Players: Papua New Guinea (Excerpt) (1:29)

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Fatboy Wilson & Old Viejo Bones - Out on Jan. 24th - Pre-order now!

FATBOY WILSON & OLD VIEJO BONES DEBUT ALBUM RELEASES JAN. 24TH 2020 ON JALOPY RECORDS

Listen to a preview and order your copy now at: https://fatboywilsonoldviejobones.bandcamp.com/album/fatboy-wilson-old-viejo-bones

Fatboy Wilson and Old Viejo Bones is a new project from acclaimed Brooklyn folk and blues musicians Samoa Wilson and Ernesto Gomez. There self titled debut album features five brand new original songs as well as inventive interpretations of a diverse range of folk and blues songs.

Samoa Wilson is widely regarded as one of the best blues, jazz and folk singers in New York City.  The New York Times calls her singing “sweet, effortless, old-timey” and Nat Hentoff has called her style, “the essence of unaffected musical storytelling.”  Wilson grew up with music in her family, and began singing jug band music, early jazz and blues with her uncle Jim Kweskin at a young age.   Ernesto Gomez, originally from the Union City, NJ has been writing songs and playing blues harmonica and guitar for a number of years with his band the Brotherhood of the Jugband Blues. His influences are broad and include Cuban, Mexican and rap music along side classic blues sources.  Gomez was schooled by the late blues great Carolina Slim and Down Home Radio has called him “an authentic blues man.”

In addition to stellar versions of the classic and obscure blues and folk songs, the album also features five originals by the band.  Gomez’s song, “Black Snake” reflects on his experience on the Standing Rock Sioux Indian reservation in North Dakota, opposing the construction of the Dakota Access Pipeline.  Wilson’s “Ballad of Luis Reyes” and “Ridgewood Blues” depict her experience of living and working in contemporary New York City.  Her lighthearted song “It Don't Hurt Nobody” asks listeners to live in peace. Ernesto Gomez also made the album’s beautiful original artwork.  It fuses traditional Mexican imagery with contemporary American street art styles.

Fatboy Wilson & Old Viejo Bones seamlessly blends the original and the traditional: The traditional songs speak easily to the listener, and their original songs present a strong realization of contemporary songwriting in a traditional style. 

Track list: 1. I've Been Treated Wrong (4:01) 2. It Don't Hurt Nobody (4:32) 3. Black Snake (3:16) 4. Single Girl, Married Girl (3:41) 5. Don't You Make Me High (3:14) 6. Show Me the Way to Go Home (3:55) 7. Ballad of Luis Reyes (5:02) 8. Ridgewood Blues (4:28) 9. Hand Me Down My Walking Cane  (4:13) 10. Floating Bridge (4:21) 11. Tell Me That You Love Me, Baby  (4:17) 12. Epitaph (3:15)

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Cinnamon Tree by Nora Brown - Pre-order starts Sept. 10th!

Jalopy Records is proud to announce the release of Cinnamon Tree, the debut album from Nora Brown, on October 25th, 2019!  The album will be available for pre-order starting Sept. 10th.

Cinnamon Tree features 11 brand new recordings as well as cover art by Nora. The limited edition LP features a liner notes booklet and hand letter pressed cover art.

Nora Brown, recorded here at 13 years of age, plays with beauty and depth in the performances captured on her debut album, Cinnamon Tree.  Produced by legendary musician Alice Gerrard and recorded at Studio 808a, an old farmhouse in Floyd, Virginia, the songs, stories and instrumentals on this record draw the listener in: They are poignant and transformative, challenging listeners to allow this old and traditional music into their present day life, alongside the music on the radio, TV and front pages of the internet.  Nora sings and plays 5-string banjo; both steel string and fretless gut stringed instruments. She is joined on several songs by award winning fiddler Stephanie Coleman.

These songs were learned by Nora through the continued tradition of visiting elder musicians in her hometown of Brooklyn, NY, in eastern KY, south western VA and in North Carolina, as well as from old records and field recordings in archival collections.  Nora would like to thank elder musicians who have become friends as well as teachers, including Lee Sexton, John Cohen, George Gibson and especially her first teacher Shlomo Pestcoe. 

Nora, now 14 years old, is an unusual teenager and a rare musician.  This album represents her journey over the last several years as she has found her voice, developed a distinct and compelling style, and emerged as a wonderful musician.   The title of the album itself is emblematic of her musical pilgrimage; today Nora knows that the song lyric is “’simmon tree” – a slang shortening of “persimmon,” – but at first she heard the lyric as “cinnamon tree” – a fanciful thought and a chance to learn. This beautiful album represents a snap shot of Nora’s music now, a resting place in her recent journey, a moment to pause and reflect on where she has come from and where she is going.  Along the way she has attracted the attention and praise of many touring musicians, including Foghorn String Band, Anna and Elizabeth, John Cohen and the album’s producer Alice Gerrard.

The album is available via digital download and on vinyl in a limited first edition of 500 copies, pressed at Third Man Pressing in Detroit, signed and numbered with custom letterpress jackets.  The release of the album will be accompanied by performances at the Jalopy Theatre and Murmrr concert hall in Brooklyn, NY. 

“[In her playing,] an intense involvement is revealed as the music appears to wash over her. She sings of experiences way beyond her years, old songs from Appalachian sources, stories that reflect a more difficult way of life.” – John Cohen

TRACK LISTING:

SIDE A

1.  Buck Creek Girls (2:06)

2.  Hop Light Ladies (2:09)

3.  Hill of Mexico (4:10)

4.  Cumberland Gap (1:54)

5.  Darling Cora (4:37)

6.  Last Chance (2:43)

SIDE B

7.  East Virginia (4:33)

8.  John Brown’s Dream (3:03)

9.  Jay Gould’s Daughter (3:56)

10.  Old Horse and Buggy (2:13)

11.  Shady Grove - Beautiful Doll (5:32)

[jalopyrecords]

Going Down to ‘Leven Point by the Ozark Highballers - On Sale April 5th!

Jalopy Records is proud to announce “Going Down to ‘Leven Point,” the first studio album from The Ozark Highballers, coming out on April 5th, 2019.  The album’s release is scheduled to coincide with their headlining performance at the Brooklyn Folk Festival.

The Ozark Highballers is a string band from the Ozark Mountains of Western Arkansas, composed of Roy Pilgrim (fiddle), Aviva Steigmeyer (guitar), Clarke Buehling (banjo) and Seth Shumate (harmonica).

The album features 22 all new recordings by the band, along with extensive liner notes and historic photographs documenting the origins of the music.

Pre-Order Here! http://ozarkhighballers.bandcamp.com/album/going-down-to-leven-point Since 2014 the Ozark Highballers have brought their music to square dances, farmers markets, festivals as well as plain old street corners and front porches. Their music reflects the age old spirit and drive of the rural Ozark string bands of Arkansas, Missouri and Oklahoma.

Recorded in Arkansas and mixed at an old farmhouse in Virginia, these recordings bridge the gap between studio recordings and field recordings.  The record captures this energizing music in a way that is pure and urgent like a home field recording, and beautifully engineered like a studio album. The songs, stories and instrumentals on this record draw the listener in:  They are poignant and transformative, challenging listeners to allow this old and “outsider” music into their present day life, alongside the music on the radio, TV and front pages of the internet.

The Ozark Highballers subvert the norms of the music world in many ways.  They come out of a deep history, playing music that exists outside of cities, and without regard to entertainment industry standards, or publicity requirements.  Most bands are in a single age group, but The Ozark Highballers is a multi-generational band that has learned their music from family members, elder musicians in their community and field recordings buried in archival collections.  

Roy is “the best young fiddler and singer to come out of Arkansas in many many years” says folklorist and producer Eli Smith, while singer/guitarist Aviva is not only a wonderful musician and print maker, but also one the only young female guitar builders in the United States.  Roy began playing music with neighbors at the age of eight. He is also a carpenter and operates a small logging and sawmill operation with his brother. Roy and Aviva live outside of West Fork, AR on a small homestead where they raise a couple of pigs, a big garden, and a sorghum patch. 

The band is multi-generational, featuring Clarke Buehling, a nationally recognized, contest winning 5-string banjo master, who has been playing intricate, arcane and wonderful banjo music since the 1960’s.  Seth Shumate is one of the best harmonica players in the United States.  He plays in the old time style to complement, often note for note, the melody of the fiddle. Seth’s grandfather and great-grandmother both played harmonica in the Arkansas Ozarks of Stone County.  Seth currently resides in Dubai, UAE but comes home to play in the band.

The Ozark Highballers have performed at the Brooklyn Folk Festival, Ozark Folk Center, Stephen Foster Old-time Week, Bluff Country Gathering, St. Louis Folk & Roots Festival, Rocky Mountain Old-time Music Festival, and more, and have recently received the Artist 360 grant from the Mid-America Arts Alliance. Their name comes from an old railroading term. A “highball” freight train is the kind of train that used to speed across the vast open areas of the United States.  A highball a signal, from the days of steam locomotives, when a station operator would hoist a large wooden ball up a standard, signaling that the train was clear to make good time.

The music on Going Down to ‘Leven Point has a fascinating provenance, and conveys American history in a visceral manner. As an example, here is information about the very first track:

Their version of Hell Amongst the Yearlings is from Oklahoma fiddler Dick Hutchison (1897-1986). Hutchison was born in far southwestern Missouri. When he was a boy his family moved to northeastern Oklahoma in a covered wagon where he spent the rest of his life. Like the adjacent rolling hills of Arkansas and Missouri, this part of Oklahoma shares a deep wealth of traditional Ozark fiddling. As a young man, Uncle Dick Hutchison worked as a cowboy around Osage County where he was a popular ranch hand because of his fine fiddling at dances held on the ranch. He made multiple recordings and was renowned at fiddle contests and dances. His fiddling was considered by many to be the archetype of Oklahoma Ozark fiddle music.  

The title of the album comes from the 11th track, “Going Down to Leven Point to Get a Load of Corn”.  The Eleven Point is a beautiful spring-fed river running from southern Missouri to northern Arkansas. Roy learned this tune from the playing of Joseph Mulkey Kent (1874-1959) of Evening Shade, Sharp County, Ark. Mulkey Kent was a well-known contest fiddler, winning 31 first prizes including the 1927 Arkansas State Fiddle Championship held in Fayetteville, Ark.  He was recorded by John Quincy Wolf, Jr, PhD, four months before his death. His recordings are held at the John Quincy Wolf Folklore Collection at Lyons College, Batesville, Ark. In 2017 Roy was awarded the Mulkey Kent award for “Outstanding Ozark Fiddling.”

From the liner notes, written by the band:

Old-time is the music of square dances and school houses, church picnics and farm potlucks. It is the music heard on front porches while your hands are busy threshing beans or shelling corn. It is the music of the country, before country music was commercial, and each region of the United States has its own particular sound, from the hornpipes of the Midwest to the Cajun dance music of Louisiana to the driving mountain-breakdowns of Appalachia and the Ozarks. We are passionate about playing an Ozark music repertoire not just because it’s a local tradition that deserves to be carried on, but also because it’s a vibrant part of an ever-growing community in the Ozarks. Our rich tradition of music goes far beyond the “hillbilly” stereotypes and cultural tourism that often mask our region.  Ozark music is a vital part of the many colored quilt that is our American musical heritage.

We have spent the last few years researching and learning our local music through various sources such as commercial 78 rpm recordings from the 1920s, old-timers in our community, and field recordings from several University archive libraries. The result is a repertoire that we feel accurately represents the myriad facets of Ozark music tradition at its best. We hope this album will be enjoyable to listen to, while it also documents a tradition and serves as a resource for all those in the old-time music community.

Track list:

1.     Hell Among the Yearlings

2.     Woody’s Hornpipe

3.     Get Along Home, Miss Cindy

4.     Horses on the Bridge

5.     Kenny Wagner’s Surrender

6.     Doc Brown’s Dream (McCraw Ford)

7.     Last Night While I Lie Sleeping

8.     Waltz of the Violets

9.     Scott No. 1

10.  Floyd Eddings

11. Going Down to 'Leven Point to Get a Load of Corn

12. Ridin’ Old Paint/Hell Amongst the Yearlings

13. Going Back to Where I Come

14. Fever River

15. Mason March

16. Lazy Farmer

17. Sally Went A-Hunting

18. Everybody Schottische

19. Babes in the Woods

[jalopyrecords]

Look out for... DreamSongs, Etc!

Look out for “DreamSongs, Etc.”! the debut studio album by Bill and the Belles… Comin’ out August 24th on Jalopy Records!  Watch this video!  It’s great!  

Pre-order now: https://billandthebelles.com/shop

More info and tour dates below!

From the foothills of Blue Ridge in Johnson City, Tennessee, Bill and The Belles captivate fans with rich vocal harmonies and simple catchy melodies, built on a strong foundation of love for early American music. The forthcoming album, recorded in just two days inside a beautiful old farmhouse in the rolling hills of Southeast Virginia, is set for release on August 24, 2018 on Jalopy Records . Along with the official album announcement, the video for the album’s first single, “Wedding Bell Chimes” premiered exclusively on American Songwriter today. Bill and The Belles are currently touring the East Coast and will appear at RockyGrass,Bristol Rhythm and Roots Reunion, and IBMA (full dates below). DreamSongs, Etc. is available for pre-order today.

Prior to forming Bill and the Belles, lead singer and guitarist Kris Truelsen sang in a honky-tonk band with Kalia Yeagle, an Alaska-grown fiddler and singer. Moving beyond the realm of early country, they started working up a few songs with friend and banjo player Grace Van’t Hof. As he recalls, “We quickly discovered our mutual love for rich vocal harmonies and simple catchy melodies.

With the addition of bass player Karl Zerfas, Bill and the Belles stepped into the role of house band upon the launch of a live radio show, Farm and Fun Time , presented by Radio Bristol. Truelsen started that community radio station, housed within the Birthplace of Country Music Museum in Bristol, Tennessee, in 2015. Along with sharing the stage with the nation’s top roots artists ( Marty Stuart and the Fabulous Superlatives and Earls of Leicester ), the group writes and performs the snappy, comical jingles for the show’s monthly sponsors.

Namesakes Bill and Belle Reed, performers from the 1920s who recorded the songs “Old Lady and the Devil” and “You Shall Be Free” in Johnson City, continue to be inspiration for the band. Truelsen says, “That was the first time I heard ‘Old Lady and the Devil,’ and since then it’s become clear to me why it’s stood the test of time. Simple, plaintive, stripped-down but incredibly expressive, tough as nails and funny as hell. I first heard that side on the Harry Smith Anthology of American Folk Music, a collection that continues to inspire. Our band’s name is a way to honor their music, the music of this place, and this region in general that we’ve come to call home.”

With their enchanting debut album, DreamSongs, Etc. , Bill and the Belles capture the freewheeling, lighthearted approach to music that has endeared them to listeners of every generation. With a spirited sound that falls somewhere between old-time country and vaudeville, the group puts its own spin on a golden era of music, specifically the 1920s, 1930s, and 1940s. “We like old music and some of us are consumed by it,” says Truelsen with a knowing laugh. “But we don’t have a desire to copy it. We want to sound like ourselves and tell our story.”

As a result, a majority of the material on DreamSongs, Etc. , is original, ranging from the upbeat number, “Wedding Bell Chimes,” through the yearning ode to youth, “Back to My Childhood Days.” While Truelsen’s distinctive tenor anchors the project, the Tennessee-based band’s trio harmonies gleam against a backdrop of banjo, fiddle, accordion, ukulele, and clarinet. “The title seemed appropriate in that a lot of the songs are about dreaming for something better, better days, better lovers, better whatever it may be,” Truelsen says. “Not to mention many of the songs we chose to sing are about the sentimental dreamer.”

Working with engineer Joseph Dejarnette, the group recorded DreamSongs, Etc. in a mere two days inside a beautiful historic farmhouse in the rolling hills of Southeast Virginia. The trio recorded around one microphone while rounding out the sound with Evan Kinney on accordion and Aaron Olwell on clarinet. Home-cooked meals and picturesque surroundings made the experience even more rewarding. “The small cities like Johnson City and Bristol tucked in between the mountains are inspiring to me,” Truelsen says. “I find the tension of urban and countryside to be a beautiful thing.”

That inspiration and appreciation for Johnson City can be heard in DreamSongs, Etc ., which includes superb renditions of Jimmie Rodgers compositions, “Carolina Sunshine Gal” and “Tuck Away My Lonesome Blues”.

“Generally speaking I’m writing from my personal experiences, though I do my best to not make songs feel like they are part of any particular time. I would like to think someone could listen to ‘Finger Pointin’ Mama’ and think it was written today, or maybe their Grandma might hear it and think it was written when she was a kid. I hope timelines are blurred and that the music speaks for here and now, and for way back when.”

Tour Dates : July 1 – Abingdon, VA – Bonefire Smokehouse July 2 – Asheville, NC – Grey Eagle with CW Stoneking July 4 – Bristol, TN – Border Bash July 7 – Mountain View, AR – Ozark Folk Center July 12 – Bristol, TN – Birthplace of Country Music July 13 – Johnson City, TN – Founders After Five July 21 – Fountain, NC – R.A. Fountain July 27 – Lyons, CO – Rockygrass Aug 4 – Parsons, WV – Pickin' In Parsons Aug 5 – Abingdon, VA – Bonefire Smokehouse Aug 9 - Bristol, VA - Birthplace of Country Music Aug 10 – St. Paul, VA – Milton's Aug 11 – Baltimore, MD – Ken’s Backyard Concert Aug 12 – Johnson City, TN – Music in the Park Aug 14 – Nashville, TN – 5 Spot Aug 15 – Knoxville, TN – Tennessee Shines Aug 16 – Jonesborough, TN – Blackthorn Club Aug 17 – Johnson City, TN – Down Home Aug 24 – Brooklyn, NY – Jalopy Theater Aug 25 – Olivebridge, NY – The Hoot Sept 1 – Woodstown, NJ – Delaware Valley Bluegrass Festival Sept 7 – North Hillsdale, NY – The Old Tone Roots Music Festival Sept 9 – New Haven, CT – Second Sunday Concert Series Sept 13 – Bristol, TN – Birthplace of Country Music Sept 16 – Jonesborough, TN – Brews and Tunes Sept 21 – Bristol, VA – Bristol Rhythm and Roots Reunion Sept 25 – Raleigh, NC – IBMA Sept 29 – Kansas City, MO – Dust Bowl Jamboree Oct 5 – St. Paul, VA – Milton's Oct 6 – Johnson City, TN – Studio One (WETS)

For more information , visit https://billandthebelles.com/

[jalopyrecords]

Down Hill Strugglers New Album

The Down Hill Strugglers are very pleased to announce the release of our new album, "Lone Prairie" - coming out April 28th. The album will be issued on vinyl, CD and as a digital download.  Sadly, because of budget issues we could not afford to have heads on this album cover, but we hope that our fortunes will improve soon!!

You can preorder the album here or you can get yourself down to the 9th Annual Brooklyn Folk Festival this week Friday through Sunday and pick up a copy from the merch table.

[jalopyrecords]

Clarence Ashley has arrived!

New albums have shown up and will start shipping after the official release date, April 28th. They look and sound great. Be sure to come by the Brooklyn Folk Fest starting the 28th for your first chance to get your hands on one. Pre-order available in the online shop.

[jalopyrecords]

New Album pre-order now, Clarence Ashley: Live and In Person 

Live and In Person is Clarence Ashley’s first and only live album. He is accompanied on the album by guitarist Tex Isley, a member of Charlie Monroe’s Kentucky Partners. 

Photo John Cohen

[jalopyrecords]

Premiere album from Jackson Lynch. Couldn’t be more excited!

Listen/purchase: Jackson Lynch 7 Inch Series by Jackson Lynch

[jalopyrecords]

It’s the last few hours of our Seven Inch Subscription Series funding campaign. We made our goal, but have you gotten in on this great music yet? Today is the day! http://kck.st/2cYnlCz

[jalopyrecords]

Hey we made some gifs from our recent recording sessions. What are we recording? check it out here: http://kck.st/2cBrhU7

[jalopyrecords]

Check all the latest and greatest goings on with our big Kickstarter project here:

http://kck.st/2cBrhU7