Tag: Jefferson Hamer

Dig Into Bonny Light Horseman’s Striking Discography

Posted on by Justin Hiltner

Bonny Light Horseman is an indie/folk supergroup that formed in 2018 at the Eaux Claires Music & Arts festival in Wisconsin. Composed of Anaïs Mitchell (Hadestown), Josh Kaufman (Bob Weir, Josh Ritter, The National), and Eric D. Johnson (Fruit Bats), together the band has released two full-length albums. On June 7, their new double album Keep Me On Your Mind/See You Free expanded their studio album catalog by 100%.

Their first self-titled release, from 2020, features the band’s takes on traditional folk songs; the second, 2022’s Rolling Golden Holy, is a fully original body of work. Their music is tranquil, gorgeous, and breath-taking and their powerful blend of voices is just as striking. The trio bring a new light to the beauty of folk music, and truly makes each song their own.

To celebrate the new project, Keep Me On Your Mind/See You Free, we’ve handpicked a few favorite tracks from their past releases – together and separately – to highlight their musicianship, collaboration, and exactly why nearly everyone calls them a supergroup.

“Bonny Light Horseman” – Bonny Light Horseman, Bonny Light Horseman (2020)

The title track off their first album and namesake of their band, it’s a heart-breaking ballad about a love lost to war that was found in the Roud Folk Index (#1185). The group’s arrangement features a low-tuned guitar and subtle textures of harmonica and saxophone which carry Anaïs’ and Eric’s transporting vocals.

“Deep in Love” – Bonny Light Horseman, Bonny Light Horseman

The second song off the band’s debut album is simply illuminating – it feels like a gust of wind on a warm day. Listening to Eric sing, you can hear vocal influences from Joni Mitchell in his jumps and leaps. It has a very freeing feel to it and breathes beautifully.

“The Roving” – Bonny Light Horseman, Bonny Light Horseman

The third track on Bonny Light Horseman also demands inclusion. It’s a song about the singer’s heartache over “Annie,” a woman who once said she would marry them, but over time fell out of love with the singer. The melody is subtle and sweeps the listener into a setting of tranquility. In the arrangement, the band switches between a single, double, and quadruple chorus which is a very sweet and simple way to convey the story to the listener.

“Jane Jane” – Bonny Light Horseman, Bonny Light Horseman

“Jane Jane” was first recorded in 1939 by Lila May Stevens. This arrangement combines Stevens’ lyric with the African American spiritual and gospel classic, “Children, Go Where I Send Thee.” Bonny Light’s rendition is simply breathtaking; Johnson and Mitchell switch voices between the major and minor sections of the song, creating a raw and haunting sound.

“Bright Morning Stars” – Bonny Light Horseman, Bonny Light Horseman

The penultimate song off Bonny Light Horseman is a traditional Appalachian spiritual originally documented by Alan Lomax. This song holds the essence of a church choir belting for their audience and it’s one of the more simple songs on the album, in terms of arrangement. Having only three voices and a piano allows listeners to hear their trading voices on each verse and then the bright light of togetherness on the choruses.

“Gone by Fall” – Bonny Light Horseman, Rolling Golden Holy (2022)

“Gone by Fall” sits directly in the middle of Bonny Light Horseman’s second album, Rolling Golden Holy. Depicting a summer romance, it’s reminiscent of a 1960s folk song you might have heard on the radio during the folk revival. Yet, in listening to it, a veil is seemingly lifted and you can hear it’s an entirely fresh take on such a classic sound. Their voices, which blend so beautifully together, and the crystal clear guitar lines throughout add in the sweetness of a summertime love.

“Someone to Weep for Me” – Bonny Light Horseman, Rolling Golden Holy

Next up is “Someone to Weep for Me,” a song depicting a person going through life craving someone to care for them, but never finding that person. The driving force of the track is the mandolin’s beautiful rolling pattern, a genius touch that’s present throughout the song and adds a sense of stability and a unique texture. Another stroke of genius comes at about 1:40 in, when the electric guitar comes in wailing, bringing the song into a “jam” with Anaïs singing a little line over it. This is such an unexpected vibe change and at the same time it fits so incredibly well.

“Greenland Fishery” – Bonny Light Horseman, Green/Green (2020)

Off the band’s two-track EP release Green/Green comes “Greenland Fishery,” a reimagined traditional sailor song. Bonny Light’s version certainly allows you to float away. The clawhammer banjo throughout is lovely and it’s such a treat as a showcase instrument – it isn’t emphasized often throughout the band’s catalog. It’s also very sweet to hear the second part of the chorus as it echoes the chorus of “Bonny Light Horseman” in such a gorgeous, reminiscent way.

“Willie’s Lady (Child 6)” – Anaïs Mitchell & Jefferson Hamer, Child Ballads (2013)

Delving into some of the band members’ other projects, we come to Child Ballads, an album of duets from Mitchell and collaborator Jefferson Hamer. The project reimagines seven songs from a 19th century folk song collection “The Child Ballads” collected by Francis James Child. “Willie’s Lady (Child 6)” tells the story of King Willie, who marries a woman his mother despises and, in turn, his mother curses the wife. The guitars on the track have such a strong, driving force, excitedly pushing the song while one holds down the rhythm and the other crosspicks during the instrumental sections. Anaïs and Jefferson use their guitars in a way that perfectly compliments the vocal work in the song; it’s sung entirely in duet, the two voices deepening the texture of the music.

“Cazadera” – Fruit Bats, Gold Past Life (2019)

Fruit Bats is Eric D. Johnson’s indie-rock band that he’s fronted since 1997. Off their seventh album, Gold Past Life, “Cazadera” is one of the grooviest songs around. About a person searching for meaning in life and finding it in love, it’s the kind of track that would help paint your surroundings on a joyful walk. It has a great sense of hope and beauty to it and the chill verses coupled with sharp choruses bring energy and excitement.

“Loser’s L-A-M-E-N-T” – Rocketship Park, Off and Away (2008)

Going all the way back to 2008 for a selection from Josh Kaufman’s band, Rocketship Park, a pop-folky project with the intention to play Josh’s original material. The song “Loser’s L-A-M-E-N-T” is off the group’s first album, Off and Away, and immediately displays a very mellow vibe. Jazzy little piano licks come together with electric guitar and pedal steel, creating a western-folk sound. You can truly hear how each instrument is talking to the others and how they all fit together in telling the story.

“When I Was Younger” – Bonny Light Horseman, Keep Me On Your Mind/See You Free (2024)

From the group’s just-released double album comes “When I Was Younger,” which has a sound unlike most of their other music. Combining styles from artists like the Grateful Dead and Billy Joel, the intro riff sounds like it pulls some from the former, yet, once the verse starts, it sounds immediately like the latter – a kind of “Vienna” feeling.

It goes right back into the psychedelic riff before switching voices from Anaïs to Eric, again back to the Billy Joel vibe. The guitar and vocal solo following this verse are so rock and roll, gritty and not at all sparkly like the verses prior. “When I Was Younger” does an incredible job blending musical styles. It’s an absolutely astonishing piece of music, using such few words yet conveying such a strong and vivid story.

(Editor’s Note: Read Bonny Light Horseman In Conversation – With Each Other here.)

Photo courtesy of Chromatic PR. 

MIXTAPE: Jeff Picker’s Low End Rumblings on the Bass in Bluegrass

Posted on by Editor

Maybe I’m biased*, but I’ve always felt that the bass is the most important instrument in the bluegrass band. It might not immediately draw your ear, but a bassist’s interpretation of the groove and harmony of a song holds substantial power over how the song is ultimately felt by the listener. Without a great bassist, a band full of shredders can sound anemic and sad; a heartfelt lyric can seem tedious and derivative. But add some tasty low end, and the same band will soar; the lyric will swell with passion! (Attention sound engineers: simply cranking the subs won’t cut it.) As such, the bassist’s importance in a bluegrass band is considerable.

Even so, great bassists are rarely given their due, unless they also happen to be virtuosic melodic players. Well, that ends today! Here are some examples of masterful low end artistry from some of my favorite denizens of the doghouse. Please excuse the shameless inclusion of one of my own tracks, because, well… I have an album to promote. Enjoy! — Jeff Picker

*I’m definitely biased.

Tony Rice – “Shadows” (Mark Schatz, bass)

Mark is one of my favorite bluegrass bassists. His tone is huge and clear, and his bass lines are subtly creative. On this track, listen to the fluid transitions back and forth between standard bluegrass time and a more open feel. Also note his slick fills and voice leading throughout.

Nashville Bluegrass Band – “Happy on the Mississippi Shores” (Gene Libbea, bass)

If aliens came to earth, demanded to know what bluegrass bass sounded like, and stipulated that I had only one song with which to demonstrate it, I’d play this. Gene Libbea’s feel is perfect; his note choices are just varied enough to add a bit of intrigue to the basic harmony of the song, while never sacrificing the pendulum effect that drives the bluegrass bus. The occasional unison fill with the banjo adds to the fun.

Ralph Stanley and the Clinch Mountain Boys – “Loving You Too Well” (Jack Cooke, bass)

I love this approach to the bluegrass waltz. Jack Cooke’s playing here is busier than what you might hear from many bluegrass bassists these days, and there’s a certain playful and casual quality to it, which I find refreshing. He bounces around between octaves, and between full walking lines and half-notes. Old-school, “open air” bass playing.

Matt Flinner – “Nowthen” (Todd Phillips, bass)

This song may sound slow and simple, but make no mistake: to groove like this, at this tempo, in this exposed instrumentation, is HARD. Todd Phillips demonstrates his mastery here: clear tone, impressive intonation, and intentional, direct timing. I also love how softly Todd plays — at times, he seems to barely touch the bass. To me, that conveys maturity and experience.

Patty Loveless – “Daniel Prayed” (Clarence “Tater” Tate, bass)

I had fun studying the bass playing on this track when I got to perform it with Patty and Ricky Skaggs a few years back. Clarence “Tater” Tate played both bass and fiddle for Bill Monroe’s Blue Grass Boys over the years, and had about as much pedigree in bluegrass as can be achieved. I dig the playing here, because it feels like an old-school, 1950s approach (bouncy, busy, slightly loose bass playing), but with contemporary recording quality. If you focus on the bass, you can tell how much fun he’s having with the slightly crooked form and joyous lyric — it sounds like a musical smile.

Anaïs Mitchell and Jefferson Hamer – “Clyde Waters (Child 216)” (Viktor Krauss, bass)

The first time I heard this song, I didn’t even realize there was bass on it. But I found myself coming back to it, drawn by the story-like quality of the musical arrangement, and I realized that the bass plays a major part in that dynamism. Viktor Krauss displays impeccable taste in his musical choices here. He knows when to play, when not to, when to articulate an additional note, when to sustain. For a player as technically proficient as Viktor, such restraint is impressive. His playing serves the song, first and foremost.

Del McCoury Band – “Learnin’ the Blues” (Mike Bub, bass)

As everybody in Nashville knows, when Mike Bub and his Kay bass show up at a gig, a fat groove is imminent. This track showcases Bub’s rock solid hybrid feel — he bounces between 4/4 walking and half-time, triplet and ghost note fills, and even has a little two-bar break in the middle. This is the type of bass playing that makes it virtually impossible to sound bad (not that Del and the boys needed any help in that department). Bub is also a great guy with a sense of humor and tons of knowledge and stories about Nashville’s music history.

John Hartford – “Howard Hughes’ Blues” (Dave Holland, bass)

Bluegrass as a musical style is pretty specific — there’s room for a wide variety of personal voices, of course, but there are definitely some foundational qualities and vernacular that indicate whether a player is truly versed in the style. On this track, jazz legend Dave Holland sounds like exactly what he is: a jazz musician playing bluegrass. Normally a recipe for disaster, here somehow it works. His tone, feel, note choice, and general approach sound foreign in the style, but they actually mesh with Hartford’s loose and jovial manner quite well. A slightly bizarre but enjoyable approach to bluegrass bass.

Ricky Skaggs – “Walls of Time” (Mark Fain, bass)

I’ve spent a lot of time studying Mark Fain’s playing for my job with Ricky Skaggs, and I’m always finding subtle little musical gems in his bass parts. It’s Mark’s tone, taste, and timing that anchor most of the canonical Kentucky Thunder recordings that we all love. This track showcases his mastery of the bluegrass groove at a slow tempo — listen to the way he spruces up what could be a one-and-five-fest with ghost notes, fills, and syncopation.

Jeff Picker – “Rooster in the Tire Well” (Jeff Picker, bass)

When I was making my new record, With the Bass in Mind, one of my musical goals was to find some space for the bass to shine and for me to use some of the technique I don’t use very often as a sideman. As such, the record has many bass solos. This song has no bass solo, however, since this Mixtape isn’t about bass solos! There are some cool bass lines in it, though (if I do say so myself). I tried to choose my notes carefully, to help anchor the band through the song’s many metric changes.

Robert Plant and Alison Krauss – “Let Your Loss Be Your Lesson” (Dennis Crouch, bass)

This track is not exactly bluegrass, but what an incredibly grooving bass part. Here is a rare example of a time when slap bass was musically appropriate! Dennis is a friend of mine and a great guy and bassist. He plays with gut strings, punchy tone, and undeniably solid time. He’s also the master of throwing in a couple creative measures of voice leading at exactly the right moment in the song. I try to catch Dennis out playing in Nashville whenever I can.

Stan Getz and the Oscar Peterson Trio – “I Want To Be Happy” (Ray Brown, bass)

This is obviously not bluegrass, but no bass-centric mixtape would be complete without tipping the hat to King Ray. His half-time feel throughout the melody is flawless, and just listen to that crushing avalanche of groove beginning around 00:37. Ray is a bluegrasser’s jazz bassist because he plays on top of the beat, and his playing has a relentless forward motion, like the banjo playing of Earl Scruggs. I’ve loved this recording since I was 15 — you won’t find better bass playing anywhere.

Photo credit: Kaitlyn Raitz

Best of: Live at Ear Trumpet Labs

Posted on by Justin Hiltner

Since 2011 Portland, Oregon-based Ear Trumpet Labs has been blessing the music world with their finely crafted microphones, with their clean, natural sound and designs reminiscent of the styles of the 1930s and 40s. And for the past three years, they’ve been gifting us listeners with beautiful examples of their high quality equipment through their Workshop Sessions, pairing exquisite videography with master musicianship. We’re looking back at some of our favorites from 2019 as we move into the new year, when BGS + ETL will be partnering to bring you more content live at Ear Trumpet Labs!

Jerry Douglas & Tommy Emmanuel – “Choctaw Hayride”

We’re not alone in our love for this session: it was one of our BGS readers’ favorite stories of the year. But really how could it not be? It doesn’t get much better than two masters of their crafts getting together in a workshop and just letting it rip.

Both are using Edwina microphones, and there’s also a stereo pair of Delphinas as room mics.

The Local Honeys – “The Redhead Yodel no. 1 [Mainliner]”

In their unfortunately rare ode to the female traveller amidst a plethora of hobo songs in American folk music, the Local Honeys bring us what they call “a lovey-dovey, yodelly-wodelly one.” Is there anything better than a yodelly-wodelly love song from the perspective of a female hobo? No. Is there anything better than the Local Honeys? No.

Anthony D’Amato – “Party’s Over”

Anyone else still recovering from all those holiday parties?

Anna Tivel – “Minneapolis”

Once the holiday cheer has passed, this time of year can be heavy. Tivel tells BGS this song is about “that stagnant winter sadness that can take over everything until you have to physically move yourself to shake it loose.” This stirring string arrangement may envelop you in those depths of winter, but it just might give you the hope to get yourself un-stuck.

Rachel Sermanni – “Farewell, Farewell”

Scottish folk musician Sermanni’s gentle delivery and sparse accompaniment of this Richard Thompson tune draws out the influence of the British folk ballad even more than the original Fairport Convention release in the late ‘60s. We dare you to not be completely drawn in by this breathtaking rendition.

Jefferson Hamer – “Alameda”

Hamer’s 2018 release Alameda is a collection of “road stories,” its stunning title track a tale of a traveling worker and a lost love.

The Brother Brothers – “Angel Island”

Adam and David Moss’s arrangement of this devastating Peter Rowan-penned story of a Chinese immigrant couple separated and detained at San Francisco’s Angel Island, a regrettably common occurrence during the years of the immigration station’s operation from 1910-1940, is almost unbearably haunting, and for good reason. This is a story that we as a culture shouldn’t soon forget.

Claire Hitchins – Emma

Aside from the beautiful lyrics painting the picture of our leading lady, and the easy, light vocal delivery, the look of pure peace on Hitchins’ face might just be the cherry on top of this session. “We’ll rise with love, my love, I believe we are worthy.”

Greg Blake – “Say Won’t You Be Mine”

Greg Blake brings some bluegrass from Colorado to the Ear Trumpet Labs with this Stanley Brothers classic.

The Lasses & Kathryn Claire – “Here Now”

Amsterdam folk duo The Lasses team up with Portland singer-songwriter Kathryn Claire to create this captivating session featuring violin, guitar, bodhrán, and trio vocals that could warm any lonely heart this cold winter.

 

WATCH: Laura Cortese, ‘Three Little Words’

Posted on by Editor

Artist: Laura Cortese
Hometown: Boston, MA
Song: “Three Little Words"

This video is the first release from a project documenting the creative happenings at an event called Miles of Music Camp. Every year since 2011, about 100 songwriters and lovers of traditional roots music convene on a tiny island in Lake Winnipesaukee to teach, learn, and make music with each other. This year, for the first time, camp founders Kristin Andreassen and Laura Cortese invited a videographer to the island. His videos document works in progress and special collaborations like this one.

In Their Words: "The week before Miles of Music, Zack Hickman (bass) and I spent an afternoon on my porch talking about new love and old habits, and writing this song. On the first night of camp, we always have an instructor concert, so we taught this brand new creation to Kristin Andreassen (vocals), Oliver Craven (mandolin), Jefferson Hamer (guitar), Taylor Ashton (banjo), and Dinty Child (accordion), and then we performed it for the campers. That night, the lyrics were a little different. While teaching songwriting classes throughout the week, I found myself coming back to the images in the song and looking for stronger words to express them. Luckily, I was surrounded by many inspiring friends and peers who helped shape the song as you hear it in this video. And, since then, I've settled on a few more changes that you’ll have to come hear at a live show.” — Laura Cortese

Photo credit: Amanda Kowalski

ALBUM STREAM: Anais Mitchell & Jefferson Hamer ‘Child Songs’

Posted on by Editor

Last week we told you all about ANAIS MITCHELL & JEFFERSON HAMER’s beautifully complex project, CHILD SONGS, prior to their LA show (check out our interview with Jefferson here…).  But this week we give you the chance to hear it for yourself with a full stream of the album.  What do you think?  Do Anais and Jefferson’s new takes on these ancient folk songs ring true today?

You can still catch the duo’s intricate harmonies live while they continue their North American tour.  Don’t miss this show in a city near you.

NORTH AMERICAN TOUR DATES:

3/23 – Morso Wine Bar – Gig Harbor, WA
3/24 – Wildwood Hotel – Willamina, OR
3/26 – Freight & Salvage – Berkeley, CA
4/10 – Club Passim – Cambridge, MA (2 shows)
4/11 – Caffe Lena – Saratoga Springs, NY
4/12 – Hooker-Duhman Theater  – Brattleboro, VT (2 shows)
3/13 – The Parlor Room – Northampton, MA (2 shows)
4/14 – Narrows Center for the Arts – Fall River, MA
4/16 – Joe’s Pub – New York, NY
4/17 – Joe’s Pub – New York, NY
4/18 – Hamilton College – Clinton, NY
4/19 – Tin Angel – Philadelphia, PA
4/21 – Jammin Java – Vienna, VA
5/14 – Higher Ground – Burlington, VT
5/15 – Ninth Ward – Buffalo, NY
5/16 – The Ark – Ann Arbor, MI
5/17 – Redamte Coffee House – Madison, WI
5/18 – Old Town School of Folk – Chicago, IL
5/19 – The Pabst Theater – Milwaukee, WI
5/20 – Cafe Paradiso – Fairfield, IA
5/24 – L2 Arts and Culture Center – Denver, CO
5/25-5/26 – MeadowGrass Music Festival – Colorado Springs, CO
5/31 – Nelsonville Music Festival – Nelsonville, OH

CONVERSATIONS WITH… Jefferson Hamer

Posted on by Editor

 

ANAIS MITCHELL and JEFFERSON HAMER are each hugely respected artists in their own right, but together they create a chemistry that is lush and alluring and mysterious all at once.

Their recent collaboration, the critically acclaimed CHILD BALLADS, is a re-imagining of the song collection of Francis James Child, a 19th century Harvard professor who gathered traditional versions of folk ballads from across the British Isles.

Prior to their upcoming west coast appearances, Jefferson explained the story behind the project, and his artistic connection with Anais…

Why Child Ballads?  It’s not what people think…. Who was this guy?

When Anais and I started singing together we discovered we both loved a lot of old traditional music… found ourselves singing a lot of country songs and English folk music.  We both have copies of the Francis James Childs collection.  He was a Harvard professor who decided to collect his history of folk music from England and Scotland, and published several volumes of his work in the late 19th century.  The music he researched and documented covered a lot of the traditional music in the last few centuries and even came over to America and continued to evolve.

We got really excited about working with the actual text.  We’re both writers and like to get our hands dirty with words as well as arranging music.  Our project was going through these different versions and putting together something we created, not just singing some derivative version from some field recordings.  It was much easier with the Child books because he gives you a lot of different versions from what he collected.

We fell in love with the themes and the of the Child Ballads.  They are very ancient – very old.

How did you get in to Celtic and British folk music?

I started playing electric guitar and writing weird songs as a teenager.  Then when I was in college I got in to bluegrass – I just loved the idea that you could go play music with people you weren’t in a band with, that there was this common repertoire, a music that could build community.  That was a real delight that led me in to folk music.

Around the same time a humanities professor gave me a stack of CDs with British Folk Music – Fairport Convention, Richard Thompson, etc… what made it exciting was that my friends weren’t listening to it.  I felt like I had discovered this sort of treasure trove.  I think it formed an idea of the type of music I wanted to create.

You and Anais collaborated on the critically acclaimed Hadestown.  How did you two meet?  What brings you back to working with her?

I first heard about Anais from a mutual friend of ours.  I was on tour with Laura Cortese and we had a gig in Santa Cruz opening for Anais Mitchell.  That night she and I started to talk about English Folk Music.  We made that initial connection — discovering we had tastes in common.

A while later she was playing in Brooklyn and she asked me to open.  After that, we become friends right away, which now makes all the difference when you’re spending long hours in the car together.  But musically speaking we always liked to sing together.  I’ve always really admired her writing and her material.  She reached out early on and wanted to work with me so it really happened naturally.  And this record happened naturally too, even though it took a long time.

The goal was to express our musicality through these old songs.  We could have made an overly produced record but all the framework on the songs was in place and that’s the two guitars and two voices.  Not decorate it too much and not let it get too far away from us.

This album took several years and more than one attempt to create.  What is your process of working together?  What happened to the other attempts?

I started with Anais as her guitar player and harmony singer.  We discovered this mutual love of old songs and decided to make a ballad record.  We’d go up to her house in Vermont take a week make a record, then quickly realized we weren’t ready.  So any time we’d be together, the two of us would just peruse through all five volumes, finding the songs we liked.

We’d search for the right verse then add our own.  Kind of like “bushwacking” as we dubbed it — venturing far off the well worn path that was in the books, Child’s books being “the source”.  That’s why it took us such a long time – some of these songs have thirty verses.  Until we piece together one song – that can take a month.  And then we would sing them so that we knew it felt natural.  Ultimately that’s how we made our decisions as to include and what to leave out – deciding what felt right.

After our first round of work, we went up to Vancouver to record with John Ram.  We had done a lot of work on the songs but didn’t know what kind of record we wanted to make.  That first round had drums, electric guitar, overdubs.  After some time up there we just knew we weren’t done yet — it didn’t work.

Not long after that a friend of ours recommended we go to Nashville and work with Gary Paczosa, and it was clear we had to make an acoustic record.  We were so fortunate to work with a guy like Gary.  He has such an amazing resume.  We’ve got to give a nod to him – the engineering has an immediate lushness ythat you can’t help but notice, and given how sparse the production is, that’s really something special.  Anais and I got down there and just sat across from each other and sang it live.  It took us a long time to get there and do the simplest thing.

See Anais and Jefferson live at McCabes Guitar Shop in Santa Monica this Friday, March 15.  You can learn more about Child Ballads here.