Fiddle Tunes at Centrum

May 10 Swing Dance at the JFK Building

Get ready for some jump blues, western swing, and classical jazz standards from the 1930s and 1940s on Saturday, May 10!

Join us at 7:30 pm, as Fort Worden State Park’s newly renovated JFK Building comes alive with rock-steps, twirls, and dips. The cost is $10; tickets are available at the door or by calling 360.385.3102, x117. Tickets are also available online.

Leading the swing dance are Grammy-winning guitarist Mike Dowling, violinist Paul Anastasio, sensational Canadian vocalist/pianist Jennifer Scott and bassist Cary Black.

The dance is the public capstone to an intensive weekend workshop for swing musicians and vocalists, some of whom will join the band onstage.

Before embarking on a solo career, Mike Dowling worked and recorded with jazz great Joe Venuti, mandolinist Jethro Burns, and Nashville swing fiddler Buddy Spicher. Dowling is a popular swing instructor throughout the country. He has been called by Vassar Clements "one of the finest guitarists there is, anywhere."

Paul Anastasio studied jazz violin with the great Joe Venuti. His first job on the road was with Merle Haggard’s band, The Strangers. In 1992, a chance encounter with Mexican violinist Juan Reynoso turned his life upside down. He began to travel to southwestern Mexico to study Reynoso’s regional fiddling style, leading to a distinctive and virtuoso style.

Jennifer Scott is a Vancouver-born vocalist and jazz pianist specializing in jazz, blues, and world music. From sold-out concerts in San Francisco to exclusive local club performances, Scott’s performance experiences have been varied. Jennifer has appeared at Jazz Festivals all across Canada and in several of the United States.

Cary Black, a bassist, teacher, vocalist, and producer from Olympia, taught music theory and improvisation for six years at the Evergreen State College. He has made numerous radio appearances including the Grand Ole Opry and A Prairie Home Companion.

Earl Murphy in the New Yorker

First time Fiddle Tunes faculy member Earl Murphy, who won a fiddle contest in 1926, has a nice photo in the April 28 issue of The New Yorker. Nancy Hartness reports from Georgia:

"We had a great weekend with Earl playing at the Second International String Band Festival of Gordon County.  It was a good trial run for Fiddle Tunes.  Although Earl has been around a lot of musicians for years, I don't think he'd ever experienced the sense of community like that this weekend with the old time bands who were there. He especially enjoyed meeting Jim and Joyce Cauthen who will also be at Fiddle Tunes. He also enjoyed reconnecting with Rich Hartness and Tolly Tollefson who he'd met a year ago when they visited us here in Athens."

Here is a link to the photo of Earl and Art Rosenbaum from the New Yorker.
http://www.newyorker.com/online/2008/04/28/slideshow_080428_bilger/?slide=3#showHeader

The photo is part of an article by Burkhard Bilger about field recordings, old 78s, reissues, and the strange and obsessive people in the world of record collecting. The article's not on-line, you'll have to buy the mag if you want to read it, but it's worth it, it's a great read if you're a old time musician - of any age.

Swing Intensive Registration Deadline Approaching

This is the final week to register for the Swing Intensive, taking place May 8-11 here at Fort Worden. This premium experience features you (we hope) and 15-20 fellow musicians working with Paul Anastasio, Mike Dowling, Jennifer Scott, and Cary Black. That's a pretty sweet student/faculty ratio.

We'll house you in Centrum artist cabins, and feed you some seriously good food. Visit our swing page to learn more. If you are planning on attending, we'll need to hear from you by Friday, April 11.