Topic: Port Townsend 2011

[Rivers]

Thanks for the reviews folks, keep 'em coming. Darn, too good.
BTW I can't access Roz's pics, not being an FB person. Call me strange. 

[lindy]

Roz also posts her photos on Flickr:

http://www.flickr.com/photos/ptcentrum/6026056237/in/photostream/

Unfortunately, no captions. Also, after a while the blues photos are mixed with the Jazz and chamber music photos, it'll be pretty obvious when the transition comes.

Lindy

[Rivers]

Thank you lindy, and very nice photography there Roz.

[Slack]

Flicker shots are great, thanks for pointing them out Lindy -- Almost all are different shots than Roz's facebook photos... she takes lots of photos!

[islandgal]

Lindy,

Thanks for a brief rundown of the fantastic week, from your perspective. I was in several of the same classes and I concur. Can't wait to get back.
My biggest problem was being okay with missing out on something wonderful no matter where I was at any one time.

[Slack]

Welcome Islandgal!

[uncle bud]

A fine time was had by all. For my part, it was great to see JohnM, who hadn't been on faculty for a few years, and Slack, who I hadn't seen in a few as well, despite being co-conspirators on this site. Indeed while the musical experience is great, my favourite part of PT is seeing friends again. My trusted travel buddy Front Page is as fine a person as you are likely to meet, and most of the rest of youse are ok too. Glad to see Mike Brosnan make it in the end as well, as younger-ish talent like his should be encouraged.

Speaking of young talent, Jerron Paxton continues to blow minds with his. He was playing quite a bit of banjo and fiddle in addition to guitar and piano, and music ranged from stride piano tunes and early jazz to vaudeville blues to minstrel tunes and Uncle Dave Macon on banjo. And old-time music as well. He would play  Archie Lewis' "Miss Handy Hanks" one moment and Old Joe Clark the next. Or Fats Waller. Some musical genius that young man has. An impromptu afternoon banjo class was very cool, covering some Uncle Dave and minstrel stuff.

Glad to see Lightnin' Wells there too. His songbag is so deep, even before he picks up a ukulele or banjo or harmonica, and his performances are always rock solid and a pleasure.

JohnM's classes were superb. I was about to type 'as usual' but since it had been so long since he had taught there, that isn't really the case. Frankie Lee Sims was new to me, glad to have been introduced to him in one of the morning classes. Afternoon classes were mostly focused on arranging tunes in new keys/tunings, very informative and lots of food for thought, with examples like taking Lemon's Wartime Blues from E position and playing it in Spanish tuning. Last class dealt with EAEGBE tuning and open B flat tuning. Great! Also saw John put in a really strong set at one of the clubs Friday night following a set by Lightnin'. And I had a very fun time playing banjo with him for a couple hours one night. We didn't get to guitars, sadly. There is such a crammed schedule it can be hard to get playing time squeezed in.

The Taj Mahal concert was OK. The bar band format seemed less part of the workshop spirit and more a fundraising concert for Centrum, which is fine, I suppose, but why not have it another time then. Had I known what it would be like, I would have skipped it to hang out and play with others. There is already so little time to do that. I thought I would like the idea of a mid-week concert, but count me out in the end. I realize I am probably in the minority on this, and Taj gave the people what they wanted, as Lindy notes. I was reminded of the David Bromberg show from last year. Got the distinct impression his appearance too was a fundraising exercise. Or someone wants to run a music festival?

Lindy, you got into a lesson with Corey Harris? Seemed like he taught one hour the whole time.

I haven't seen any evaluation email yet which is surprising. I might have missed some stuff, but I would like to see some more solo/duo faculty performances in 204 in the evenings. They are great entertainment and learning experiences, and they also draw people to the building so they can play together. The faculty "superjams" are OK, though get a little over the top. I prefer a more intimate setting. Two people swapping tunes, or occasional duets/trios.

[Cleoma]

Oh man.  I sure wish I could've been there!  I had an excellent week at Puget Sound Guitar Workshop but there is nothing like Blues Week....sigh....

[uncle bud]

Comments about the harp players in the EBA Blues Week reviews reminded me of another highlight of the week at Port Townsend for me that I'd forgotten to mention and that was the playing of Mark Graham. What an ace. I was somehow not familiar with him and was floored by his playing in many different traditional styles. One of my complaints about harp players (if I may  ) is that many of them usually play as if the harmonica was a modern electric guitar, even many of the good ones. Mark plays blues, old-time, plays like Sonny Terry or Deford Bailey, any number of others and like himself. I'm no harp player but I would rate him as one of the very best I've heard. I picked up his CD "Southern Old-Time Harmonica", which leans more towards old-time music, though as Mark points out in his notes, there's a lot of common ground with country blues, and adds "bloody and endless war is averted only because hardly anybody gives a damn and there's no money in any of it." I'd say this CD is essential for harp players. And I really hope Mark is invited back to PT as I thought he was a fantastic addition.

[Stuart]

I'll second what Andrew says about Mark. I've seen him perform a couple of times and he's top notch and definitely worth checking out, if you haven't done so already.

[Mike Brosnan]

Glad to see Mike Brosnan make it in the end as well, as younger-ish talent like his should be encouraged.

I haven't seen any evaluation email yet which is surprising. I might have missed some stuff, but I would like to see some more solo/duo faculty performances in 204 in the evenings. They are great entertainment and learning experiences, and they also draw people to the building so they can play together. The faculty "superjams" are OK, though get a little over the top. I prefer a more intimate setting. Two people swapping tunes, or occasional duets/trios.

Aww shucks...  Thanks, UB.  I'll take "younger-ish".  That works.
I agree about smaller jams/performances vs. "superjams".  I don't necessarily feel that it's a good idea to encourage a dozen guitarists and a dozen harmonica players to all play the same three chords for the same 12 bars all at the same time.   Then again, I am a bit of a curmudgeon...  I do think the more intimate jams can be much more educational and I would've liked to see some more faculty performances throughout the week. 
I think Jerron and Chaz's Jazz jam was the most successful big jam of the week.  The faculty were the only ones that could really keep up with them, so it ended up being more of a performance than a jam.  And it seemed like EVERYONE was loving it!

[Johnm]

Hi all,
I'm sorry to be late to this de-briefing of this year's P.T. Blues Workshop, but I just got back from another camp in Maine today.
I had a great time at Port Townsend.  My favorite thing there is definitely reuniting with old friends, but making new friends and deepening friendships are certainly not far behind.  I had a tremendous amount of fun in the classes I did, and as always, I'm so thankful for how game people are, and willing to try anything.  It's certainly a luxury to teach in an environment, too, where enough people are already deeply familiar with the music so that you don't feel like you have to pitch everything right over the heart of the plate.  People seem to particularly welcome and enjoy working on the music of artists that they might not be familiar with previously, and similarly they welcome trying out new ideas and approaches to making the music.  Of course, I reckon there is an element of self-selection going on with this, and that people gravitate towards the teachers and subject matter that appeal to them the most, which is as it should be.  Anyway, thanks to all who attended my classes.
I was so glad Erwin Helfer was back on staff.  It's always a treat to be around him and hear his music.  I had some really fun sessions over the course of the week--a banjo evening with uncle bud, and a couple of sessions with Jerron Paxton, where we were switching off, trading banjo and fiddle back and forth, and a nice time with Guy Davis and Jerron taking turns playing Mike Brosnan's beautiful 12-string.  Later that same evening, Jerron and I were joined by Lightnin' for one of the most fun Old-Time jams I've played in in years, with Lightnin holding down the guitar, and Jerron and me trading fiddle and banjo back and forth.  Jerron and Lightnin' share an amazing recall of lyrics and many musical tastes.  It really is amazing how much music Jerron has already heard and absorbed in his relatively brief time here--23 years (!).  He really has down some of Uncle Dave Macon's 3-finger styles on banjo that almost no one, including really stellar Old-Time banjo players, do.  And this is in addition to ace work on piano, fiddle and guitar.
It was great to hear how well people were playing and how quickly they picked the music up.  Great to see all you pals.
All best,
Johnm
  

[Johnm]

Hi all,
I forgot to express my particular thanks to Peter McCracken and Ruby Fitch for handling the myriad of details that are involved in putting on the event with such grace and skill.  If you had a problem, they handled it, no muss no fuss.  Thanks also to Corey Harris for making me part of the program at Port Townsend again.
Also, I forgot to mention earlier that Mike Brosnan sounded better on his twelve-string than any of the rest of us did.
All best,
Johnm

[Mike Brosnan]

Also, I forgot to mention earlier that Mike Brosnan sounded better on his twelve-string than Guy Davis, Jerron and I did.

You flatter me so, John.  I respectfully disagree, but thank you nonetheless.    
My favorite moment of that 12 string session was watching Jerron and Guy laugh in amazement as John played a beautiful lick up the neck in spanish tuning.  Jerron kept asking John to play it again and reacted the same every time.  Can't wait 'til next year....

[uncle bud]

Just a reminder that the link to the workshop evaluation form has been sent out by Centrum and participants are strongly encouraged to fill it out.