My final weekend at Swallow Hill

I walked through the doors of Swallow Hill for the last time today.

It was especially poignant because I'd went to the shows on Saturday night to see many great friends and fellow community members play. In Tuft Theater was the monthly faculty concert, featuring school director, Michael Schenkelberg, on bass, along with guitarists Paul Trunko and Aaron McCloskey, banjoist Keith Frankel and mano picker Julie Gussaroff, all wonderful people, accomplished performers and teachers.

In Daniels Hall was Southern Journey: A Tribute to Alan Lomax. Lomax was a musicologist who traveled throughout the South to document and record the music and life stories of the roots of American music: gospel, old-time, blues and much more. Marta Burton, a major force behind this and the forming Colorado Musician's Consortium, has been a great friend to me for several years, a consummate professional with a beautiful soul. This project she's put together features 10 members who sing and play multiple instruments to bring the Lomax archives to life. It's really one of the most moving musical experiences I've ever seen.

I was struck by the passages she'd read, about Lomax's love for these people, who were some of the most downtrodden. Their tenacity, resilience and spirit really struck a chord of me as I thought back to my own days growing up around such folk. It made me think about my father and how hard he'd worked, how much faith he had and the goodness he and others had in a neighborly spirit of helping each other however possible. My father passed away many years ago now, from cancer, while I was in college. It made me miss him very much.

I have to say I am a bit heartbroken to not go back to Swallow Hill but I feel a lot of inspiration from my last moments there with teachers and performers alike. They're the reason there is a Swallow Hill and they're the reason I was so glad to be there to help advance the organization in any way I could. I will miss them greatly but know I'll see them in other capacities.

Adieu, Swallow Hill. And if any of you out there could use someone like me, I'm available and eager to see what awaits me on the horizon!

Swallow Hill’s “Top of the Hill” faculty not only teach—they perform

Swallow Hill’s “Top of the Hill” faculty not only teach—they perform
story by Laura "Spunky" McGaughey
(Originally published in the September 2009 issue of Pow'r Pickin' magazine, the official publication of the Colorado Bluegrass Music Society. Photo of Aaron McCloskey courtesy of Scott McCormick and Swallow Hill Music's Faces of Folk project.)

“The faculty at Swallow Hill Music are undoubtedly some of the best musicians in the world,” says Clay Kirkland, who has been a long-time member of the faculty. “Most have toured on a regional basis and continue to do so. Still others stay off the road so they can be home to raise their families. The Denver community reaps the rewards when they’re here at home, teaching. Where else can a beginner learn from such professionals?”

Kirkland is the mastermind behind the monthly “Top of the Hill” Faculty Concert Series at Swallow Hill Music, showcasing the faculty’s talent. Every third Saturday of the month, a different configuration of teachers come together to perform. On September 19, guitarist Paul Trunko, mandolinist Julie Gussaroff, banjoist Keith Frankel, guitarist Aaron McCloskey and bassist Michael Schenkelberg will share the Tuft Theater stage to perform a unique blend of Americana and bluegrass. They’ll present some favorites as well as material that each of them has written.

Guitarist Paul Trunko has worked professionally as a musician since the early 1980s. He was a member of the acoustic bluegrass band, Quickdraw, spent eight years as band leader with blues/rock band, The Keepers, and is a current member of the region’s most popular Grateful Dead cover band, Shakedown Street. Trunko has also recorded and released two acoustic kid/family albums in the Jammy Man series with fellow faculty member, Ernie Martinez. As a teacher, his focus is on basic rhythm and lead guitar in the styles of rock, blues, bluegrass, folk and country.

Julie Gussaroff was raised around a constant flow of music back in her home state of New York. “It’s what we did as a family,” she tells me, reminiscing of her early years singing as her father played piano. She went on to learn piano, guitar and mandolin. In 1996, she moved to Colorado and found her next musical family at Swallow Hill. “I love the community here, the students. I met a lot of musicians at Swallow Hill that I’ve been able to work and perform with in numerous capacities and places.” Gussaroff has a wide repertoire, from bluegrass to swing and Gypsy jazz, and she teaches a variety of vocal, mandolin and children’s classes at Swallow Hill.

Keith Frankel began playing piano and baritone horn at an early age. In his teens, he picked up a five-string banjo and found his true voice. He studied with Tony Trischka as a beginner and is currently mentored by Pete Wernick. His unique melodic style incorporates world, Celtic, classical and jazz flavors built on a strong Scruggs-style bluegrass foundation. Frankel’s career as a performer has had him working with everyone from jam bands to symphony orchestras, and his teaching career at Swallow Hill encompasses beginning through advanced bluegrass method, melodic style and various avant-garde techniques.

Aaron McCloskey, a Massachusetts native, is a guitarist with Steve Smith and Hard Road and performs regionally in various bands as well as a solo act. He loves the guitar because “every time I play, I learn something new.” His special love of acoustic and bluegrass music began when he picked up The Pizza Tapes about a year before he began playing guitar. “Bluegrass is a uniquely crafted music. It’s still a relatively new genre but it’s also somewhat of a lost art at this point. It’s refreshing to play. The chord progressions aren’t hard but the tempo is challenging. And it’s a big community—you can go out to something like RockyGrass and there are a lot of people out playing, all receptive to you sitting with them and jamming. It’s a lot of fun.”

Bassist Michael Schenkelberg not only teaches at Swallow Hill, he is the director of the music school. A native of Cleveland, he attended an all-boys prep school and would venture into blues clubs on the weekends with his pals. On one such excursion he decided he wanted to learn music and approached one of the musicians for lessons. Even after being told to buzz off, he persisted, the Delta bluesman finally relenting so long as he’d bring him a bottle of Crown Royale. The bluesman turned out to be none other than the legendary Robert Lockwood, Jr.

Schenkelberg’s career path took him everywhere from research in tropical biology to doing music and voice-overs for the Cartoon Network. He eventually landed in Chicago to join the staff at the Old Town School of Folk Music, and played in Americana bands Third Wheel and Back off the Hammer. In 2007 he joined Swallow Hill as their school director.

“Everyone should feel empowered to play music,” Schenkelberg says, as he explains the distinctive methods of Swallow Hill’s music school. The school teaches people to play immediately, unlike a conservatory that would first delve into theory. It also encourages people to play together, offering ensemble and group classes, and by hosting graduation parties at the end of each session.

The community of Swallow Hill also allows students to aspire to grow into professionals if they so desire: beginners start out learning from the pro faculty, share what they’ve learned at the graduation party, and can go on to the open mic and jam stage at the Café to work their way up (hopefully) to Daniels Hall. Swallow Hill is an organization that offers the full spectrum of music experience. The “Top of the Hill” performances are one aspect of this cycle—one not to be missed and a great quality at a bargain cost.

More information and tickets are available at http://www.swallowhillmusic.org/. Future performances include Richard Reed & Friends on October 17 and a Neil Young Tribute-themed show with Clay Kirkland, Paul Trunko, Ernie Martinez and Julia Hays on November 21.

Jayme Stone & Friends pay tribute to John Hartford

Jayme Stone & Friends pay tribute to John Hartford
story by Laura "Spunky" McGaughey
(Originally published in the September 2009 issue of Pow'r Pickin' magazine, the official publication of the Colorado Bluegrass Music Society.)

John Hartford was a true American original and Renaissance man: a songster, banjoist, guitar picker, fiddler, riverboat captain, calligrapher, folklorist and old-time music revivalist. He won GRAMMY awards in three different decades and recorded a catalog of more than 30 albums. He contributed music and narration to Ken Burns’ landmark Civil War series and was an integral part of the hugely popular O Brother, Where Art Thou? soundtrack, as well as its subsequent Down from the Mountain tour.

After a long battle with non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma, Hartford passed away in 2001, leaving a legacy that continues to inspire fellow musicians and artists. Known for keeping one foot deeply rooted in tradition and the other a few steps ahead into the future, Hartford’s innovative influence will be honored by some of the Front Range’s top acoustic musicians at Swallow Hill Music on September 12, led by Jayme Stone, “one of Canada's most accomplished and visionary banjo players.” (Live Music Report)

Stone is the perfect fit to head up a live performance project playing homage to Hartford. His last two albums won Juno Awards (Canada’s equivalent to the GRAMMY): The Utmost for Instrumental Album of the Year in 2008 and Africa to Appalachia for World Music Album of the Year in 2009. The first album was a bridge between jazz and bluegrass, while the second found Stone tracing the roots of the banjo, an instrument so well-known as an integral part of American mountain music, all the way back to Mali. His ability, like Hartford, to connect all the incredible branches of the deeply rooted tree of music, makes him a worthy contemporary.

“Instantly smitten” by the banjo at the age of 16 (“It was the one-two punch of discovering American roots music and Béla Fleck at the same time,” he says), Stone’s love for the instrument turned his life “upside down” as he became consumed by it. He practiced seven hours a day and went on to learn from Fleck, Tony Trischka, Dave Douglas and Bill Frisell. When his unquenchable thirst for learning led him to Mali, he spent seven weeks studying with the likes of Djelimady Sissoko, Adama Tounkara and Bassekou Kouyate, coming to the realization that old-fashioned oral transmission suits him best.

“With little common language between us, we turned to music for communication,” Stone recalls of his first meeting with Mansa Sissoko, a griot singer and kora player from whom he learned many traditional Malian songs and with whom he collaborated on Africa to Appalachia. “This tangible heart-to-heart connection was there immediately and I knew that he was the perfect collaborator for the project. African music is not designed to be analyzed. It is learned by doing, by immersing yourself in the sound, rhythm and story. It is participatory.”

While Stone is a Canadian native, he has called Boulder home for the last few years, playing informally with an array of other musicians. Rich Zimmerman, Ryan Drickey, Brad Murphey, Ian Hutchison and KC Groves are a few of these musicians, the ones who will join him at the John Hartford Tribute show. “Everyone is passionate about Hartford’s music and understands the spirit of interaction and interplay that keeps the music fresh and engaging,” says Stone.

A huge influence to Stone, the Hartford tribute concept was a no-brainer for him and his comrades. Noting Hartford’s genuine character and diversity, he says, “I’ve culled little things from his playing but more than anything, he’s someone I look to as an example of an artist who has truly found his own voice.” The Hartford catalog provides tremendous breadth and diversity and the tribute performances will delve in myriad directions, presenting a cross-section of riverboat songs, old-time fiddle tunes, music from the Aeroplane era and, of course, the gems like “Gentle on my Mind.”

In the oft-cited struggle between tradition and innovation, Stone’s viewpoint is one of no need for war. As he reflects on his own learning path, he recalls the two-week gap between his discovery of the banjo and actually getting one for himself. He spent the time at a local library, poring over the “treasure trove of acoustic music,” from old-time to bluegrass and newgrass, from minstrel music to mountain music. “It all seemed equally valid and inspiring, so when I set about learning to play, I was trying it all simultaneously, not feeling bound to the historical order things came in. That attitude has stayed with me,” Stone says.

“I am passionate about traditional music of all stripes and feel that innovation is essential to keeping it alive. It’s like recycling: your used pop bottle is still useful, but you can make a toothbrush, jacket or thumb pick out of it. I find that playing traditional music adds a certain gravity to all the other music that I play and write.”

In addition to the Swallow Hill performance on September 19 (tickets available at http://www.swallowhillmusic.org/), the John Hartford Tribute will also be presented on October 10 as part of the High Street Concert Series in Lyons (http://www.highstreetconcerts.com/). More information about Stone’s many projects can be found on his website at http://www.jaymestone.com/.