MP3 Reckless Ramblers - Lowdown Hoedown

This is contra music at its best, with fiddle, guitar, mandolin and bass interplay recalling the sound of the jazz greats, yet remaining solidly in the contra tradition.

13 MP3 Songs
FOLK: Contra Dance, JAZZ: Dance Band

Details:
Lowdown Hoedown Reckless Ramblers
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People travel far both to listen and dance to the exciting music of the Reckless Ramblers. Combining creative arrangements with outstanding instrumental performance, Lowdown Hoedown is Contra music at its best. The fiddle, guitar, mandolin and bass interplay recalls the sound of the jazz greats, yet the Ramblersâ music is solidly in the Contra tradition.
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Sam Bartlett â mandolin, tenor banjo,percussion
Nat Hewitt â fiddle, guitar
Ginny Snow â bass
Larry Unger, guitar, banjo uke, resonator guitar
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TUNE LIST
Time
1.Fatal Bert/ Boganâs/ Bakerâs Favoriteâ¦â¦â¦â¦â¦â¦â¦ 3:50
2.The Judgeâ¦â¦â¦â¦â¦â¦â¦â¦â¦â¦â¦â¦â¦â¦â¦â¦â¦â¦â¦â¦â¦â¦ 3:54
3.That Sultry Waltzâ¦â¦â¦â¦â¦â¦â¦â¦â¦â¦â¦â¦â¦â¦â¦â¦â¦â¦â¦â¦ 3:47
4.Lowdown Hoedown/ Elzicâs Farewellâ¦â¦â¦â¦â¦â¦â¦â¦â¦â¦â¦ 3:49
5.Glen Echo Jig/ Robinâs Bohdran/ Thingamaâ¦â¦â¦â¦â¦â¦â¦â¦â¦4:02
6.The Burnt Leg/ The Long Campaignâ¦â¦â¦â¦â¦â¦â¦â¦â¦â¦â¦â¦.. 2:58
7.Steve and Bettieâ¦â¦â¦â¦â¦â¦â¦â¦â¦â¦â¦â¦â¦â¦â¦â¦â¦â¦â¦â¦.. 3:44
8.Door County #2/ Sweetbriarâ¦â¦â¦â¦â¦â¦â¦â¦â¦â¦â¦â¦â¦â¦â¦... 3:55
9.Paddy on the Internetâ¦â¦â¦â¦â¦â¦â¦â¦â¦â¦â¦â¦â¦â¦â¦â¦â¦â¦.. 3:24
10.The Slippery Jig/ The Green Reelâ¦â¦â¦â¦â¦â¦â¦â¦â¦â¦â¦â¦â¦â¦ 3:09
11.La Gima Polkaâ¦â¦â¦â¦â¦â¦â¦â¦â¦â¦â¦â¦â¦â¦â¦â¦â¦â¦â¦â¦â¦. 2:49
12.Cumberlandâ¦â¦â¦â¦â¦â¦â¦â¦â¦â¦â¦â¦â¦â¦â¦â¦â¦â¦â¦â¦â¦â¦. 4:14
13.Lad OâBeirneâs/ The Phone Callâ¦â¦â¦â¦â¦â¦â¦â¦â¦â¦â¦â¦â¦â¦. 4:33

Total time: 48:08 +++++++++++++++++
Sometimes a dance band is formed around one or two stellar soloists, or sometimes itâs a group of friends who get together regularly and decide to play âoutâ at the local dance. Whatâs not so frequent is the phenomenon of four headline instrumentalists from different parts of the country who meet up and perform at a festival, then decide the music is so good they want to record and tour together. Thatâs the case with the Reckless Ramblers, and, luckily for the fans of contra dance and music, it works.
âLike a lot of good things in life, it sort of just happened,â says Ramblers guitarist and banjo-player Larry Unger. âNat and I were playing for a dance weekend, and asked Sam and Ginny to join us. The people who heard us really loved the sound, and we decided it could be a pretty exciting band.â That was certainly an understatement, as the music in this recording shows. With a wealth of experience in many kinds of traditional music among them, the quartet set out to record the music, as they would play it for dancers. âAll four of us are fond of playing in lots of different styles,â says Unger, âand we tried to include many of those influences on Lowdown Hoedown, but we approach it primarily as dance music. That means playing rhythmically, accenting the different figures, and always keeping one eye on the dance floor.â
When it comes to fiddling for the dance floor, Nat Hewittâs name is usually one of the first to come up. He and Unger have worked together for years, and, since both are multi-instrumentalists, have a special rapport when it comes to blending rhythm and melody. âAlthough he plays old-time, Irish, and other styles, âUnger says, âNatâs really not a genre-oriented fiddler: heâs a dance-oriented fiddler.â Nowhere is that more evident than in the Sligo reel âLad OâBeirneâs,â where Hewittâs intonation captures the listenerâs complete attention, or in âDoor County #2,â where he switches effortlessly between melody and rhythmic double-stopped shuffles. And in âThe Judge,âhe shines on lead guitar, providing a Django Reinhart-like groove.
âImprobable licks that you could never write outâ is how Unger describes Sam Bartlettâs mandolin improvisations. âHeâs such a multi-faceted musician, and heâll try anything.â Some of those licks can be heard in the reel âBakerâs Favorite,â where Bartlettâs mandolin dances around the melody laid down by Hewittâs fiddle. Bartlett also adds the four stringed tenor banjo to the Ramblers sound; both on melody in the jig âRobinâs Bodhran,â and as a low-down rhythmic twist to the reel âLowdown Hoedown.â
âThe combination of âLowdown Hoedownâ and âElzicâsâ is one of my favorite moments on the recording,â Bartlett says. âOne of the amazing things about that tune, and all of Larryâs tunes, is that they sound finished: almost traditional. He has a knack for getting right to the point of a tune. We had such an exciting time during that particular session: thereâs something really great about the way those tunes sound together.â Of the twenty two tunes on Lowdown Hoedown fourteen were composed by Unger, who Bartlett dubs âthe Irving Berlin of dance music.â
Listen to the interplay among the fiddle, guitar, and mandolin in the âGlen Echo Jig/Robinâs Bodhran/Thingamaâ medley: the way Unger doesnât just lay down the beat, but actually enhances the character of the tune with the chords he chooses; or to the achingly lovely waltz âCumberland,â and you know that itâs Ungerâs compositions and playing that are at the heart of the Ramblers sound.
Although their instrumentation is similar to the Appalachian string band sound of masters like Tommy Jarrell and Ralph Stanley, the Ramblers sound is unique. âWeâre a contra dance band, first and foremost,â says Unger. Within the genre of contra music, itâs unusual to find a band that succeeds without a piano. The music has been piano driven for so many decades that, for most of us, it seems to be de rigueur. One of the reasons for the Ramblersâ strings-only success is the bass playing of Ginny Snowe. âGinnyâs more active than the average dance bass player,â says Larry Unger. Sheâs such fun to work with because she can add runs in unexpected places, while keeping the beat strong. She can also change the way I play if I listen carefully to what sheâs doing: she makes me play more rhythmically. â
Although he cites the skills of Lowdown producer Pete Sutherland and engineer Mark Wessel, Unger admits that recording in a studio lacks the element of the dynamic interaction between band and dancers. âAlthough the four of us love playing together and inventing new ways to approach the music, we always miss the dancers, and the immediate feedback they give us,â he says. âWe certainly love the tunes, both new and traditional, but if it werenât for the dancers, well, it just wouldnât be any fun!â

Mary DesRosiers, Harrisville, New Hampshire
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Produced by Pete Sutherland, recorded at Blue Jay Studio, Mark Wessel, engineer, Mixes and Mastered at Charles Eller Studios, Lane Gibson, engineer, Photos by Jodi Zeisal and Tiffany Thompson, Car Illustration by Sam Bartlett, Graphic design by Carolyn Isaac, Keene, NH

Contacts for musicianâs books, CDs and for gigs:
Larry Unger www.larryunger.net, Nat Hewitt www.nathewitt.com,
Sam Bartlett samnabby@bluemarble.net

Great Meadow Music® P.O.Box 4, Westmoreland, NH 03467
(603) 399-8361 www.greatmeadowmusic.com
© (P) 2006 All Rights Reserved

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