Classic Banjo at Davies Symphony Hall In San Francisco

[Jody Stecher]

There is exciting news for Classic Banjo in California. On May 10, 11, and 12th there will be a concert at Davies Symphony Hall here in San Francisco, " Barbary Coast and Beyond: Music from the Gold Rush to the Panama-Pacific Exposition".  Rather late in the preparation for this event it was decided that period banjo music would be a good thing to have. How the specific musicians were chosen is a long story and worthy of its own comedy film but at the end of the SF Symphony's negotiations with Bill Evans they agreed on a trio of Bill, me, and Scott Nygaard. We had our rehearsal last night and found that by small editing we could fit into our slot of "no more than 7 minutes"  most of A Ragtime Episode (minus one of the repeats) and a medley of  half of Stephen Foster's " Hard Times" and all of Parke Hunter's "Pensacola" minus the repeats.  For all three pieces the instrumentation is two five string banjos and one nylon strung six string guitar-banjo (plus vocals on Hard Times). 

Davies Hall has a seating capacity of 2743 so these 3 nights may well  be the occasion of the largest gathered audience listening to classic banjo in a great many years.

We play early in the program AFTER the symphony plays something and before The United States Air Force Band of the Golden West.

Yow, they seem to have confidence in Banjo Power.  We do.  It'll be fine.  We also have been engaged to play in the lobby for 20 to 30 minutes before the concert begins. We'll play entirely classic banjo there, the repertoire changing according to circumstances.

 Today I found out that the symphony needed 180 words or so on the repertoire (which the program notes people mistakenly thought was going to be Oh! Susannah and Clementine —talk about about a comedy film.....)  and that they needed it yesterday. I thought you all might like to see what I actually wrote since it has been edited a few times already to make it fit with what preceded it and what followed it in the program booklet and may well be edited again.  There are references in the rest of the concert to Lola Montez and to the opera singer Adelina Patti so that is why I included these people in my notes which were tailored to the occasion and to San Francisco and California history.  Absent from my notes are the birth and death dates of Paul Eno. Does anyone know them? Here are my program notes:

The story of the Five String Banjo tells of the crossing and blurring of barriers of class and race. Lotta Crabtree was a San Francisco banjo celebrity from the gold rush days who played for a rough and tumble audience and was mentored by Lola Montez. But Adelina Patti the opera diva was also a banjo devotee and gave private recitals to friends.  Early banjos were a simple joining of vine, hide, and calabash. Its form and playing technique evolved from African prototypes. By the late 19th century factory production employing skilled artisans produced an instrument that was at once a work of art and a precision tool for playing  increasingly complex banjo music.

Paul Eno was a celebrated composer and banjo orchestra conductor from Philadelphia. “A Ragtime Episode” was first published in 1903 but earlier cylinder recordings suggest an earlier date of composition. Stephen Foster (1826 -64) composed for the parlor and for the minstrel stage. His “Hard Times” (1854) remains current and viable today. Parke Hunter (1876-1912) was a prolific composer and a virtuoso banjoist. His “Pensacola” captures the banjo’s essential qualities.

[thereallyniceman]

This is superb, and what  excellent  exposure for Classic Style Banjo !!

Please do keep us informed, Jody, and I hope that videos and audio recordings of the event will be made available.  I wish that I was a little closer than 5000 miles from San Francisco so that I could attend !

Good luck and have a great performance.

[Mike Moss]

That's great news! The programme sounds very good -- some Foster music the audience will be familiar with, and two solid Classic banjo standards. Also, the lack of repeats isn't a bad thing in itself, as some Classic banjo solos do have too many repeats, especially for a non-initiate audience.

Will you be playing your Stefanelli?

[Jody Stecher]

Yes, the Stefanelli is the most reliable banjo I have, always in tune. It's also the loudest and the prettiest to look at. So it was a no brainer to select it.  Bill will play his Bart Reiter banjo Whyte Laydie copy as his real Whyte Laydie (which is oversize and very powerful) keeps slipping its fifth string peg. On an occasion such as this dependability is what we want. Scott Nygaard will play my old Vega Electric guitar-banjo on the medley and we'll swap for Ragtime Episode as Bill and I have played that piece with me on the guitar-banjo for a decade or more and we can do it in our sleep. Nearly. Scott adds a lot of musicality by adding a second five string banjo as well. 

[Trapdoor2]

Awesome! We will be expecting video, of course...

[Jody Stecher]

I don't know if shooting video is permitted at Davies Symphony Hall. My guess is no. And if it is permitted I'm not sure  how we could do it at the same time we play our banjos. Kinda like Van Eps recording A Ragtime Episode before Paul Eno wrote it.  Maybe Davies does its own video. In that case access might be possible. 

[thereallyniceman]

Jody, I remember about two years ago you had a bit of trouble when packing the car after a concert in Berkeley.  For those who don't know, Jody had a banjo stolen (fortunately recovered), but today I saw on UK Ebay, the very case sticker for you.  All Classic Style players should have one!

[Sylvia]

Hi Jody, all the Best for the concert.  If you are not allowed to video the actual performance your group could perhaps video a practice for us... please.

[Jody Stecher]

 Our next rehearsal is monday night. I'll propose your idea then.

[Jody Stecher]

I forwarded the image of the case sticker to Bill Evans who replied, tongue in cheek: "Some folks might say that this is a waste of a good bat."

thereallyniceman said:

Jody, I remember about two years ago you had a bit of trouble when packing the car after a concert in Berkeley.  For those who don't know, Jody had a banjo stolen (fortunately recovered), but today I saw on UK Ebay, the very case sticker for you.  All Classic Style players should have one!

[David Wade]

Excellent opportunity Jody, good luck mate!

[Richard William Ineson]

A wonderful opportunity for yourselves and the banjo, I remember playing Ellis's 'Darkeys Return'. which features 'Hard Times', with Douglas Rogers, at the Bath Banjo Festival a few years ago, it's a wonderful song. Good luck with your performance, on the night, if someone can't make it, let me know.

[Jody Stecher]

We'd love to have you join us, Richard. Just get one of your jets out of the garage and fly on over. You can show us how Darkey's Return goes. I found Old Times as part Ellis' Darkey Memories but can't find Darkey's Return or an Ellis arrangement of Stephen Foster's "Hard Times  (Come Again No More)". I generally like Ellis' compositions and arrangements so I'm very curious. I'm also curious as to how the audience will react. So far the symphony people have been very friendly and seem to be slightly puzzled by us. They have the idea that we are competent musicians and at the same time we enjoy ourselves. 

Richard William Ineson said:

A wonderful opportunity for yourselves and the banjo, I remember playing Ellis's 'Darkeys Return'. which features 'Hard Times', with Douglas Rogers, at the Bath Banjo Festival a few years ago, it's a wonderful song. Good luck with your performance, on the night, if someone can't make it, let me know.