19 January 2017

Alan Jabbour, 1942-2017

Alan Jabbour
(photo: Bill Petros)
The BIB editor writes:

The FOAOTMAD news blog publishes today the sad news that Alan Jabbour, fiddler, musicologist, arts administrator, and one of the most influential people in the revival of old-time music during the last fifty years, died last Friday (13 Jan. 2017).

Through learning from, working with, and documenting traditional musicians such as Henry Reed and the Hammons family of West Virginia, Alan Jabbour - together with Bert Levy and Tommy and Bobbie Thompson, as the Hollow Rock String Band - set new standards of playing the music for those who come from outside the tradition, and introduced from the playing of their mentors many tunes that are now part of the core of old-time repertoire. Another of his contributions was to show the strong influence of black music and musicians in Appalachian fiddling.

A survey of his life and career is on Wikipedia. Many will remember his performing, in duet with Ken Perlman, at the first Johnny Keenan Banjo Festival in Longford (2002). Here's a link to a video of the two of them playing 'Waynesboro', an American relative of 'Over the moor to Maggie'. I use this as infallible 'cheer up' listening.

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