Ken Perlman (USA): news, winter 2017-18

Melodic clawhammer banjo and fingerstyle guitar master Ken Perlman (also on Facebook) sends his latest e-newsletter for the first quarter of 2018, with news of some major events later in the year.

Ken's new solo banjo CD Frails & frolics, with forty-five tunes (mainly ones he collected on Prince Edward Island) on seventeen tracks, is just out on his Redbud Recordings label, with an eight-page booklet of notes. Ken is accompanied by Jim Prendergast (guitar) and Janine Randall (piano). His performance of the three movements of 'Concerto for banjo and orchestra' by Harold Schiffman with the North/South Chamber Orchestra (cond. Max Lifchitz) in Manhattan is available as the first three tracks on the CD Vintage soundscapes & more (N/S #1064). Copies can be obtained through North/South Music or Ken's website.

The legacy of the late Alan Jabbour, Ken's longtime music collaborator, will be celebrated at the Library of Congress, 101 Independence Ave. SE, Washington DC, on Thurs. 18 Jan. (6.00-9.30 p.m.) with a reception, presentations, and a jam session led by Ken and devoted to well-known old-time tunes collected from Henry Reed and other Appalachian fiddlers. Admission is free and all are welcome.

More details, including news of Ken's banjo camp schedule, publications, and recordings, are on his website.