Ken Perlman (USA): news, spring 2018

Ken Perlman (USA) sends his newsletter covering the second quarter of this year. Enthusiastic reviews of his latest record release, Frails & frolics: fiddle tunes from Prince Edward Island, Cape Breton, & elsewhere on clawhammer banjo, are quoted, including Pat Kelleher's review that appeared on the BIB on 4 Mar. Ken will be launching the album at personal appearances in New England during the next couple of months.

Ken was one of the artists who helped to celebrate the legacy of fiddler and folklorist Alan Jabbour (1942-2017) at the Library of Congress on Thursday 18 January. At least fifty musicians jammed there, and a total of some 300 people attended. A video record of the event is on YouTube.* The old-time backup style that Ken developed while playing and touring with Alan Jabbour will be one of the fields covered in his forthcoming Mel Bay publication, Old-time Appalachian fiddle tunes for clawhammer banjo, which will include note-for-note settings of over 100 tunes. More news is on his website.

*Ken's contribution to the tribute to Alan Jabbour draws particular attention to the many tunes from the repertoire of Henry Reed which, through Alan, have become very widely played.