Vassar Clements

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Vassar Clements 1974

Vassar Clements ( April 25, 1928 - August 16, 2005 ) was an American fiddle player . The Grammy Prize winner played in the fields of jazz , swing and bluegrass . Clements has been referred to as the father of hillbilly jazz because his improvisational style blends elements of swing, traditional jazz and bluegrass, along with roots in country and other musical traditions.

Life

Vassar Clements was born and raised in Florida . He taught himself to play fiddle at the age of seven. The first song he learned was There's an Old Spinning Wheel in the Parlor . Clements soon formed a local string band with his two cousins ​​Red and Gerald . Gerald was the fiddle player, and when he married and left the band, Vassar Clements took over the fiddle. In his early teenage years he met Bill Monroe and his Bluegrass Boys when they were visiting Clements' stepfather in Florida (who was acquainted with an acquaintance of band member Chubby Wise ). Clements heard Chubby Wise play the fiddle and was impressed.

In late 1949, when Chubby Wise left Bill Monroe, Clements took the bus to Monroe to play for him. When he was told that he would have to return the next day, Clements was dejected because he had no money for a hotel room or for the return trip. Monroe gave him some cash for an overnight stay, and after audition the next day, Clements was accepted into the band as Wise's successor. He stayed with Bill Monroe for seven years. Recordings from this period were made as a member of Bill Monroe and the Bluegrass Boys in 1950 and 1951. Soon Vassar Clements became known as one of the most distinctive, imaginative and popular fiddle players in bluegrass music. His virtuosity and ability to incorporate several different genres (including swing and traditional jazz) into his style made him a pioneer in country music and a sought-after session musician .

He didn't always make a living from music. In the mid-1960s, he had alcohol problems from which he was able to recover. During this time, he made a living as a plumber at the Kennedy Space Center in Florida for a while . He also worked at a paper mill in Georgia and as a switchman for the Atlantic Coast Line Railroad ; he even sold insurance and ran a convenience store and owned a franchise -Unternehmen for potato chips in Huntsville (Alabama) .

After 1967 he returned to Nashville and worked again as a studio musician.

In 1971 he joined John Hartford's Dobrolic Plectral Society and met guitarist Norman Blake and Dobro player Tut Taylor , with whom he recorded Aero-Plain , a critically acclaimed Newgrass album that paved the way for the new success of the bluegrass sound. After less than a year, he was playing with Earl Scruggs ; the duet became known with the theme of the television sitcom The Beverly Hillbillies .

His appearance with the Nitty Gritty Dirt Band on their 1972 album Will the Circle Be Unbroken (on which the band played with a number of bluegrass stars) increased his popularity. He later played on Grateful Dead's album Wake of the Flood and Jimmy Buffett's A White Sport Coat and a Pink Crustacean . Eventually he recorded his first solo album.

In 1974 he recorded the bluegrass album Old and in the Way with Jerry García , David Grisman , Peter Rowan and John Kahn . That same year he played on Highway Call , a solo album by Dickey Betts , the ex-guitarist of the Allman Brothers Band

In his fifty-year career, he has played with artists from Woody Herman to Paul McCartney and has been nominated at least five times for a Grammy Award. He stepped in Robert Altman's film Nashville in 1975 and Alan Rudolph's film Welcome to Los Angeles on. In 1992 he recorded a duo album Together At Last with Stéphane Grappelli . In 2004 he appeared with the jazz quartet Third Stream on

Big band and swing music were big influences on his stylistic development, and he said: “Bands like Glenn Miller , Les Brown , Tommy Dorsey , Harry James , Artie Shaw were very popular when I was a kid. I've always loved the rhythm, and so swing and jazz probably come out of my subconscious when I play; Whenever I practiced, I tried to recreate the big band sounds I heard on my fiddle. "

Vassar Clements played on over 200 albums; he starred on about 40 of these. His albums often included Newgrass music, and what Clements called Hillbilly Jazz . His last album, Livin 'With the Blues (released 2004) was his only blues recording; there Elvin Bishop , Norton Buffalo , Maria Muldaur appeared as guests.

His 2005 Grammy for Best Country Instrumental Performance was for Earl's Breakdown by the Nitty Gritty Dirt Band and featured Clements, Earl and Randy Scruggs and Jerry Douglas .

His last performance was on February 4, 2005 in Jamestown, New York . On August 16, 2005, he died of lung cancer .

Discography

  • Vassar Mercury Records
  • Superbow Mercury Records
  • Southern Waltzes Rhythm Records
  • Vassar Clements, John Hartford, & Dave Holland Rounder Records
  • Crossing The Catskills Rounder Records
  • Vassar Clements MCA Records
  • The Bluegrass Session Flying Records
  • Grass Routes Rounder Records
  • Saturday Night Shuffle - A Celebration of Merle Travis Shanachi Records
  • Hillbilly Jazz Flying Records
  • Hillbilly Jazz Rides Again Flying Records
  • New Hillbilly Jazz Shikata Records
  • Together At Last (Stephane Grappelli & Vassar Clements) Flying Records
  • Nashville Jam Flying Records
  • Westport Drive Mind Dust Records
  • The Man, The Legend Vassillie Productions
  • Country Classics Vassillie Productions
  • Vassar Clements Reunion With Dixie Gentlemen Old Homestead
  • Once In A While (Jam with Miles Davis' ex-band members) Flying Fish Records
  • Live at Telluride 1979 Vassillie Productions
  • Music City USA Vassillie Productions
  • Old And In The Way (Volume 1) BMG Music
  • Old and In The Way - That High Lonesome Sound (Volume 2) Acoustic Disc
  • Old and In The Way - Breakdown (Volume 3) Acoustic Disc
  • An Americana Christmas (with Norman Blake) Winter Harvest
  • The Bottom Line Encore Collection
  • Vassar's Jazz (Golden Anniversary) Winter Harvest
  • Back Porch Swing Chrome Records
  • Dead Grass Cedar Glen Music Group
  • 20 Fiddle Tunes & Waltz Favorites
  • Full Circle OMS Records
  • Will The Circle Be Unbroken - Volume II (30th Anniversary Edition) Capitol Records
  • Will The Circle Be Unbroken United Artists
  • Will The Circle Be Unbroken - Volume III Capitol Records
  • Old & In The Gray Acoustic Disc
  • Runaway Fiddle - Buddy Spicher and Vassar Clements OMS Records
  • Livin 'With The Blues Acoustic Disc

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ Video recording of the concert with Jim Easton g, Tom Strohman sax, Jim Miller bass, John Peifer dr available from vassarclements.com
  2. ↑ Bands like Glenn Miller, Les Brown (bandleader) | Les Brown, Tommy Dorsey, Harry James and Artie Shaw were very popular when I was a kid. I always loved rhythm, so I guess in the back of my mind the swing and jazz subconsciously comes out when I play, because when I was learning I was always trying to emulate the big-band sounds I heard on my fiddle
personal data
SURNAME Clements, Vassar
BRIEF DESCRIPTION American fiddle player
DATE OF BIRTH April 25, 1928
DATE OF DEATH August 16, 2005