Matt Flinner

It’s been a sad year in American roots music, as we say goodbye to another giant in bluegrass and folk music, Arthel “Doc” Watson.  It seems like we just lost banjo legend Earl Scruggs—just when we caught our breath we got the sad news that Doc passed away on May 29.  Like Earl, Doc was in his late 80s (he died at age 89), and kept performing until the end. And also like Earl, he brought so much beautiful music and positive energy into this world…

I looked around for some videos of Doc performing, and thought I’d share some of my favorites with you.  Seems to me we should start with “Black Mountain Rag”—one of Doc’s signature tunes, and one that has been copied perhaps more than any other by aspiring young guitar players.

I saw some liner notes written by Pat Brayer on a David Grier album several years ago that drew a direct line in the history of bluegrass guitar from Riley Puckett to Doc Watson to Clarence White to David Grier. I think Pat nailed it (though personally I’d probably add Tony Rice as another offshoot from Clarence White). Doc was the first person to really play lead guitar in the bluegrass style that we call “flatpicking,” and it must have seemed pretty revolutionary in the early 60s to see this unassuming man tear into “Black Mountain Rag” or “Whiskey Before Breakfast.” Doc’s influence was huge—flatpicking guitar began with him, and to this day he’s still the standard reference for so much of it.

But merely calling Doc a bluegrass artist or a flatpicker doesn’t do him justice, as there was so much more to Doc Watson music than just bluegrass or old-time music. He was a great country blues player as well (he often credited Mississippi John Hurt as a major influence), and his Merle Travis-style fingerpicking was a big part of his music.

Here’s an early clip of Doc playing another of his signature songs: “Deep River Blues.”

I first saw Doc perform around 1981 in Park City, UT at a little club. He had his son Merle Watson with him (Merle tragically died in a tractor accident in 1985) along with T. Michael Coleman on the bass. So many of Doc’s classic recordings were made during this period; Merle’s bluesy fingerpicking and slide guitar added a wonderful dimension to Doc’s music. Here they are from sometime in the early 80s performing a two songs: “Make Me a Pallet” and “Streamline Cannonball.”

And I have to include my all-time favorite version of the standard “Sittin’ on Top of the World.”  This is from Doc’s very first LP from 1962, and it’s just Doc by himself.  I find his his bluesy guitar playing and understated singing very moving…I’d highly recommend this one!

Here’s another rendition of Doc playing that song much later in his life.  He tells a story about picking cherries as a young man, and helping his younger sister (who, like him, was blind) get up into the tree to sit next to him.

When you go through Doc Watson videos on YouTube, you find a big variety of stuff that spans about 50 years. And it’s all good. Someone told me a few years ago that Doc still practiced the guitar every day, even well into his 80s. I don’t know if that was true or not, but I’d certainly believe it. His playing was still fiery, tasteful, and solid—and always so highly musical right to the end. Doc seemed to be a fully formed artist when he emerged in 1962 with his first Vanguard record, and looking back over his career you see a great body of work that never suffered with age, never seemed “burned out” or tired, and never even really repeated itself. And it was always delivered with grace and charm. Go seek out Doc and Merle’s “Down South” CD, or that first solo record, or “Pickin the Blues” (with Merle Watson and Sam Bush!), or “Portrait.” Or anything he did. You won’t be disappointed.

Doc Watson was the heart and soul of bluegrass guitar. He will be greatly missed.

This week I thought I’d introduce the “Music du Jour” project into the video of the week. As you may know, on most of the Matt Flinner Trio shows we write new music the day of the show to perform that night—basically one tune by each member of the trio, for three new tunes every night. I’ve been hesitant to add these new “du Jour” performances to our video channel, as I don’t know what tunes will end up getting recorded on our CDs, and I’m not sure I want to end up with a CD full of material that is already out there on YouTube. Anyway, I liked this performance enough to give it a go. I wrote this tune while on the road between Richmond, VT to Putney, VT. After rejecting a few ideas, the idea for this tune seemed to take shape somewhere near White River Junction; hence the title.
In our du Jour shows we’re often trying to change things up to keep the material fresh and varied. I gave the main melody to the bass and then tried to pass it around a fair bit to vary the texture. Then in the middle, Ross and I trade solos and build up into the reprise of the B melody back into the bass melody—sort of a backwards version of the beginning.

This video was made at the Next Stage Theater in Putney, VT on March 25, 2012 (the same day the tune was written).  We hope you enjoy it!

This week’s video is a beautiful tune written by Ross Martin, “Bitterroot.” This tune was written in Hailey, ID (in the Sun Valley area) after driving from Missoula, MY through the Bitterroot Mountains. When we arrived at the venue (the Ezra Pound Home, which is operated by the Sun Valley Arts Council) about 90 minutes or so before showtime, we asked each other how our tunes were coming along. Ross said something like, “I’m about to start writing mine.” And in what must have been about 30-45 minutes, this is what he had. I guess there’s nothing like necessity to facilitate inspiration! Or maybe it was just the beautiful drive.

This is the first tune we knew we had to record for our “Winter Harvest” CD, and it helped set the tone for the whole disc. This video was recorded at Down Home Guitars in Frankfort, IL (just outside of Chicago) on Oct 15, 2011. Enjoy!

Not much to say about this one. If you like banjo music, especially loud and fast banjo music, and you wonder how the banjo could be made to sound faster and louder, then this video might be for you. Recorded at the Ghost Ranch Bluegrass Camp with help from Eli West.

In January of 2012 I got to be part of something unique. Bassist Greg Garrison puts together a series in Denver called “Improvised Roots,” in which jazz musicians and bluegrass musicians meet with the commonality of improvisational ability, interest in roots music, and a good dose of courage. His lineup for the January shows included singer/guitarist Aoife O’Donovan, local sax giant John Gunther, myself, Matt Flinner on mandolin and banjo, and one of my musical heroes, Dave Douglas, on trumpet.
So the instrumentation for much of what we were going to play was to be bass, banjo, sax, trumpet and voice. Pretty weird ensemble. And I have to say I felt a little nervous being the only chordal instrument. I’d have to practice more ways of playing a Bb7#9 chord to try to keep things interesting. Not to mention I don’t play the banjo all that often these days, and I’m called upon to play with some stellar players and a guy who I consider to be one of the best and most creative jazz musicians alive today.
It turned out to be a very fruitful mix for two nights at the Dazzle Restaurant and Lounge. Aoife’s often deceptively complex yet memorable songs went nicely into Dave’s intricate arrangements and virtuosic solos from him and John. And Greg tied the whole thing together with his tune, “Not Sure What That Is.” We figured out how to blend as an ensemble and in the end I think we achieved that ultimate goal of making the whole greater than the sum of its parts. And it was an absolute thrill ride. Thanks to Greg, Dave, Aoife and John for all the inspiration I walked away with.

When you’re in an instrumental group that plays mostly original material, you’ve got to go back to your roots from time to time to establish that connection with your past and remind everyone where all this music really comes from. Bill Monroe was the Father of Bluegrass Music, and wrote a lot of classic songs like “Blue Moon of Kentucky,” “Uncle Pen” and “I’m Going Back to Old Kentucky.” He also wrote many many classic instrumentals such as “Rawhide,” “Big Mon” and this tune, “Wheel Hoss.” When we go back to our roots, Bill Monroe is certainly one of the places we go first.

This tune was recorded during our 100th “Music du Jour” show at the Chautauqua Community House in Boulder, CO on April 28, 2012.

This is one of our favorite older tunes to play.  It is generally credited to Willie Narmour, and is named after his home county of Carroll County, Mississippi.  If you want to go back and listen to his original 1929 recording, click here.  Ross got this tune from a Doc Watson and Clarence Ashley recording, and I learned it from a Mike Compton recording with the Nashville Bluegrass Band.  There are many versions out there, from Gid Tanner to Fiddlin’ Doc Roberts to Larry Sparks to Chet Atkins, and they all vary quite a bit in form.  As is the case with many older tunes, it has evolved somewhat since its original version.

This was recorded at one of our favorite venues, Village Concerts in Palmyra, VA, on Nov 7, 2010.  Polly King’s place is a warm, intimate and welcoming setting that always makes us and the audience feel good.  Thanks Polly!

This week’s video features a few of our favorite musicians: Cahalen Morrison, Eli West and Ryan Drickey playing Norman Blake’s “Church Street Blues” with the Matt Flinner Trio.  Cahalen and Eli are a great modern old-time duo, and their “Holy Coming of the Storm” CD is a must-have.  And Ryan Drickey is a fiddler with a keen sense of adventure; he’s a classically trained player who has become a master of old-time fiddling (one of very few to make that leap convincingly).  Anyway, we’re big fans of these guys and were excited to get to play with them on our High Street Concerts show in Lyons, CO on January 22, 2011.  Watch for Cahalen & Eli’s “Our Lady of the Tall Trees,” coming soon (and produced by Matt Flinner!).

This week’s video is of a tune that came to us from a Doc Watson recording from 1984.  Doc and Merle Watson put out many great albums from 1964 until Merle’s tragic death in 1985, and their “Down South” recording is one of my favorites.  That’s where we got this tune.  Doc’s version (the song probably dates back to before Doc’s time) has lyrics, which we don’t sing; in essence the protagonist of the song is complaining about marriage, and is asking to get his 15 cents back so he can “go home to Mammy” (maybe 15 cents was the price of a marriage license way back when?).  Anyway, we decided to turn the song into a fiddle tune, and it turned out to be really fun to play.  Many fiddle tunes started out as songs with words (like Soldier’s Joy, Cripple Creek, Old Joe Clark, etc.), and in that spirit we thought this tune might make a nice addition to the fiddle tune repertoire.

This video was recorded at the Buttonwood Tree in Middletown, CT on March 28, 2012.  It’s a great little cultural oasis, with live music, theater, dance, poetry and art presented regularly in an intimate, welcoming space.  Thanks to Anne-Marie Cannata for having us, and to Dave Gumbart for the fine video work.

This week’s video is a tune I wrote while we were in Santa Cruz, CA.  Eric Thorin is a versatile bassist, and I wanted to write a tune that exploit his slapping technique.  So this tune goes back and forth between the bass and mandolin, then bass and guitar, then bass and mandolin, etc.  I wrote “Slapping Is Encouraged” at the top of the chart as an instruction for Eric, and that ended up sticking as the title for the tune.

We first played this at a house concert at Irene Herrmann’s house in Santa Cruz as part of a “Music du Jour” tour.  Irene is a great classical musician as well as an old-time musician, and we were honored to play at her home for the wonderful folks in Santa Cruz.

This video performance is from a show in Putney, VT at the Next Stage Theater on March 25, 2012.  Thanks to Barry Stockwell and all the Stockwell brothers for putting the show on.

We recorded this tune on our “Winter Harvest” CD.  To order a copy, click here.