Excellent oldtime mandolin--good quality Caleb Klauder clip

**mingusb1** · Jul-11-2012, 10:01am

Caleb is an old friend of mine and I've been stuck on this recording of him with Stephen and Nadine:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4FG2-xNfRZ0

Figured the oldtime folks here would enjoy this. I can't say I know of a better mandolin player than him.

Z

**Jim Garber** · Jul-11-2012, 11:22am

You are absolutely right. That is excellent playing, wonderful music. Actually the recording is quite good too since the mandolin is positioned closer to the mike. Thanks for the post.

**AKmusic** · Jul-11-2012, 11:38am

Saw Foghorn Trio in a house concert last year. Sat through a mandolin workshop with Caleb. Really enjoyed the whole event. I can't think of anyone who can do Old Time mandolin any better than Caleb.

And I'm discovering more and more - how versatile Going Across The Sea is. I've got several versions now and they all sound great.

Thanks for sharing.

**billkilpatrick** · Jul-11-2012, 11:55am

wow - that was great - had to hear it twice

**billkilpatrick** · Jul-11-2012, 12:01pm

here's the three of them again - all great - i really like nadine's bass:

**mingusb1** · Jul-11-2012, 1:08pm

Man, if I could learn half of those blues licks he puts in on Shake Sugaree I'd have enough to last me a decade!

Yes Nadine is sweet and of course Stephen's fiddle playing is excellent. Not bad for a Minnesotan! Here is another from that same concert:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=F7QaTys2JKU

Love that fiddle/mando note-for-note stuff!

Z

**Rob Fowler** · Jul-11-2012, 3:28pm

Well if we've got 2 out of the 3 videos from that show why not add the 3rd!

Caleb is also one of my favorite mandolin players and I just love his style and rhythm to his playing. He's got a lot of Monroe influence but he's got something that is totally his own, also. Can't wait to see and hopefully meet him and the rest of Foghorn one day.

Greenback Dollar:

**coletrickle** · Jul-11-2012, 4:04pm

I really like the trio format, and the duo format on the album they recorded...but don't miss out on the full band. I know they aren't really performing this way anymore but there was so much drive to their music:

**AKmusic** · Jul-12-2012, 11:29am

Originally Posted by mingusb1

...and of course Stephen's fiddle playing is excellent. Not bad for a Minnesotan! Here is another from that same concert:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=F7QaTys2JKU

Love that fiddle/mando note-for-note stuff!

Z

Yeap, "Sammy's" fiddling is some kinda good.

**JeffD** · Jul-12-2012, 12:25pm

Originally Posted by mingusb1

Man, if I could learn half of those blues licks he puts in on Shake Sugaree I'd have enough to last me a decade!

Let me respectfully disagree. Its my opinion that for OT stringband music like this the less overt blues the better. The blues is like garlic, it drowns out all other spices and you can't taste the dill or the cilantro. Use bluesy riffs sparingly.

Also our music today is saturated with blues and bluesy riffs. Everything is blues. No problem with that, but a lot of the fun of OT is that it is not, by and large, real bluesey. Its almost refreshing to hear that squared off rinky tink without the bluesey innuendo.

My opinion, YMMV and all that.

Great great band.

My favorite clip is the first one actually.

**Jim Garber** · Jul-12-2012, 1:04pm

YMMV, indeed! i know where you are coming from, Jeff, but AFAIK that is a blues song. Old time music covers a wide span of influences and there is definitely a black influence in such players as Uncle Dave Macon and the McGee Brothers and certainly in some of the more obscure Mississppi folks like the Narmours. Perhaps you are talking more about the modernizing of the old time sound? Possibly... but it is difficult as modern musicians to avoid being influenced by what is around us. The same held true in the 1920s, 1930s as it does today.

**SincereCorgi** · Jul-12-2012, 1:15pm

Ha, I just got one of their records off eMusic. I admit I felt a pang of disappointment when I clicked that link and saw that they're not disheveled hillbillies with beat-up instruments. Why, I bet they all even showered that morning...

**sgarrity** · Jul-12-2012, 8:27pm

One of my favorites!

**JeffD** · Jul-12-2012, 9:04pm

Originally Posted by Jim Garber

YMMV, indeed! i know where you are coming from, Jeff, but AFAIK that is a blues song. Old time music covers a wide span of influences and there is definitely a black influence in such players as Uncle Dave Macon and the McGee Brothers and certainly in some of the more obscure Mississppi folks like the Narmours. Perhaps you are talking more about the modernizing of the old time sound? Possibly... but it is difficult as modern musicians to avoid being influenced by what is around us. The same held true in the 1920s, 1930s as it does today.

Absolutely.

I don't seek some kind of mythical "purity" of influence, or even a "more traditional" approach. My only point is that it is all to easy to go bluesey, because our modern music is so saturated with it. Its nice to use it sparingly.

We are all invluenced, but at the same time we can make choces.

**mingusb1** · Jul-20-2012, 7:31pm

I'm glad folks enjoyed the clips here. Jeff as you know and play oldtime music I'm sure you also know that Caleb's straight oldtime melody playing and note-for-note playing with Sammy the fiddler are top-notch. Really I know of no recordings where fiddle and mandolin sound better paired.

Also, Caleb has studied the playing of Monroe. And not just the blues licks, but learning the very challenging instrumentals and the nuances of playing them. So you can understand where some blues influence comes from.

I think his playing in the Sugaree clip above is just right for the song, and the trio with no other melody instrument, to give a sort of "response" to the sung verses. Sometimes a key part of a melody instrument player is to give the singer a breather!

Cheers all,
Z