Mando on Ken Burns movies

[stevem]

Anyone know who the players are on Ken Burns PBS movies, Lewis and Clark and The Civil War? They're 2 of my favorite all-time documentaries, thanks in part to some simple, but very beautiful music.

[Ken Waltham]

I agree. That is a beautiful use of a wonderful instrument!
You know what else is really simple, and beautiful, and lays out perfect on Mandolin? Lord of the Rings soundtrack. My kids watched those so many times.. ( along with me) that the melody stuck in my head.

[Jim M.]

"Ashokan Farewell" was recorded by Jay Ungar, Evan Stover, Matt Glaser, Molly Mason and Russ Barenberg. I assume Jay played the mando, but don't know for sure. It might have been Russ.

[keithd]

Yes, the music in his films is great. In a documentary about Ken Burns (sorry, can't recall its title), he points out that he and his team, when putting the films together, will begin with the music. That's one reason the music is such an intrinsic part of the work; it's not an add-on after the fact. In his Jazz films, of course, the music is the story.

Keith

[Richard Russell]

I have been listening to the soundtrack to the Mark Twain documentary by Burns. I got it from our library twice and listen to it constantly. The mandolin players listed on this one were Bobby Horton, and Peter Ostroushko, who played the most beautiful version of Sweet Betsy From Pike.
Horton may have been used a lot in the Lewis and Clark special as well, I had it awhile ago, but don't recall all of the featured mandolin players. These recordings are worth buying for sure!!!

[evanreilly]

I believe that Burns used a song/tune of Skip Gorman's in one of his movies, so maybe Skip is on a soundtrack.

[Michael Gowell]

Skip & Ken both live in New Hampshire.

[jefflester]

Peter Ostroushko's "Heart of the Heartland" song is used in the Lewis and Clark soundtrack. But that track and I think many of the others were pre-existing songs, not specifically created for the soundtrack and performed by the same group of players. Here are the credits.Lewis and Clark credits (http://www.pbs.org/lewisandclark/credits.html)

[TeleMark]

Yes, the music in his films is great. In a documentary about Ken Burns (sorry, can't recall its title), . . .
So, it's a documentary about the making of a documentary?

Sorry, the meta-aspect of that just caught me funny.

[Mandobar]

burns used skip gorman's "cowboy waltz" on his film about baseball. i believe that is what skip told us at the nh mandolin festival. he may have used some others too, but you can e-mail skip and i've sure he'd be glad to tell you which ones.

[Fretbear]

It's interesting how clearly you can hear that the mandolin played on "The Civil War" is an oval hole. I believe it is Jay Ungar playing it. I am learning "Ashokan Farewell" on lap slide right now, wonderful tune, it needs the "long" notes...

[adgefan]

I'm pretty sure Stuart Duncan plays mandolin on some of the Civil War tracks.

[fredfrank]

Another interesting fact--Jethro's real name is Kenneth Burns. Co-incidence? I think not!

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