Cape cod mandolin camp?

[BlueMountain]

I for one very much enjoyed last weekend's Cape Cod Mandolin Camp. It was a great opportunity for exploring some types of music I hadn't played before:

1. Jazz Mandolin with August Watters, playing Charlie Parker, John Coltrane, and McCoy Tyner. I didn't think it was possible, but it turned out to be a lot of fun, and August is a great teacher.

2. Klezmer Mandolin with Seth Austen. Wow! Bluegrass with bagels! I didn't realize Dminor could be so much fun.

3. Cross Tuning with Seth Austen. None of us had ever used cross tuning before, but we were all enthusiastic.

4. Western Swing with Keith Baumann. "Across the Alley from the Alamo" and "Roly Poly." Ooh, was this a kick!

There were other things to enjoy, too: choro with Marilynn Mair, classical with Carlo Aonzo, etc., but there's only so much time.

As this was sponsored by the New England Mandolin Ensemble, all of whom, I think, are university music professors, the emphasis was on ensemble learning and performance and on teaching, rather than just jamming or telling stories (as sometimes happens). The ensembles were pretty small, and we had only a few hours to learn several songs and prepare an ensemble performance. Very useful experience for a lot of us.

The food was great. The lodging in seaside cabins was fine. And it really was seaside, not a walk of a couple blocks to the beach. Nothing like sitting around in a cabin playing be-bop on the mandolin and watching the surf breaking outside the door. Great weather: sunny and low 70s. Everything seemed to go smoothly.

Thanks to those who made it happen. I wish it weren't an eight hour drive for me (due to the horrors of I-95 in Connecticut and New York).

[morgan]

Hey, that western swing session was the highlight of the weekend for me. That was fun.

If I'm doing my "Miss Scarlett in the Conservatory with the pipe wrench" analysis correctly (who did I see playing Coltrane, Bob Wills, and Klezmer?), BlueMountain must be Patty and I hope your thumb is healing up nicely.

[BlueMountain]

Nope. You lose. I'm the butler.

[jfbrown42]

The Western Swing jam was one of the the highlights of the weekend for me too. I played chords on my mandolin during that, and then played rhythm guitar with Keith's "by ear" ensemble -- "I am a Pilgrim" and "Fat Boy Rag".

I was able to record the beginner's ensemble, the "by ear" one and "Cluck Old Hen" from the Bluegrass set. Send me a private message if you were one of the performers and want an .mp3.

I had never even heard of Western Swing before last weekend. What a blast it was to play! It's not too hard either since it's one of the precursors to rock and roll and I play mostly rock on my guitar.

Best Line of the weekend:
"If something is worth doing, it's worth doing BADLY until you can lean to do it better!"
-- Beverly (beginners track)

Best original song:
"Mandolin Acquisition Syndrome" by one of the students, performed in the big house living room after the Western Swing Jam.

[Keith Baumann]

I am thrilled to see the enthusiastic responses about Caped Cod Mando Camp. I had an absolutley wonderful time serving on the faculty of the camp. Great location, great food, good classes and some of the most focued and motivated students that I have worked with. Thank you August and Nancy for having the vision and drive to get this event humming. It was an honor for me to teach alongside the talented mandolinists that August hired for CCMC. Seth, Beverly, Jim, Mitch, August, Marilynn, Peter MIx and of course Carlo Aonza and Matt Flinner.

Western swing has been one of my obsessions for a long time. It was the first jazz-realted music I attempted to play coming out of Bluegrass. And the mandolin has always been a strong force in The Bob Wills band with Tiny Moore playing "the biggest little instrument in the world". I am totally thrilled that there is a growing interest in this genre and i was floored that my students jumped right in playing 2 and 3 part harmony arrangements nailing the rhythm chords.

Thanks to all who attended and to let you in on a little secret, it was just as much fun for us!!javascript:%20InstaSmilie()

By the way Peter MIx's New Millenium Acoustic Design Carbon Fibre mandos are amazing.

[BlueMountain]

Thanks. I wrote the Mandolin Acquisition Syndrome song, also known as "A Wonderful Hand-made Mandolin in the Hands of a Musical Hack." The lyrics are here, including the yodeling chorus of 47 makers' names that I can't sing: http://www.mandolincafe.net/cgi-bin....ountain (http://www.mandolincafe.net/cgi-bin/ikonboard.cgi?act=ST;f=24;t=44505;hl=bluemountain)

Thanks, Keith, for the Western Swing lesson. Monday I ordered five Bob Wills CDs (a four CD set and another one that had "Around the Alley from the Alamo"). It's such a fun fusion of bluegrass and jazz.

[BlueMountain]

Photo of Instructors by Anna Poulin
Bottom Row, from Left: Matt Flinner, August Watters, Keith Baumann, Marilynn Mair

Top Row, from Left: Peter Mix, Jim Dalton, Seth Austen, Beverly Woods, Mitch Nelin, Carlo Aonzo

[morgan]

Since I came back I've been listening to "Doughboys, Playboys and Cowboys, the Golden Years of Texas Swing." (or maybe its Playboys, doughboys, etc.) Four CD, 100-song set, which I bought a while back after it was mentioned in an old cafe thread. As with any of these roots compilations there are hits and misses, but you can buy it new for $19 on Amazon (you have to look under used; this makes sense if you're from Mass where 128S and 95N are the same road)) and its got some real chestnuts.

[Ira Chavis]

This is the first year I've missed this but will be back in 2008 since I went to Savona to Carlo's International Mandolin Academy a few weeks ago. Glad everyone had a good time!

ira

[Woody Turner]

Blue Mountain and the other folks clearly convey why people traveled great distances—some from the West Coast and western Canada—to attend this camp: great instructors and scenery, stellar performances, and the chance to learn within an ensemble. Some teachers even customized and distributed ensemble parts for individual players in advance of and during the camp! August, Nancy, and the entire faculty really deserve a lot of credit for engineering the magic that took place.

My only disappointment was the time set aside for the event: barely two days. I know it wouldn’t be easy to extend the schedule, as many of the instructors have just started their college teaching for the fall and beach cottage rentals could become complex. Even so, I think it would be worth exploring ways to expand the festival, perhaps by adding a day or two before and after the traditional timeframe or by even moving the camp to late May, when most colleges are out of session. By lengthening the schedule, the ensembles would have more time to gel and prepare the more challenging sections of their selections for the concluding student concert.

Whether or not the camp changes its calendar, I’m hoping to return next year. It’s definitely worth the thousand-mile drive.

[Shana Aisenberg]

2. Klezmer Mandolin with Seth Austen. Wow! Bluegrass with bagels! I didn't realize Dminor could be so much fun.
Blue Mountain, you made my morning with your klezmer comment. One klezmer master said D isn't just a key, it's a living http://www.mandolincafe.net/iB_html/non-cgi/emoticons/biggrin.gif

Many thanks to August and Nancy for all their behind the scenes work to make things go smoothly, to everyone who attended for your enthusiasm and willingness to practice like crazy for the ensembles, and to fellow faculty for inspiration and friendship! All of these ingredients contribute to creating the wonderful experience CCMC is. The weather didn't hurt either http://www.mandolincafe.net/iB_html/non-cgi/emoticons/smile.gif And Keith, your "secret" is right on! This is absolutely as much fun for us.

Seth

[JimD]

I guess the big "secret" is that the faculty enjoys this as much as the students.

It is always great to spend a weekend with some of my favorite people and musicians and to make a few new friends each year.

Great company, great food and great music making -- who could ask for anything more...