Summer 2000 • 13
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peaking of Winfield champions, Karen Mueller has some exceptional credentials there as well. She was the autoharp champion in 1986 and a finalist in the mountain dulcimer competition in 1985. In addition, she was twice the Kansas State Dulcimer Champion. Karen is a truly remarkable musician with "seri ous" skills on autoharp, mountai n dulcimer and guitar. She is equally at home with a spirited Appalachian string band classic, a complex Celtic reel or jig, a well-known television theme, or a "hey dude" contemporary rock classic, and she plays them all with both passion and precision. StilI Point is he r latest project and superbly showcases her skills on all of these instruments. She layers in a number of other instrume ntal textures with the able assistance of Tim Britton on flute and uillean pipes, Drew Miller on bass guitar, Mathew Zimmerman on percussion, Bruce Bowers on fiddle , Dick Hensold on No rthumbrian pipes, Laura MacKenzie on concertina, and Anna Vazquez on cello. In her previous life, I'm betting that Karen was probably a percussionist, as her rhythm chops a re second to none. Still Point definitely confirms Karen's vast array of ear-opening instrumental licks and " Music for A Found Harmonium," wh ich has been a staple of her live shows, is included, but there's a lot more, too. Listen, for example, to the evocative and moody title cut, an original which Kare n plays superbly on bass dulcimer accompanied only by Dick He nsold's low whistle. "Every Little Thing She Does Is Magic" is a seamless example of how to make two dulcimers sound like a band, a nd " Linus and Lucy" is a tutorial on how to make that same bass dulcimer sing and dance at the same time. Still Poinl includes 30-Year Jig, Eleanor Plunkett, Miss McLeod's, Jeff Davis/Run Boy Run and tcn morc.
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avid Sharp specializes in early music played on the mountain dulcimer. Black Oak contains mostly rare and unusual (to me at least)
tunes from various European traditions
including Ireland, Scotland, Croatia, France, England, Wales, and the Isle of
Man with the odd tune from Afghanistan and Shaker America thrown in for good measure. David also plays flute, whistle, bodhran, mandola, mandolin, tenor banjo, fiddle, guitar and bones with Carol Sharp on bowed psaltery, zils (before you ask, I have no idea but it sounds good!), and tambourine. That sounds like it could be a bit muddy but this is not the case. The mountain dulcimer is out front and the
One of Mine· Carey Dubbe rt, Smoke & Mirrors (a very small division of Flimzi Productions), 18000 Coleman Valley Rd, Occidental, CA 95465, 707-874-3848, carey@monitor.net (CD).
arrangements are, in fact, somewhat
Still Point· Karen Mueller, Stream-
spare as you might expect a wandering minstrel to perform the m. David's playing is straightforward and thoroughly evokes the feeling of the original settings of these tunes. This is clearly a labor of love and there is definitely a lot good mate rial here. There are several originals that fit nicely with the ultra-traditional material. Includes Garcons de la Montague, Black Oak, The Helston Furry, Orie ntus Partibus, The Tight Little Island.
Dulmos • Scot Evan Freeman Ouibache Records, PO Box 362, Battleground, IN 47920, (CD/Cassette).
hne Productions, PO Box 80565, Mmneapolis, MN 55408 www.karenmueller.com (CD/Cassette).
Black Oak • David Sharp, Idlewild Recordings, PO Box 65702, Salt Lake City, UT 84165-0702, 1-801_ 268-4789 (CD/Cassette).
Kindred Spirits. Linda Brockinton Crystal Hill Recording, 3343 Wis~ Rd, Alexa nder, AR 72002, 501-3162055 (CD/Cassette).
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outhern Regional (Mountain View, AR) mountain dulcimer champion and Winfield top-five fini sher Linda Brockinton has just released Kindred Spirits, her first solo recording
of mountain dulcimer music. Linda is a
member of the group, Heartstrings, who have recorded one album. A flute major in college, Linda plays fingerstyle without pickS and, as a result, this recording celebrates the gentle and contemplative nature of the instrument. Kindred Spirits contains nineteen cuts and is a mixture of Celtic, Am erican traditional, and
southern gospel tunes played with great skill, tenderness, and love. Playing solo gives her a lot of room for expression and she does a marvelous job of exploring the nuances of each tune but, while the sounds may be kind and gentle, Linda's playing is inva riably inventive and deceptively vigorous in a very e ngaging and, often, toe-tapping way. In addition to flute and dulcimer, she also plays I rish harp and it's easy to hear the influences of the harp on her dulcimer playing. This is a lovely recording. Includes Sheebeg-Sheemore, Great Is Thy Faithfulness, My Home Is In the Mountains, Bridget Cruise, Eleanor Plunkett, Fanny Power. 0
New from Tan Baehr •
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"Ancient Echocs" Mwic (or Dukinu!n and Flutes 0rWnal instrumentals on standard, baritone and base fretted du1cimen., ceramic flute and fife, plus music by Fernando Sor and J. S. Bach Includes "Creeceot RII8," "Kaleid08COpe"
CD $15 pi"' $2 .ruPtM!! ""d bandlina • Abo by Tom Bad>< • "An Inhabited Garden' V-\9lelles (or Fretted Dulcimer OrWnaJ tunes pillA mwic !'rom the British Isles
Includes "Morgan Magan," "Independence Raa"
c....e". $10 pi", $2 .ruptM!! ""d bandlina !J{0fJf0f4k 'Plus
P. O. Box 2721 Woburn, MAOl 888· 1421 baebr@"'Orld.8td.com
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