david@varian.UUCP (David Brown) (01/30/85)
I'm sad to report that Tommy Jarrell, the great old-time fiddler and
fretless banjo player from Toast, N.C. (outside Mt. Airy) passed away a
couple of days ago. He had had gall bladder surgery last week, and
contracted pneumonia while recovering. He was 83.
He was an inspiration to a lot of the young old-time musicians on both
coasts. His house was a major stop on the east coast pilgrimages that
myself and a lot of other west coast musicians occasionally make during
the summer -- I've heard him referred to as St. Thomas of Toast. He was
always welcoming to visitors and would play tunes all night with anyone
who showed up.
His music is preserved on several LP's (the ones on County are probably
the easiest to obtain -- the latest ("Picking on Tommy's Porch") was
released just a few months ago) and hundreds (or possibly thousands)
of cassette tapes recorded by musicians during their visits --
perhaps we'll see some more albums come out of these tapes.
--
David Brown (415) 945-2199
Varian Instruments 2700 Mitchell Dr. Walnut Creek, Ca. 94598
{zehntel,amd,fortune,resonex,rtech}!varian!daviddavid@varian.UUCP (David Brown) (02/05/85)
After posting last week about the passing away of old-time fiddler
Tommy Jarrell, I received a request for more info about his records.
The following is a (probably incomplete) discography from an article
about Tommy by Mike Seeger that appeared in the April 1983 issue of
Frets Magazine:
County 713: Down to the Cider Mill (with Fred Cockerham & Oscar Jenkins)
723: Back Home in the Blue Ridge "
741: Stay All Night "
748: Come & Go With Me (five string banjo solos)
756: Sail Away Ladies (fiddle solos)
778: Pickin' on Tommy's Porch (with Andy Cahan & Chester McMillan)
(this is his latest, released just a few months ago)
Mountain 310: Joke on the Puppy
Heritage 38: June Apple (Mike Seeger says that this was his favorite)
I'm sure there are other recordings on Mountain and Heritage, but I don't
have any info on them and they're probably harder to obtain than County
records. Tommy also appears on 2 cuts of a wonderful record called
"Visits" (Heritage XXXIII) which is a 2 record set of personal recordings
made by Ray Alden during his visits to many musicians throughout the east;
the first record contains old-timers and the second young musicians who
play old-time music. There's usually one cut for each musican or band,
so it's a good sampling of old time music as it was played and as it's
currently being played.
Tommy is also the subject of a 30 minute film by Les Blank called
"Sprout Wings & Fly". Ask for it at your local theater. It is usually
shown (at least in the Bay Area) together with some other longer Les
Blank film. It is also available in videotape (VHS or Beta); I think
the tape can be ordered through Down Home Music in El Cerrito (who share
the building with Flower Films, Les Blank's company). Down Home also
sells T-shirts for all of Les Blank's films; the one for Sprout Wings & Fly
has a picture of Tommy playing the fiddle, of course.
David Brown (415) 945-2199
Varian Instruments 2700 Mitchell Dr. Walnut Creek, Ca. 94598
{zehntel,amd,fortune,resonex,rtech}!varian!david
--
David Brown (415) 945-2199
Varian Instruments 2700 Mitchell Dr. Walnut Creek, Ca. 94598
{zehntel,amd,fortune,resonex,rtech}!varian!david