Calvin Vollrath CD (with Buzz Evans & Redd Volkaert)

[Calvin Vollrath]

Hello All

Just wanted to let you know that I just released a new CD in March called Country Fiddlin' and had the great Buzz Evans play steel on all the cuts and the 'Tele God' Redd Volkaert do the lead pickin' on all the cuts as well.

For those of you, not familiar with myself, I'm a fiddler & a huge fan of the steel guitar and have been at the Dallas Steel Guitar Jamboree 3 years in a row, 06-08. Did some playing with Brian Sklar & Billy Phelps and in 08, sat in with the Saturday Night Dance Band with Albert and Curtis Potter and the rest of gang. What a blast. I hope to come back to Dallas next year again..

Anyways, the Country Fiddlin CD is filled with classic country songs, done up instrumentally. Buzz & Redd play absolutely terrific, as one would expect and I add some fiddle to it. Well, it is a fiddle CD...

Jambalaya, Are You Lonesome Tonight, Faded Love, I've just Destroyed the World, Steel Guitar Rag, A Maiden's Prayer, Hey Good Lookin', The Heart of a Clown, Whispering Pines, Down Yonder, Crazy, A Way to Survive, Aura Lee & Home in San Antone.

Feel free to drop by my website and check it out. www.calvinvollrath.com

[Jeff Bradshaw]

This has got to be great...it's the cream of the crop!!!

[Mike Gross]

Calvin is an awesome fiddle player and with this lineup it is going to be another gem.

[Calvin Vollrath]

Jeff & Mike, thank you for the kind words.

[Andrew Roblin]

Welcome, Calvin Vollrath, perhaps the greatest Métis fiddler of them all!

It's an honour to have him with us.

For those of you outside western Canada, Métis fiddling is a powerful blend of First Nations, Québecois, Scottish and Irish roots. It dates to the first interactions between Europeans and Natives in the Canadian West, when fiddles were traded for furs. The Métis people emerged from this interaction, and have played a beautiful and defining role in western Canada ever since.

The Métis are especially renowned for their mastery of the 19th-century buffalo hunt and for the sacrifices they made to secure political equality for western Canada. Musically, Métis fiddling is often distinguished by the fiddler's ability to vary the meter of the tune--the number of measures and the length of those measures--while improvising. Masters of the genre include Andy Dejarlis (about 35 LPs for London Records of Canada), Reg Bouvette, John Arcand, Teddy Boy Houle , Mel Bedard...

And the great Calvin Vollrath.

Check him out!

[Mike Gross]

Check out my review of this fantastic CD at the top of the "Review" section of my "Swingin' West" web site www.swinginwest.com

[Andrew Roblin]

For great fiddle music--and great music generally--you can't go wrong with Calvin's CDs. I just got his "Métis Style Fiddle," and I can give it my highest recommendations.

Great, fresh arrangements; smooth, charming fiddle playing; fine support from mandolin, guitar and bass; and the percussive foot music characteristic of Québecois and Métis fiddling. This music really works for me.

The tunes include Métis standards such as "Red River Jig"--Calvin's version is modeled after the great Andy Dejarlis rendition--along with rare tunes from John Arcand and Gilbert Anderson.

On this recording there's no steel, so it's a great chance to practice fiddle tunes melodies, fills and back-up for us steelers. For those who read music, there's a nice book available too.

[Calvin Vollrath]

Andrew, thank you so much for the kind words. I'm glad you like the CD. Have fun with it..

Calvin.....