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Topic: Vassar Clements R.I.P. |
Leon Grizzard
From:
Austin, Texas, USA
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Howard Kalish
From:
Austin, Tx USA
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Posted 17 Aug 2005 3:16 pm |
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Dang, I knew it would happen soon but I hate to hear it. He’s been ailing for a while. I saw him play many times in various ensembles including his own band back in the late 70’s. An absolute monster. Completely unique and revolutionary in many ways. He transcended genres. I tried to steal more licks from him than just about anybody besides Grappelli, Gimble and Tommy Jackson. As Gimble might say, all the fiddle players just moved up a notch.
I got to see him just 2 years ago at the Old Settlers thing in Dripping Springs, Texas. I went just to see him ‘cause I knew it was probably the last chance. We chatted for a while. A warm and humble man and probably the most influential fiddle player of his generation. Outside of Texas that is.
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Mike Winter
From:
Portland, OR
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Posted 22 Aug 2005 11:12 pm
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Awesome fiddler...he'll be missed. He played with a lot of different people and was a class act as far as all I ever read about him. He's no longer "Old and In The Way."  |
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Mark Lind-Hanson
From:
Menlo Park, California, USA
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Posted 23 Aug 2005 10:14 am
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I have to say that I really liked him best on the Dicky Betts solo album "Highway Call" - here he is a leading force in the music and not "just" a backup player. This is a pretty overlooked record nowadays (actually, I have to go buy myself a brand new copy as it has been years since I heard it, but the news brought it vividly to mind)
Old & In the Way would not have been the same without him either; but that is a whole other chemistry with those players, happening there. |
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Chris Forbes
From:
Beltsville, MD, USA
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Posted 24 Aug 2005 2:55 am
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| Mark, that album has been reissued on CD. John Hughey plays some nice stuff on that album also. |
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