air mail special
buddy spicher & calvin vollrath
1.air mail special 4:47 (benny goodman/jimmy mundy/charles christian)
2.charmaine 4:07 (lew pollack/erno rapee)
3.short boy 3:32 (buddy spicher)
4.cherokee 5:21 (ray noble)
5.mona lisa 3:36 (raymond evans/jay livingston)
6.slipped disc 4:03 (benny goodman)
7.skip it 3:08 (stuff smith)
8.bernie's tune 3:06 (jerry leiber/mike stoller/bernie miller)
9.whispering 4:23 (john schonberger/richard coburn/vincent rose)
10.straight no chaser 3:50 (thelonious monk)
11.out of nowhere 4:28 (johnny green)
12.boogie, no woogie 2:41 (mike dowling)
13.raisin' the dickens 3:06 (buddy emmons)
recorded at the fiddle house, nashville tn, usa
engineered by david signs
mixed by calvin vollrath at astromonical studio, st. paul ab, canada
cover design by megan lightell
design and printing by bridgeport printing, edmonton ab
musicians
| calvin vollrath | fiddle | | buddy spicher | fiddle, viola | | billy contreras | fiddle, viola | | buddy emmons | steel guitar | | mike dowling | lead & rhythm guitar | | paul kramer | electric mandolin | | taylor coker | bass | | jim white | drums |
Mike Dowling
Dubois, Wyoming
If you've ever had the notion that whatever fun was to be had elsewhere, you wouldn't trade what you were doing at the moment, you know exactly how I felt during the three days I spent in Nashville participating as a sideman in the Air Mail Special session.
To describe this as simply a twin fiddle album wouldn't begin to do it justice. Buddy Spicher and Calvin Vollrath, two of the finest fiddle players I've ever had the pleasure of knowing, have produced a CD that takes fiddle harmony playing to a new level. The tasty violin solos, twin single lines, and Bob Wills-style "over and under" sounds are stunning enough, but you'll hear something else on this fine recording that your ears may not believe - Buddy and Calvin each playing two parts simultaneously. The resulting harmony on many of these tunes is a sound so full, so compelling, you'll think you're listening to a jazz fiddle quartet.
Add to the mix the great Buddy Emmons, whose phrasing and musical ideas long ago transcended mere steel guitar lick, Paul Kramer on electric mandolin, Taylor Coker on bass, and Jim White on drums, this band was as tight, as locked in, as musical, as any I've ever had the privilege of playing with. It was a pure pleasure to be included in this session and I couldn't be more proud of the result.
Give it a listen and I think you'll understand why I wouldn't have traded those three days at Buddy Spicher's Fiddle House for anything.
Mike Dowling |
