Cool Mandolin Company, a charter underwriter of the JazzMando website, has partnered with Weber Fine Acoustic Instruments for the purpose of providing annual mandolin scholarships to the next generation of "mandolin legends". Bruce Weber has generously donated a Weber Yellowstone mandolin with a redwood top. It is currently offered at a special price of $2,999 plus shipping. (This mandolin usually retails for $3,999, and is well worth your consideration.)

Cool Mandolin Company will donate 100% of the proceeds of the sale of this instrument to mandolin scholarships throughout the country. (In addition to underwriting the JazzMando website!)

Support the CMC in their inaugural year of this exciting program as they encourage new players. Also check out the cool mandolin wearables at Cool Mandolin.

Visit website: Cool Mandolin Company

See Weber Yellowstone

Posted by Ted at 09:46 PM

January 30, 2007 | Mandolin Madness

Upside down and missing two strings. We've heard that before in comparing the mandolin to guitar and have to admit it never quite resonated here either, but Indiana Student columnist Matt Payton was given this tidbit in his introduction to our little eight-string wonder. So far, he's enjoying three chords in his self-taught pedagogical pursuits.

We'll give him a few weeks of rudimentary folk/rock bliss and let him groove on C, G, and D. Hopefully, when he gets comfortable with those, we can turn him on to some cool ii V7 I's shortly on this site. Won't be too much longer and we'll be hearing how he deals with Mandolin Acquisition Syndrome, or MAS. So far, the only MAS he's uncovered is his peers questioning his MASculinity.

Not too worry, Matt. Some FFcP exercises will help you put the "man" in mandolin.

Read Article: Mandolin Madness

Check out the page of stock ii V7 I chords.

Of course, if we're talking manly, there's always Bubba...

Posted by Ted at 06:04 AM

January 29, 2007 | New at Djangobooks.com

Always something new at Djangobooks.com. You'll want to see the latest in this month's CDs, DVDs, some cool Books; at very least check out the new online Gypsy Jazz guitar video clips:

Stochelo Rosenberg/Romane
Stuff Smith
Bireli Lagrene (of course, a perpetual JazzMando staff guitar fave...)

See more in the Video Archive

And of course, while your there, weigh in (and register!) in the Mandolin Forum. We could use your participation!

Take some time to drop Michael Horowitz a note of thanks for all he does to support Gypy Jazz: Michael Horowitz

Posted by Ted at 04:08 PM

January 27, 2007 | JazzDolas keep him up late

Sometimes, we get mail we just have to pass on, the latest a fan of the new JazzDola JD-13 Strings weighs in. Seems his newly built basket-case mandola is finally settling in and his recent satisfaction is credited to the acquisition of these strings. Nothing like hearing a happy customer gush:

"Ted; It's almost 4 am and I cannot sleep so I am picking.

I only have your strings to blame. I love 'em... Thanks... thank you so much. I don't think I have ever done anything to an instrument that created such an improvement. It wasn't an over nigh thing as I had to get used to it, but today I can't put the -dola down."

Sometimes quality gear can drive our creativity, and we're glad these are working for Levi. We worked very hard in the JazzMando Research Lab trying to come up with just the right combination of gauging (and length!) on these. We feel the 7 months of getting them right has paid off, and our customers are telling us so.

Read more: JD13 JazzDola Strings

Posted by Ted at 06:09 AM

January 26, 2007 | Thile/Meyer

Always like reading the latest on one of our favorite talents, Grammy Nominee Chris Thile. The exponentially gifted mandolinist in one of his current duo incarnations with bassist powerhouse, Edgar Meyer (who also teams up frequently with another JazzMando fave, Mike Marshall) is performing tonight at the Lucas Theatre in Savannah, Georgia.

Featuring original compositions and some Bach, their music is guaranteed to fill all ends of the sonic spectrum, high, low and everything in between.

Read Article: No pigeonholes allowed.

For Concert Information

Posted by Ted at 05:42 AM

January 25, 2007 | Paris Swing at NAMM

At the Paris Swing display at last week's NAMM show, we got to see the new John Jorgenson model up close, but what caught our attention were the changes to the Samois Gypsy mandolin. We were updated personally by designer Greg Rich on the revisions:

• Reduced the profile of the D hole to address potential long-term structural concerns.
• Modified the headstock with rosewood veneer inlay.
• Hired a new Quality Control manager to supervise set-up and adjustment consistency

Of course these changes are all because of feedback Paris Swing covets and receives from its many happy customers and users. The P.S. mandolins are a terrific value for a mandolinist seeking an affordable entry level opportunity for gypsy jazz, or a seasoned multi-instrumentalist seeking to add an attractive auxiliary jazz ax to an already diverse arsenal of quality instruments.

View pictures: Ali Fard and Greg Rich with JJ & Samois
Greg's disclaimer: The jacket does not come with the purchase of a Paris Swing...

Visit Website

Read 2006 Review: Samois Paris Swing Mandolin

Posted by Ted at 08:51 AM

January 24, 2007 | Soulgrass at the Blue Note

Makes sense to us, Bluegrass/Newgrass innovator Sam Bush joins Jazz Saxophonist Great Bill Evans in a high-powered pairing of American styles in "Soulgrass," and they are performing at the legendary Blue Note jazz club Jan 23-28.

Evans says that the idea of exploring an adventurous and unlikely hybrid of bluegrass and jazz was actually something he had in mind for years. "I've been an Americana fan ever since my Miles days. I liked the sound of mandolin, banjo, dobro and fiddle and I thought that music had a very cool rhythmic approach, even though I never really knew the names of the players or the tunes. I had been listening to some Americana and bluegrass stuff for quite some time. I had some Bill Monroe CDs at home as well as recordings by Bruce Hornsby, the Flecktones, Sam Bush, Mark O'connor. Music of that genre was very inspiring to me. Bluegrass and jazz are very similar in so many ways. As a jazz musician, it's all just a different way to improvise and express yourself. I find it very exciting to combine both kinds of music. It is a dream of mine to play on stage at the Blue Note with all these great musicians and create some totally new music!"

In 2005 Bill flew to Nashville and with the stellar cast of Bela Fleck, Sam Bush, Victor Wooten, Jerry Douglas, Vinny Colaiuata, Mark Egan, and Bruce Hornsby and completed the CD, calling the music and CD "Soulgrass." The record was nominated for Grammy in 2005, and now, Evans is bringing the music all over the world.

Show Information: Bill Evans Soulgrass at Blue Note

Posted by Ted at 06:11 AM

January 22, 2007 | May International String Music Symposium

International String Music Symposium, May 11-12, 2007.

Plan to come, learn, and play with a stellar line-up of acoustic musicians, including Mike Marshall, Hamilton de Holanda, Bryce Milano, Darol Anger, Stephane Wrembel, and many more. Individual Workshop schedule is being formulated along with concerts and panel discussions, and a unique opportunity to meet personally with these great artists. String Nation events are primarily held at the Rutgers University Camden Campus, New Jersey at the Gordon Theater.

More information to be posted but inquiries and information on festival scholarships can be directed to Joseph Milano .

Website: International String Music Symposium

Posted by Ted at 09:29 PM

January 20, 2007 | Winter NAMM 2007

Doing serious investigative research at the 2007 Winter NAMM show, working of course, at least that's the story with the wife... We'll confess to squeezing in a little bit of personal gear bliss in between, though, including a chance to bring home a Draleon Royale Gypsy Mandolin of our own. More on this later, but check out the latest mando-related pics we've posted at the Mandolin Cafe Website and weigh in on the Message Board.

Imagine 5 football fields full of instruments, method books, PA systems, computer and recording gear, and about 80,000 of your closest friends packed into a circus full of music retailers, manufacturers, professional performers and hobbyists from around the world. The full continium of people you want to hang with, and some who you really wonder why they aren't locked up. That's the international NAMM show.

View picture of personal friend and jazz mandolin pioneer Michael Lampert slinging the Sunburst Royale.

Posted by Ted at 07:32 AM

January 17, 2007 | Mandolin Cafe iPod Giveaway

How about a free Apple iPod? Better yet, how about a free iPod pre-loaded with SoundArt Recordings mandolin music as part of a giveaway hosted by the Mandolin Cafe?

Visitors of the Mandolin Cafe will soon have a unique opportunity to win free one of these. SoundArt Recordings, the mandolin focused recording label of Butch Baldassari in Nashville, Tennesses is joining the Mandolin Cafe to give away one iPod each to three lucky winners, including a 4GB iPod nano (retail $199.00) and two iPod Shuffles (retail $75.00 each).

Visitors can begin signing up for a chance to win starting February 1, 2007 with the winning entries selected at random on February 15, 2007. As with past giveaways on the Mandolin Cafe, no purchase will be necessary to register for the chance to win.

The iPods will be loaded with a combination of solo recordings from Butch Baldassari, the Nashville Mandolin Ensemble and possibly selections from recordings that are typically available only by purchasing online and downloading to personal computers.

Baldassari has broadened both his reach to new audiences and his influence on the music. Not just a performer and bandleader, he is widely respected as a teacher, currently serving as Adjunct Associate Professor of Mandolin at Vanderbilt University's renowned Blair School of Music. His instructional videos, books and tapes are among the most widely used by aspiring mandolin players, and his workshops at festivals include Telluride, Rocky Grass Bluegrass Academy, Winterhawk and Grass Valley.

For more information: Mandolin Cafe iPod Giveaway.

Posted by Ted at 07:54 PM

January 15, 2007 | Condino

JazzMando welcomes new website sponsor, James Condino and his fine craft in repair and guitar, mandolin and bass luthiery, recently relocated to Asheville, North Carolina. We discovered his bold, gutsy work last year, and after the sensational opportunity to experience his instruments firsthand, we got to know James personally and found the man to be himself, bold and gutsy.

An avid mountaineer, this brilliant craftsman combines adventure and the science of physics in his instruments. Beneath the daring aesthetics, we uncover exacting calculation and intimate familiarity of wood and acoustics. We're thrilled to have him on board and expect to bring you the latest news of his adventures, including his new J5, the soundported scroll mandolin in the striped ebony series, a Loar inspired A5 New Century, and his passionate environmental efforts with the African Blackwood Conservation Project. (More on this soon!)

Until then, grab a desktop image out of our Wallpaper section, and read last Fall's Spotlight Review: Condino

View website: Condino Instruments

Posted by Ted at 06:14 AM

January 13, 2007 | YouTube Choro

This just in from alert JazzMando Research Assistant and field reporter, Larry Sherman. Larry is one of the elite first owners to sling a Draleon Gypsy Mandolin, and is the process of securing a bandolim from Brazilian instrument builder Tércio Ribeiro, so he's got good taste in music and instruments.

YouTube has a collection of some apparent impromptu Choro jam session videos. Midst the backdrop of a vibrant music retail store with it's cymbal bags, percussion toys, glass counters and an ocassional string purchase peppered by the random jingle of cash register, the players are superb, and other than the ambient crowd noise, it's a wonderful opportunity for a glimpse into the activity and creation of some of the greatest music on the planet.

Here are three highlights:

Tira Poeira, de Sátiro Bilhar

Roceira, de Mario Cavaquinho

Amoroso, de Garoto (Anibal A. Sardinha)

Check out more with YouTube User ID Ovidio

Thanks for this, Larry!

Posted by Ted at 06:41 AM

January 10, 2007 | Winter NAMM coming up.

Getting packed for next week's Winter NAMM show. The JazzMando Research Assistants will be donning lab coats and cameras to bring you the latest in gear relevant to the mandolin world. We're especially looking forward to hooking up with our friend Gordon Roberts and his "partners in crime" at Century Strings and Draleon Guitars. Giving us a teasing sneak preview, he reports "we will have the first prototype of the Ultra mandolin for you to try (if it gets finished on time). This is a completely new project that I am working on with John Littler of Headway Pickups in the UK. It's a live performance mandolin designed to be plugged in to an amp or PA and still sound like a real acoustic instrument. We will ultimately have guitars, fiddles, mandos, octave mandos, zouks, cellos and basses in the line and they will blow any other electronically enhanced acoustic instrument on the market right out of the water. We have the best new jazz/acoustic amp on the market to show you also."

Yikes, we can hardly wait.

In addition we'll hook up again with the usual suspects, our friends at Weber Mandolins, and Collings. Maybe a few licks at the Gibson booth on the new Goldrush, and a hands-on spin with Peter Mix's ground-breaking New Millennium Acoustic Design carbon fibre mandolins. We always try to sneak in some after hours jamming with Michael Lewis and the amazing craftsmen of the Luthiers Consortium for an off-site display of some of the finest handmade mandolins and guitars on the planet. (All in the interest of science, of course...) You haven't lived until you've seen a $2,000 custom engraved gold tailpiece.

Packing the toothbrush; California, here we come...

Posted by Ted at 10:19 PM

January 08, 2007 | Joe Craven Video

Amazing Google Video of multi-instrumentalist and mega-talent Joe Craven at the 2005 Oregon County Fair. Armed with only his F5, and a Loop Station, Joe wows his audience with his incredible mandolin prowess, rhythmic accuracy, and a Robin Williams comedic wit.

Former percussionist with the David Grisman Quintet, he's as good on the violin and anything you can bang or strike in drums as he is on the mandolin. Here he demonstrates his folk/rap prowess.

Watch this amazing video: Spokenfolk

Visit Joe's website.

Posted by Ted at 08:49 PM

January 06, 2007 | John Knutson

Once in a while we stumble across some interesting axes, and our latest find is the work of luthier John Knutson of Knutson Luthiery. Inventive and known primarily for his development of the ergonomic and highly successful Messenger Bass (Rob Wasserman, David Lindley), he designed a gorgeous, jazz-box inspired electric mandolin, the SongBird, which incidentally was one of his first "shop class" projects out of the gate back in the late 70's. Since then, his work as a full-time luthier and repairman have indulged opportunity to create some astonishingly creative custom double- and triple-neck combinations.

His 335-ish Mike Marshall 5-string is played by Mike himself, who is known to be able to rip off some powerful electric blues riffs occasionally. (What can't Mike do with strings, though!)

Interesting stuff; unfortunately, John tells us he's not done much with mando recently. The overwhelming success of his Messenger Basses and an occasional archtop guitar has kept him occupied the last ten years.

It would sure be nice to see him commissioned to do more of these, though!

View: website

View: picture

Posted by Ted at 06:23 AM

January 04, 2007 | Mel Bay unveils Mike Marshall Collection

In over 30 years of playing, Mike Marshall has partnered up with some amazing players. From his early days with the David Grisman Quintet to his most recent duo incarnation with virtuoso Chris Thile, and Brazilian great Hamilton de Holanda, he's covered a lot of ground in between, playing with Bela Flek, Edgar Meyer, Darol Anger, Modern Mandolin Quartet, Montreux, Psychograss, Andy Narell, Jovino Santos Neto, Joshua Bell, Jake Shimabukuro, Vassar Clements, Stephane Grapelli, and untold others. His five Mike Marshall Method Books are an encyclopedia of great mandolin resources, but now it's Mel Bay's turn to offer the artist's own music in this 48 page, saddlestitched book.

Transcribed by Matt Flinner, this ought to in included in any intermediate mandolinist's arsenal.

Titles:
Big Man from Syracuse
Child's Play
Dance of the Planktons
Emu's Blues
Grab the Gutter
Hot Nickels
Scotch & Swing
Shoot the Moon
Wake Up
We Thre
Zakire

View image: Cover

More information: Mike Marshall Collection

Check out the latest free online mandolin lessons and resources at Mel Bay's MandolinSessions.com.

Artist Website: Mike Marshall

Posted by Ted at 08:20 AM

January 02, 2007 | JazzMando Reflections

As the year 2007 kicks into gear, we've reminisced a bit about some of the successes this past year around the JazzMando Research Facilities. Here are our top five:

• SoloComp JM. Our collaboration with builder and pioneer Bill Bussmann of Old Wave Mandolins offered us the opportunity to develop a new voice in Jazz Mandodom. The 4-string course with it's amazing finger control and sustain in the lower chord-rich register of the mandola is a pleasure to play. Its eye-popping jazz-box shape and cosmetic mojo is even more compelling in person than pictures could ever communicate. This is a winner; hopefully the start of a new look at single-course playing for others, as well.
• New JazzDola JD13 Flatwound Mandola Strings. This was more work than we'd anticipated, balancing just the right gauges for sound and playability, but the many months coordinating with E & O Mari (Labella Strings) have rewarded us with a huge success. We've loaded up the Merchandise Center with a huge reorder and look forward to taking care of the vastly under-served mandola string market.
• User Expansion. We started the year with a goal to average 200 +/- visitors a day at JazzMando.com. We surpassed that in April and are proud to say the last three months of the year had us over 300 visitors a day, with a breathtaking 336 per day in December. (Spontaneous applause...).
• RSS Feeds. The best way to drive website participation is content, and we strive to provide something new on the site with important news, fresh and relevant, in addition to helpful pedagogical content. In addition to the lessons we archive, our "What's New?" and "Tips & Tricks" sections can be accessed through an RSS feed so you don't miss anything.
• Rigel Q-200 Mandola. A bittersweet accomplishment, we were excited to see this amazing ax reach development. An amazing instrument to play with the quirky cosmetic of it's smaller sister Q-95, the Gypsy "Q" we'd develop with Rigel two years prior, only two of these were made before Rigel closed its doors permanently.

Thanks to valued corporate sponsors and thanks to you all for your eyes, attention, and occasional kind word submitted to our Contact Page. May your New Year be fruitful, happy, and rich with chord extensions.

Posted by Ted at 06:03 AM