In last month’s issue of FolkWorks, David Bragger announced this new CD from his Tiki Parlour label. I first encountered Takake Kosuke, aka Bosco, more than 20 years ago when Bluegrass Unlimited sent me a CD to review. On that CD, he played several instruments along with a vocalist, whom I think was his girlfriend. Later, we camped close to each other one year at the Appalachian String Band Festival in Clifftop, WV.

This new CD has 19 tunes on fiddle and banjo, many learned directly from legendary American old-time musicians. The CD opens with a banjo version of “Drunken Hiccups” which derives from Maggie Hammons Parker of the Hammons family of WV. The second tune, “Old Sledge,” is from another WV musician, fiddler Ernie Carpenter. Next up is “Falls of Richmond” from Maggie’s brother Burl Hammons. Bosco learned it from Burl in 1981. Yet another WV musician, Lee Hammons (who was not related to the other Hammons) played “Walking in the Parlor.” Bosco learned it from the Rounder LP “Shaking Down the Acorns,” which featured the Hammons family and Lee Hammons. Fiddlin’ Van Kidwell, a Kentucky fiddler, was the source for “Drunk Mans Blues.” Bosco learned the banjo tune “Old Christmas Morning” from Sherman Hammons, brother to Maggie and Burl, also in 1981. He got “Pretty Little Girl” from Tommy Jarrell of NC. “Cherry River Line” comes from a recording of Doc White, who was a fiddler but played this one on banjo. “John Roberts’ Tune” comes from WV fiddler Ralph Roberts with some help from Jimmy Triplett. “Indian War Dance Piece” is from NC Cherokee fiddler Manco Sneed. Daise Hammons, the youngest sister of the Hammons family, is the source for “Yew Piney Mountain.” Madison Boone Reid, the father of Etta Baker, played “Sourwood Mountain” on the banjo. I have a CD with some recordings of Mr. Reid. A very crooked “Walking in the Parlor” was learned from a 1924 recording of Alabama fiddler Dr. D. D. Hollis. Bosco learned “Shakin’ Down the Acorns,” a completely different tune from the one played by the Hammons, from WV fiddler Murrell Humrick. “Nancy Rollin” (also known as “Nancy Rowland”) is another fiddle tune from Burl Hammons. However, Bosco says that this tune is actually “Cotton Baggin'” from the Skillet Lickers.”As Time Draws Near,” also called “The Blackest Crow” comes from Tommy Jarrell’s banjo playing. Tennessee fiddler Joe Birchfield of the Roan Mountain Hilltoppers is the source for “Train 45.” Sherman Hammons played this unusual version of “Cripple Creek” on the fiddle. The CD closes out with Ernie Carpenter’s version of “Yew Piney Mountain.”

Bosco plays “Drunken Hiccups” in a relaxed, rolling clawhammer style with great tone. He fiddles “Old Sledge” in the unusual tuning of AEAD from bottom to top. “Falls of Richmond” is in the more conventional high bass tuning of ADAE. The falls of Richmond are on the Kanawha River in WV. This banjo version of “Walking in the Parlor” is very close to what I learned from Jody Stecher. Van Kidwell told Bosco that he and Doc Roberts learned “Drunk Man Blues” from an African-American fiddler named Charlie Walker. “Old Christmas Morning” is a classic A mixolydian fiddle tune which manages to evoke ancient tones from deep places. “Pretty Little Girl,” which Tommy Jarrell never recorded commercially, is in the droney DDAD fiddle tuning. “Cherry River Line” has a driving rhythm which suggests a railroad train. Bosco captures the bluesy banjo sound of the B part of “Sourwood Mountain.” There are similarities in the B parts of the two versions of “Walking in the Parlor,” but the A parts are very different. “Train 45” is another very bluesy sounding mixolydian tune. Carpenter’s “Yew Piney Mountain” is a bit of an air with some notes held long and a highly complex rhythm.

Bosco has made these tunes his own while staying in thoroughly Appalachian modes of fiddling and banjo playing. This CD comes with my highest recommendation.