EJ Jones » Blog

Knocking sparks off it

ej — Mon, 17 Oct 2011 23:16:08 +0000

I just spent a fabulous weekend playing and teaching tunes to a very bright group of players at the Celtic Arts Foundation smallpipe/reelpipe program in a forest camp inside the town of Bellingham WA. It was a pleasure to meet Fred Morrison and hear him give some amazing performances of his original tunes, especially the “Kansas City Hornpipe” from his new album. I loved how powerfully and with such abandon he played. I’ll use a phrase I’m borrowing from him and say he was really “knocking sparks off it”.

We had a Friday night meet up for registration, a house concert overlooking a beautiful view of the water that night and then the next day, 7 hours of instruction in small classes of no more than 8 students and two night sessions. Sunday was a lighter day, just 3 hours of classes, a jam session and then a blast of a concert at the Skagit Brewery Bar.

I was continuing a theme from the Pipers Gathering in Vt and trying to encourage folks to think of themselves as public performers, cast in the role of town pipers to the local community, our job being to bring good tunes to the people around us, whether that’s from a stage or in the living room. I brought a quiver of tunes that would be practical and interesting towards that goal. We started the weekend with a reminder exercise on making a first and last impression with the pipes and how to use tuning to intrigue the listener. I’m hoping to continue that theme at my next teaching weekend this January at the Upper Potomac Pipers Weekend.

I felt hugely lucky to share a stage and give this workshop alongside Fred. He was a lion of a performer and tirelessly generous in trying to inspire and encourage the players there. I learned a lot from him and am taking a couple of things home:

-”rhythm is the window to the soul of the tune” a quote from the Saturday presentation on how to prepare for a gig.

-leave your inner judge in the practice room.

-take a stand for the music you really love.

I’m coming home this weekend feeling stronger than ever, ready to work harder, play with more heart.

The organizers of the Celtic Arts Foundation made this beautiful weekend possible and I am profoundly grateful to have been invited, There’s talk of some sort of bagpipe excursion coming out of this… Stay tuned….

A Hogwarts of Piping

ej — Thu, 08 Sep 2011 18:01:25 +0000

Once again the green hills and Champlain valley of Vermont rang with the dulcet calls of our many species of bagpipes at this year’s PIpers Gathering. At the beginning of the weekend we were sorted into our different houses according to Border Pipes, Scottish Smallpipes, Northumbrian Smallpipes, Uilleann Pipes and even Medieval and Renaissance pipes. We gathered to trade piping secrets and perfect our performance strategies to impress the folks upon our return home. I was teaching Border pipes this year and was pleased at how advanced some of the players were in the classes. It was excellent as always to see that do-gooding Nate Banton and his field of lovely border and smallpipes played by Tim Cummings and Ben Miller as well as meet for the first time the amazing player and pipemaker Fin Moore of Moore Bagpipes. I believe there was an offensive mounted on the Uilleann pipe house by houses Border and Smallpipe at 4 am one night and it was impressive to see how chipper they all were the next day having finally convinced the Uilleann pipers to stop making all those staccato popping sounds. You’re next Northumbrians… It was fantastic to see so many of my own customers there and I had a good time replacing reeds and catching up with folks. This was the first year at Champlain College which was a huge improvement over our previous venue. The classrooms were climate controlled and brightly lit and there was an epic view of Lake Champlain from every window it seemed, especially the dining room which had a 12 ft wall of glass looking out on the lake and mountains. The food was very good too. We were in the town of Burlington so there was plenty of cell reception and every amenity you could think of. I think next year we should do a class on busking and take a field trip to the pleasant downtown area and take turns playing for people walking by. The piper from one of my favorite groups was there teaching Renaissance and Medieval pipes, Tom Zajac who plays in the group Piffaro and had some very interesting tunes to show us at at the Sunday concert. If you’re reading this…I’ve survived the summer and threaded the needle of floods in VT and fires in TX with my head down making pipes in lovely Asheville NC. If you love the bagpipes and didn’t make it to the PIpers Gathering this year, please consider making a tax-deductible donation. Hope to see you there next year!

New CD available soon

ej — Mon, 06 Jun 2011 05:28:29 +0000

There’s a new recording project that has just been finished and should be back from the printers on the 23rd of June. It’s all instrumental and features original, historic, and celtic dance tunes with me on bagpipes great and small accompanied by cittern player Al Cofrin with special guests Richard Kean, Sean Sutherland, Emily Dugas, Wolf Loeascher, and Dave Machek. We’re getting folks together to bid various festivals next year so you’ll likely see this band around for a long time to come. The website is http://www.brizeus.com

I just got back from the Texas Scottish festival in Arlington and had a very hot but rewarding weekend playing with Clandestine
We had three sets on the big stage and it was tough keeping the pipes at A440 with the heat in the high 90′s but I think it worked. Clandestine had a wonderful time and got to reconnect with folks who’ve seen us over the last few years. We recently found out we’re likely going to be hired at the Loch Norman Games in Charlotte, NC next April so I’m looking forward to playing with my Texas friends in my home state!

Confirmed at Vermont Celtic Arts in early May

ej — Thu, 14 Apr 2011 03:27:53 +0000

It looks like I’m teaching at the VT smallpipes workshop on May 7-8 in Marshfield Vt!

Call Iain MacHarg to sign up:

(802) 426-3096
iain@fairpoint.net

vtcelticarts.org

Washington State in October

ej — Tue, 15 Mar 2011 05:08:28 +0000

I first heard Fred Morrison play in Lorient France in 2003 at a kitchen piping event and he absolutely burned the stage down with his wild improvisational piping. I hear Seattle is pretty nice in October so get your reservation in for a smallpipes/borderpipes weekend where he and yours truly will be teaching and playing.

The Celtic Arts Foundation has more information. See you on the West Coast in October!

What are you waiting for !?!?!

ej — Tue, 08 Feb 2011 03:16:10 +0000

VERMONT INSTITUTE OF CELTIC ARTS

Scottish Smallpipes and Borderpipe Workshop in Vermont!!! The workshop dates will be May 7 & 8th. The weekend will take place in the beautiful village of Marshﬁeld, VT. Saturday and Sunday will be full teaching days (10am-noon, and 1-5) 12 hours of instruction over the course of the weekend. All music scores, and reed making materials will be provided. Additionally, an evening ceilidh will be included on Saturday night. The instructors for the weekend will be Iain MacHarg and Dan Houghton. If there are enough students, we will also hire EJ Jones (!!!). All playing levels are welcome. Students are welcome to bring a sleeping bag and stay here at the house. The cost of the weekend is $50 per day, or $150 for the whole weekend. Tell folks you know to help spread the word. Stop random people in the street and tell them too…

Please let us know if you’d like to reserve a spot!

Slainte Mhath,

Iain MacHarg

Vermont Institute of Celtic Arts
www.vtcelticarts.org

VERMONT INSTITUTE OF CELTIC ARTS

1611 VT Rt 232 Marshﬁeld, VT 05658

T: (802) 426-3096

W: www.vtcelticarts.org

E: iain@fairpoint.net

Topics will include:

• New material for smallpipes and borderpipes
• Singing with the pipes
• Guitar & Bouzouki accompaniment
• Hands on reedmaking session
• Harmony writing
• Pipe making lecture by Michael MacHarg
• Saturday night Ceilidh!

Big Spring to Kerrville

ej — Fri, 26 Nov 2010 18:00:51 +0000

Abby Green on her new bouzouki, me on my new flute

An Asheville Send Off to Texas

ej — Sat, 20 Nov 2010 14:27:59 +0000

It is great to be back on the road this month but before I left some friends came over and we rehearsed some tunes we’re hoping to use for a local Asheville group. Guitarist Sean Sutherland and fiddle player Priscilla Hunt are some of the many great musicians in the Asheville Celtic scene. The movie here is some random photos from the workshop and the road.

A New Split Stock Reed Protector

ej — Sat, 13 Nov 2010 22:40:41 +0000

I’m always thinking when I write a new post that I have to avoid titles like “new set finished” or “another molten metal disaster” so I’m not tempted to repeat the same one over and over. In this case I think I’ve got it wrapped up.

Maximum reed protection, easily removable and serviceable silver wire, no obstruction of the airflow or chance of being dislodged into the reed.

If any of my customers out there want to get this modification to their stocks please email me and we can arrange a timeline for it.

A Mount Olympus of Piping

ej — Tue, 17 Aug 2010 18:30:30 +0000

It was an epic weekend at the 12th Pipers’ Gathering. To be able to finally meet and play tunes with Dan Houghton was like finding a long lost brother, a slightly older, smarter one you know, who’s better looking and can pull off feats of piping skill like an effortless “E” hornpipe shake. Dan and I played together with flute titan John Skelton on Saturday, getting some of the audience up to dance the An Dro with the pipes, bombard and guitar and we were rapt by John’s set of flute, bombard, and Galician pipes at the Sunday concert. I spent a lot of the weekend hanging out with my arch-nemesis Nate Banton, the smallpipe/border pipe maker who had some beautiful instruments on display and on stage. It was very distracting in a nice way to have one of his instruments pulling my attention towards the player at some of the group lessons. I’ll get you next time, Banton! There were many tables laid out with an abundance of bagpipe making artistry this weekend and another of the instructors, Jon Swayne, knocked me out with his playing at the Saturday evening concert and by the elegance of the pipes and flutes he makes. Across the path were the gorgeous multi-denominational bagpipes and leather work of Michael MacHarg. I think every Irish pipe and most of the smallpipes were outfitted with his expertly made pipe bags and I wish I had had an hour or two to take a good look at his wood-turnings for inspiration. There just wasn’t enough time to take in all the interesting, amazing playing, pipe-making, and education to be had there. I got the new Tim Cummings tune book and was blown away by some of the tunes on the accompanying CD. He led us in song at the Sunday concert with his smallpipes. One of the modern piping gods, Jim McGillivray was there teaching smallpipes and I wish I had been able to see one of his classes as well as the afternoon workshop of the smallpipe player/ singer Laura MacKenzie. It was such a treat to have so many of my customers there with their pipes. I did a lot of little tuneups and some reed tweaking on those instruments and got to re-connect with customers I hadn’t seen in a while. The weekend really could not have gone better and I am driving home today reeling in gratitude for the friendships that were struck and deepened over this weekend. I’m only mentioning a really tiny fraction of the magic that happens for pipers at this event. A cross-pollinating, enriching, challenging, and inspiring time, that Pipers Gathering.

They’re a 501c3 nonprofit by the way, so if you’re looking for a bagpipe-supporting tax write off they would do great work by your contribution!

Here’s the notation of the first tune I played in my set Saturday night: big-spring-awakening-hp