Across the Blue Ridge #57 - Alan Jabbour, master fiddler & folklorist

Alan Jabbour, the founding director of the American Folklife Center at the Library of Congress, played fiddle, documented traditions and mentored others. He spent the bulk of his career and retirement encouraging people to make music and appreciate the traditions that hold communities together. He died recently at the age of 74 at his home in Washington, DC.  On this week's Across the Blue Ridge, host Paul Brown guides us through some of Jabbour's earliest field recordings and most significant accomplishments. We hear music of West Virginia, Kentucky, Virginia, and North Carolina, from performers recorded as far back as 1937 and as recently as 2015. We hear Jabbour tell how he met his most important fiddling mentor, and we listen to bands descended from his own Hollow Rock String Band of the 1960s. Also on this week's show, some classic bluegrass from Jimmy Martin and Red Allen, and a new topical song from young southwest Virginia performer Tyler Hughes.

Episode 57 playlist

1. Nubbin Ridge
   Kenny Jackson
   Over the Mountain
    
2. Sophronie
   Jimmy Martin & The Sunny Mountain Boys
   You Don't Know My Mind
    
3. Out On The Ocean
   Red Allen
   Keep On Going
    
4. Red Prairie Dawn
   Adam Hurt
   Artifacts
    
5. Red Prairie Dawn
   Garry Harrison
   Red Prairie Dawn
    
6. When We Love
   Tyler Hughes
   Single
    
7. Break 1 - Rye Straw
   Alan Jabbour, Ken Perlman, Jim Watson
   You Can't Beat The Classics
    
8. Shady Grove
   Alan Jabbour, Bertram Levy, James Reed
   A Henry Reed Reunion
    
9. Kitchen Girl
   Henry Reed
   field recording
    
10. Jabbour 1 commentary
    Alan Jabbour
    field recording
     
11. Kitchen Girl
    Hollow Rock String Band
    Hollow Rock String Band
     
12. Jabbour 2 commentary
    Alan Jabbour
    field recording
     
13. Schottische
    Henry Reed
    field recording
     
14. Liza Jane
    Oscar Wright
    Clawhammer Banjo Volume 3
     
15. Fisher's Hornpipe
    Tommy Jarrell
    Sail Away Ladies
     
16. Newcastle
    Alan Jabbour, Ken Perlman, Jim Watson
    You Can't Beat The Classics
     
17. Break 2 - Shoes and Stockings
    Alan Jabbour, Tommy Thompson, Sandy Bradley
    Sandy's Fancy
     
18. Bonaparte's Retreat
    W.M. Stepp
    American Fiddle Tunes from the Archive of Folk Song
     
19. Hard Time in the Charleston Jail
    Maggie Hammons Parker
    The Hammons Family
     
20. Three Forks of Cheat
    Burl Hammons
    The Hammons Family
     
21. The 28th of January
    Fuzzy Mountain String Band
    The Fuzzy Mountain String Band
     
22. Henry Reed's Schottische
    Alan Jabbour, Ken Perlman, Jim Watson
    You Can't Beat The Classics