David Smith / Kenny Warren / Rob Garcia / John Carlson / / Andy Biskin

We sang them at camp and in the classroom and heard them on the radio from The Kingston Trio, Burl Ives and the Weavers, but how many of us knew the long history and strange background of these common American folk songs? Many were collected from original sources by folklorist Alan Lomax (1915-2002), who passed them on to popularizers and collated them into well-disseminated songbooks. Along the way most ballads lost their bite and originality. But Texas-born, New York-based Andy Biskin, who actually worked as Lomax’s assistant 40 years ago, aims to bring back the rural ferocity on these tunes on this disc. He succeeds without reservation. Ignoring the familiar lyrics, he reinterprets the bedrock melodies with a hearty dose of improvisation and does so with unusual instrumentation: his own clarinet and bass clarinet, three trumpets – John Carlson, Dave Smith and Kenny Warren – and the drums of Rob Garcia.

Along the way he strips away the pop-sentimentality and parlor gentility long associated with the tunes, which after all were first sung by working class, often impoverished and frequently discriminated against folk, rather than folk singers. One instance where this works shrewdly is the quintet’s version of “Blue Tail Fly”. After the trumpeters advance the (over) familiar refrain, they turn to fiery triplets, Garcia’s ruffs and pop are Beboppy, while Biskin’s clarinet lead joins Jimmy Crack Corn to Thelonious Monk. Later the obscure “Knock John Booker”, reverts to its African-American post-slavery protest roots with sharp trumpet bites, snarling chalumeau clarinet licks and drum raps that are half-martial and half supple Jazz. The hoary “She’ll Be Comin’ Round the Mountain” gets refitted as well, taken at double time, and with the juvenile sing-along lyrics replaced with bent note variations in the form of a cutting contest among the brass players until the moderato clarinet puffs flutter over and reveal the melody.

“Go Fish” a Biskin original, slides comfortably in among the folksay, despite a more contemporary sinuous ambulatory theme. Still it’s also interpreted in a moderated fashion with bass clarinet intensity balanced by brass harmonies plus successive motifs where theme elaboration jumps from one trumpeter to the next, with the piece culminating with bass clarinet slurring from its lowest register. Although a similar strategy is tried on “Tom Dooley” it’s one of the few recreations here that lacks spark with the rendition almost too happy and too smooth for the program.

In the main however Biskin and company have created a post-modern CD that swings as well as surprises. And the end result is guaranteed you make you hear these ditties with a freshness and perception previously never ascribed to them.

–Ken Waxman

Track Listing: 1. Sweet Betsy from Pike 2. Grey Goose 3. Blue Tale Fly 4. Down in the Valley 5. House Carpenter 6. Go Fish 7. Lily Munroe 8. Tom Dooley 9. Muskrat 10. Knock John Booker 11. Am I Born to Die? 12. She’ll Be Comin’ Round the Mountain 13. Sweet Betsy from Pike (Reprise)

Personnel: John Carlson, Dave Smith and Kenny Warren (trumpet); Andy Biskin (clarinet and bass clarinet) and Rob Garcia (drums)