Portland, Oregon clawhammer banjo player Paul Vorvick is giving away a book of transcriptions to match his latest album, Nameless Joe, a collection of 22 new original tunes that Paul has written.
No strings attached. If you like the music, you can download the book for free online. He has the album on streaming services so you can check out the music as well. Of course, Vorvick would appreciate your support if you like the tunes, so purchasing the album is always an option. But he tells us his greatest thrill would be to someday hear other players doing one of his tunes.
Paul is a lifelong musician and multi-instrumentalist who started out on guitar, though he now works mostly as a bass player in the jazz world in Portland.
He tells us that after learning several other instruments, he has approached the five string differently, leading him to a preference for solo banjo.
“I started playing clawhammer style banjo about five years ago. As a guitarist, the right hand was the biggest challenge for me, and I consider myself an intermediate player as far as the right hand goes. Rather than learning the much-respected standard tunes, I started composing as soon as I could manage a bum-diddy. I was fascinated with different tunings and found that as I played with them they would suggest melodies. With every other instrument I’ve learned I had the intent of playing with others. But not the banjo. Although I’m not against playing it with others, it’s a very personal instrument for me.”
Here’s a listen to the title track from the album.
You’ll find the Nameless Joe album available now from popular download and streaming services online. To get a copy of Paul’s very professionally made tab book of the tunes, just follow this link.
