Here are a pair of new releases that will be of interest to admirers of George Jackson’s fiddle album of last year, Time and Place, and to fiddlers in particular.
The record has been quite popular among fans of contemporary old time music, featuring 12 new tunes he had written. One track, Chapel Hill Deer Stalk, won the 2019 Mike Auldridge Instrumental Composition Contest, and another, Dorrigo, became a viral sensation when George issued a challenge to other musicians to lean the tune, and agreeing to post samples on his Facebook and Instagram pages. It became such a trend that he made up stickers that people could get to prove they had participated.
In fact, when he performed at the 2019 Dorrigo Folk & Bluegrass Festival in New South Wales, for which the song was named, the native New Zealander brought up twenty-some pickers to play it with him, and recorded the 100th version of the tune for YouTube. That number has only increased since then.
Now, in December of 2020, Jackson has released a book of transcriptions which he created over the summer living in Nashville. Titled simply Time and Place – Transcriptions and Descriptions, the digital edition contains the melody for all of the tracks from the album, including bow directions and some left hand notations for specific passages. George also includes several pages of photos from the recording sessions at The Rubber Room in Chapel Hill, NC, and anecdotes about the tunes, all of which were named for the place where thy were composed.
The book is available for purchase for $30 from Jackson’s bandcamp page, or by joining his Patreon page where he also offers fiddle lessons at no additional charge. The book is available to $20/month members, but you can join for just the month and have access to all the materials during that time.
George is also releasing a new digital album called Time and Place – The Field Recordings, which includes the original work tapes for all the tunes from the Time and Place CD. It is offered for sale for only $2 on bandcamp, a real treat for those interested in seeing the raw beginnings.
Jackson says that these tracks are not polished, but do capture the process he went through in writing the tunes.
“The collection features the very first demos, jams, and memos I made after writing each tune on the album. Some stuff is pretty rough, other stuff shows a lot of potential right from the word go, some of the melodies are different, some are the same. I hope folks enjoy this look behind the curtain of my writing process both in the book and Field Recordings. In the true spirit of oldtime music, I present to you Time and Place – The Field Recordings, direct from my iPhone.”
The transcription book will be available on December 10, and the Field Recordings on the 11th. Pre-orders can be placed for online delivery on those dates, and gift purchases can also be placed. Both are offered via bandcamp.
