The August edition of the venerable Banjo NewsLetter is out, with adventurous 5-string jazz banjo player Ryan Cavanaugh on the cover.
Ryan spent the early aughts impressing judges at banjo competitions like Renofest, Merlefest and RockyGrass, each of which crowned his as champion.
Though known now primarily for his jazz and progressive acoustic music, he maintains a passion for bluegrass as well.
“I have always loved bluegrass, because it is where I come from, but I also love the history of jazz in America, because it involves the banjo.”
In the mag, Ryan is interviewed by fellow banjo man Ned Luberecki, who offers high praise for Cavanaugh’s work ethic.
“Ryan Cavanaugh is possibly the most driven musician I’ve ever met. After discovering the banjo at an early age, Ryan was consumed by a hunger to figure it all out. Inspired by the sounds of Bela Fleck, Jimi Hendrix, Charlie Parker and other jazz greats, Ryan set about studying music theory at an advanced level while still in high school. He also developed an amazing set of chops, applying blues, rock, Irish and heavy metal shred guitar techniques to the banjo.
Sometimes he even invented new techniques, like playing single-string lines using three fingers on one string instead of two fingers. In addition to his impressive technique, Ryan plays with great tone, timing and depth.”
Banjo NewsLetter is available at selected newsstands and music stores, and directly from the publisher by subscription or single-issue purchase.
Banjoist Ryan Cavanaugh has taken to Kickstarter to raise the necessary funds for an upcoming tour with his new band, No Man’s Land.
The bluegrass world noticed Ryan in the first half of the aughts when he took home trophies from the Merlefest, Renofest and Rocky Grass banjo competitions. He released an album of original bluegrass instrumentals, Songs For The New Frontier, in 2008, but much of his interest this past few years has been dedicated to his explorations of contemporary jazz using the five string banjo.
Ryan spent a number of years touring with saxman Bill Evans’ Soulgrass band, and has released a self-titled EP with his own group, Ryan Cavanaugh & No Man’s Land. The album features Kevin Knapp on electric bass, Tyson Rogers on keyboards and Bryon Larrance on drums, with Ryan on both acoustic and electric banjo. Evans guests on tenor and soprano sax.
The Kickstarter campaign is meant to raise money for tour publicity and transportation needs as Cavanaugh and his quartet look to embark on a US tour. He will be accompanied by Knapp, Rogers and Larrance, and plans to use a number of guest saxophonists on the road.
If you would like to see this tour come to pass, you can make a cash pledge towards the goal of $6500 in seed money. A number of donation premiums are offered, including a private house concert for a pledge of $2000.
Even while the Kickstarer campaign is underway, Ryan is off this weekend to tour Ukraine with Evans. He is also scheduled for a profile this summer in Banjo NewsLetter, written by Ned Luberecki.
Here’s a look at No Man’s Land, and how Cavanaugh uses the banjo in the jazz realm. The tune is Grand Dragon, from the new band CD.
This post is a contribution from Mike Reed, one of our 2010 IBMA correspondents. See his profile here.
The IBMA workshop on “Maximizing Practice Time” was held today, presented by Ned Luberecki with Megan Lynch and Ryan Cavanaugh as panelists. As we have come to expect from Ned his approach to the workshop was light enough to make it entertaining, yet substantial enough to be quite beneficial.
Ned began the workshop by stating that it is relatively easy to maximize your practice time. All you need to do is quit your job, cancel the cable and get rid of your kids. I was a little concerned when a lot of the folks in the audience were nodding at that recommendation…
Megan Lynch, fiddle player currently touring with Pam Tillis (but with a background that includes contest fiddling, bluegrass and singer-songwriters), explained that each phase of her career required different approaches to practicing. In contest fiddling it was all about precision with long hours sitting next to a metronome. In working with singer-songwriters she had to be very “in the moment,” since most of it was created in real time, resulting in not much benefit from a strict practice routine. In bluegrass she had to emphasize the chord structure instead of working on scales. She noted that in bluegrass you really have to learn to listen to the other musicians and jam, jam and then jam some more. In country music you have to be able to play what’s on the record, so practice and preparation are essential.
Ryan Cavanaugh, banjo player for the jazz Bill Evans, noted that jazz is a language and you have to practice the language to create words as you go. He said that it is important to listen to yourself and make sure you sound human, playing with passion and emotion. He practices a lot (for one stretch more than 6 hours a day) to learn variation in his musical vocabulary.
Ned Luberecki, banjo Player for Chris Jones & the Nightdrivers, noted that too many students want to learn an instrument but are not willing to listen to those who do it well. He used as an example a banjo student who wanted to learn the banjo, but when asked who he listens to stated he didn’t listen to banjo music or own any banjo records. Megan added that “you have nothing to say if you’ve heard nobody speak.”
All three emphasized that listening to music has to be part of your practice routine. You have to know how it is supposed to sound. Megan recommended to listening for licks you want to learn over and over until you can sing or hum them before you try to play it.
Ryan reminded everyone not to measure your progress by what others have accomplished, but measure yourself against the goals you’ve set for yourself. Ned added that it helps to tape yourself playing so that you can both hear how you sound and how you present yourself when you’re playing. Megan added that she videotapes herself every January 1 and then watches to find one thing she needs to work on over the coming year.
Finally they all made the point that there is no substitute for putting in the practice time. Too many people want to be great players but are unwilling to put in the time, effort and sacrifice necessary to reach their goal. You can ask about what picks, strings & instruments the experts use but the bottom line is that they achieved that level of performance through long hours of practice.
The Banjo Lounge will be hosting an online workshop with progressive banjo player Ryan Cavanaugh on December 17 at 3:00 p.m. (EST) The workshop will be conducted using their online chat system, and there is no charge to join the proceedings.
The expected topics are described thusly on their site.
Ryan hopes to cover creativity, improvising, diatonic chords, the importance of blues and the minor pentatonic scale in modern bluegrass and our banjo heritage.
Ryan has been touring of late in a unique fusion band, fronted by jazz saxophonist Bill Evans, called Soulgrass. The music is a fascinating merging of acoustic string and bluegrass themes with jazz and fusion lines, all in a jazz rhythm section. Ryan’s playing works beautifully in this environment.
