A.B. “Banjo” Patterson (1864-1941) is an Australian amalgam of Mark Twain and Will Rogers.  Born in the remote hinterland, he was nicknamed after his favorite horse. Patterson gained acclaim as a bush poet, war reporter, cavalry officer, and journalist who focused on the rough life in the `outback`.

In 1890, Banjo penned the heroic poem “The Man from Snowy River”, and this hard-riding saga of mountain horsemen was portrayed in a thrilling movie in 1982.

Using the music of a popular ballad, Patterson wrote the lyrics to the unofficial Australian national anthem “Waltzing Matilda” in 1895.

Honoring his role in Australian history and culture, his image appears on $10 currency notes and on a commemorative  postage stamp.

An annual poetry festival in Australia is named after him.

As our fiddler Sarah and her guys prepare to sojurn to Australia on a family adventure, we have begun to experiment singing `Waltzing Matilda`  with  verses in 4/4 and the chorus in 3/4 time- kinda tricky. We wish them safe travels Down Under and hurry home.

In a room adjacent to the BRC workshop is a collection of vintage banjo cases. In case you are wondering, our favorite is a circa 1972 near-mint condition Ess & Ess  case that housed a Baldwin Ode 2SR banjo. The  Ess & Ess Mfg. Co. was founded in 1950 and three  years later became the Ess & Ess Music Case Company.  The owner`s son Marty ran the business from 1964 to 1984 when the enterprise was sold to Harptone who had made Martin guitar cases for years in Newark, NJ. 

Because of finely crafted workmanship, the Gibson Guitar Co. subcontracted to Ess & Ess starting in 1969 to produce cases for the E-335, Les Paul, and Barney Kessel guitar lines. Ess & Ess also supplied Gretsch (an affiliate of Baldwin Ode), Guild,  Kramer and other instrument manufacturers with sturdy luggage-like products bearing alligator grained hide exteriors. You can make a case for what is your new or old favorite jewel box,  but the Ess & Ess is a classic beauty.

Essentially all that remains of the Company today is the ghostly painted name over its former main entrance at 95 Grand St. Clinton Hill, Brooklyn, NY.

Since its inception eight years ago, our annual community Blues and Roots Barbecue Festival has hosted a rich cavalcade of musical Americana including tip-top Bluegrass acts.  Two years ago,  the duo of Bela Fleck and Abigail Washburn headlined as performing artists. Last year, Hot Rize took the stage, and the front page of the program featured a bushy-tailed squirrel  (modeled after Utah Phillip`s song “Rock Salt and Nails”..?) clasping a banjo in its furry mitts. 

For this year`s BNR fest, it was recently announced that the grounding-breaking Punch Brothers will be appearing on stage with their consummate banjoist Noam Pikelny who won the 2010 Steve Martin Prize for Excellence in Banjo and Bluegrass. It looks like another great Fall festival is shaping-up, especially for humble devotees of the 5 string who dream of maybe someday briefly becoming a banjo “…player that strums and frets his hour upon the stage,  and then is heard….”. **

No more, till later. In the meantime, the BRC wishes its faithful readers a pleasant summer, and we encourage all you musicians to stay tuned.

** Adapted from Will Shakespeare`s Macbeth, Act 5, scene 5, 19-28.

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