the three-octave modal-chromatic runs." $20.00 to David Grier at P.O. Box 60351 , Bluegrass Survivors include his wife, Hazel Nashville, TN 37206-0351. (Just trying to Johnson, Cave City, KY, and daughter, help a musician with no computer ac­ Clippings Peggy Hunt, Georgia . cess.)" • • • raked by Bangs Tapscott John Kahn Also Joke Wish I didn't have to keep reporting This one is about the guy who leaves Big Mon Update this stuft but... at the end of May, bass his banjo on the back seat of his parked A week or so before this writing, player John Kahn died at his home in Mill car in the Salt Palace parking lot, and Evan Reilly told us that a couple of ac­ Valley, CA. Best known for his long asso- . comes back to find a window smashed quaintances had just visited William dation with (the late) , John is out and two banjos on the seat. Tee hee. Smith Monroe at his convalescent quar­ familiar to bluegrassers as the bassist on ters, and indicated that the Big Man was the legendary Old And In The Way al­ Stolen Instruments not looking at all good. Said that "he was bum, and (to the best of my memory) on Dobra Duane forwards the following looking the best he had in the past seven the Grisman & Garcia albums. Kahn was list of two dozen instruments recently weeks, but was still out of it." During a fixture in Bay Area music venues for stolen from a Tacoma location. Keep an hospitalization in May for several things, more than two decades. After a stint with eye out for them. including implantation of a pacemaker, · the Band, he took Bill suffered a stroke that has left him up with Garcia in 1970 at free-form im­ Mandolins impaired to some extent. Exact details of provisation nights in San Francisco's Gibson A1 1908 #9227, Orville label his condition are not being officially re­ North Beach. Besides his work with the with other writing on it-this transitional leased. longstanding roc~ group the Jerry Garcia instrument has the early tailpiece cover Band, Kahn performed and recorded and the pat. pending raised pick guard, Courtney Johnson Departs The Vale with musicians ranging from Nick blonde top, mint ohsc. Gibson A1 1924 Courtney Johnson, original banjo Gravenites to . He is #934 has been crudely penciled over faint player with the New Grass Revivat died survived by his wife, Linda, a son Jamie, serial# (first 8 just visible) AK scratched June 8th of lung cancer. The Nashville and grandson Kahn. on back of peghead. Snakehead, black Tennessean reports that Johnson, 56, had top, original bridge and pickguard, exc, been diagnosed with cancer just a few Cataloguing Progra:rn ohsc A. Lawrence Smart #57 , this high months earlier, according to longtime Canadian bluegrasser Howard end A style has £-holes and a black top friend and fellow musician John Hart­ Bonner tells us of a computer software finish with sunburst sides and back over ford. "He was a great banjo player, very program called MusicDex, designed for highly figured maple, gold shallers and innovative, very much into playing all cataloguing CDs, records, tapes, reel-to­ tailpiece, hsc. Early A syle, possibly an different kinds of music and expressing reels, with a variety of easy -to-use fea­ S.S.Stewart, flat back and bent top with them on the banjo -jazz and other things tures and interface capabilities. Sez very early pickup mounted in in his music/' Hartford said. Howard: "The company {The Twilight top,unique,nc. Flatiron Performer A Born December 20, 1939, in Barren Software Company] is located in Ottawa, #94021857, mint,shallers, he. Martin style County, KY, Johnson began playing gui­ Ontario, Canada and also is located in B c1918, poor cond. cracked top and tar at the age of 7, but didn't pick up the Europe. Excellent for DJs, for tracking pickguard ohsc. Martin style 2 #2368 1908 banjo until age 25. In the late 1960s, your collection, for locating song lyrics bowl back,exc cond orig black leather Johnson-heavily influenced by blue­ and for insurance purposes. Detailed case Washburn fancy bow 1 back w I en­ grass pioneer Ralph Stanley -joined information is available at http:/ I graved hardware, mint,hsc Vega piccolo Poor Richard's Almanac, which included www.magi.com/ -twilight." bowl back 10-inch scale, 8 -string, 2 re­ fiddle and mandolin player . In paired ribs this is very rareexc., nc 1970, Johnson and Bush broke away to Grier Tabs join Bluegrass Alliance, with Lonnie Shelia Bumgarner, fresh from work­ Mandala Peerce on fiddle and Ebo Walker on bass. ing a David Grier & Butch Baldassari Gibson H2 1907 #7184, early 12" dia, In 1971, the group added guitarist Curtis show in Charlotte, NC, forwards the repairs and replaced label by Gibson, has Burch. In 1972, they disbanded. Johnson, following: "David Grier has asked me to early tailpiece and pat pend pickguard Bush and Burch created New Grass Re­ let everyone know that folks interested in w I missing clamp black top wrong tuners vival. Johnson recorded several albums the music to his latest recording Lone faint ser # ohsc for Flying Fish Records with New Grass, Soldier can purchase the tablature to and continued touring through the 1970s most of the songs (only 1 was left off Tenor Lute with the band. During part of that time, because he didn't write it). It's a nice Gibson tl 1924 Loar inst unique to they served as the backing band for Leon spiral bound booklet with a color photo Gibson, 21 " scale, 4 string, mandala body Russell. Bob Artis wrote in t.he 1975 book of the CD cover. I've looked through it Master model label rare, mint ohsc Banjo Bluegrass that Johnson would take "five­ and it is very detailed with little symbols minute ad lib banjo breaks that nearly to tell you how to dance along the frets. exhaust the mathematical possibilities of You can purchase this booklet by sending continued next page

INTERMOUNTAIN ACOUSTIC MUSICIAN, JUL Y 1996