Gratified by the success of A Week in Eek, my first CD with Andrea Cooper, I didn't wait too long to make another. So what you have is more fiddle & banjo & poetry, the same emphasis on keeping it simple. What's different here? If anything, this is more Alaskan. Two poems in particular, both set in Fairbanks, are longer than anything on the first CD. Plus in keeping with my own history (I've spent lots of time alone with my fiddle, first learning to play, then traveling around the state as a writing teacher and fiddler), there are more tracks that feature solo fiddling. But the CD itself is what says it. So click on the featured cuts (you can hear 2 minutes of 4 different tracks), give it a listen, and see if you don't agree. If you heard the first one, this is more of the same, but different too. And if you haven't heard that first one, welcome to Alaskan Fiddling Poet Music. It may just make you smile and smile. And if you want to know more about Ken Waldman, keep reading . . . Ken Waldman, a 16-year Alaska resident, has lived in Fairbanks, Juneau, Sitka, and now Anchorage. A former college professor, he has traveled widely through the state. A grant-winning, much-published writer with an M.F.A in Creative Writing from the University of Alaska-Fairbanks--and a full-length poetry collection, Nome Poems, distributed by University of New Mexico Press--he is also an accomplished old-time fiddler, who plays both archaic Appalachian tunes, and also original music he has composed in that style. Waldman's current schedule has him in Alaska through June 2001. September through early November he'll be touring the Southwest and West, from Texas to California. November and December he'll be home in Alaska. From January into May 2002, he'll be at it again--mostly touring the Southeast, the East Coast, and the Midwest. To contact him, write: Ken Waldman, 3705 Arctic #1551, Anchorage, AK 99503 Ken Waldman does not have e-mail, but putting his name in a search engine will get lots of information.

Tracklist:

Burnt Down House
Walking In The Parlor
Pretty Little Dog/Greasy Coat
Cantwell
Year Of Jubilo
Ducks On The Millpond/Elzic's Farewell
Angeline The Baker
West Fork Gals
Battle Of Aughrim/Christmas Eve
Johnny Cope
Mississippi Sawyer
Ida Red/Soldier's Joy
The Violinmakers
Lights Of Nightmute/The Caller
Julie Anne Johnson
Burnt Down House (Reprise)
Christmas Eve Waltz
(No Music--This Is 30 Seconds Of Dead Air)
Julie Anne Johnson (Reprise)

UPC: 783707888422
Label: Cd Baby
Release Date: 6.19.01
Format: CD

Ken Waldman - Burnt Down House (CD)