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Special Guests
Saturday, October 13, 2001
Born in Chattanooga, Tennessee in 1938 (or, as he might say, "Nineteen hundred and thirty eight"), NORMAN BLAKE quit school at age 16 to play mandolin in a band, and has remained focused on preserving a form of American music that otherwise might have been lost. Blake, a master flatpicker and one of the best traditional guitarists in the world, has, over the years, mastered the mandolin, fiddle, guitar, and dobro. 'Flatpicking' is a term for a genre of country and bluegrass guitar music that has its roots in the music of the 1920s. Blake is a noted and sought-after session musician in Nashville who has played with a long list of stars including June Carter, Bob Dylan, Johnny Cash, Kris Kristofferson, Joan Baez, the Nitty Gritty Dirt Band, and others. Blake met his wife Nancy while he was playing with a group called Exit-In: she was a member of Natchez Trace, who opened a show for Exit-In. He and Nancy have performed together since 1974 and have recorded 25 albums and five videos in their three decades of collaboration. All four of the Blake's releases in the '90s received Grammy nominations in the Best Traditional/Folk Recording category. Of their album, While Passing Along This Way (1995, Shanachie Records), CD Review said: "If you buy just one folk recording this year, make it While Passing Along This Way. It's an American folk masterpiece." Blake's first solo recording in many years, Chattanooga Sugar Babe (Shanachie Records) was also nominated for a Grammy. He has had a song book featuring 38 original compositions published by the prestigious Mel Bay Company, as well as recently making a new instructional guitar video. Blake also participated in the soundtrack for the critically acclaimed film, O Brother Where Art Thou, and the summer 2001 sold-out O Brother show at Carnegie Hall launched the release of his latest CD, Flower From the Fields of Alabama (Shanachie Records).
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Raised in the Ukrainian community of Northeast Minneapolis, PETER OSTROUSHKO grew up listening to his shoe-maker father play traditional Ukrainian songs and taught himself to play the piano, mandolin, guitar, fiddle, banjo, bass, and other string instruments. He is well-known to APHC listeners both as a frequent guest performer and as the former musical director. He also performs orchestral works and has appeared with both The Saint Paul Chamber and Minnesota orchestras, among others. During the '70s, Ostroushko worked as a session musician in Nashville. His first recording session was an uncredited mandolin set on Bob Dylan's Blood on the Tracks. He has followed that with work on more than 100 albums with artists like Jethro Burns, Emmylou Harris, Willie Nelson, Chet Atkins and Johnny Gimble. His debut solo album, Sluz Duz Music (Rounder Records) was released in 1982. Subsequent albums include Blue Mesa and Pilgrims on the Heart Road (both on Red House), and Down the Streets of My Old Neighborhood (Rounder). The title track from Heart of the Heartland (Red House) was the theme for Meriwether Lewis in Ken Burns' film, Lewis and Clark, and has earned Ostroushko comparisons not only to the great composer Aaron Copland but also to photographer Ansel Adams. The album also earned a N.A.I.R.D. Indie Award, the highest honor from the independent music recording industry. His newest CD, Sacred Heart (Red House), was released in April of 2000.
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Maria Jette
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MARIA JETTE enjoys a wide-ranging career, singing chamber music, oratorio, and operatic repertoire. A Twin Cities resident, she has performed locally with The Saint Paul Orchestra, the Minnesota Orchestra, the Plymouth Music Series, Ex Machina Baroque Opera, and others. Other engagements have included performances with the Los Angeles Chamber and Portland Baroque orchestras, the New York Chamber and Kansas City symphonies, and the Los Angeles Master Chorale. Her 45+ operatic roles range from Handel's Cleopatra and Alcina to Mozart's Fiordiligi and Countess. Recently, Jette made return appearances at the Oregon Bach Festival, the San Luis Obispo Mozart Festival, and the Victoria Bach Festival. With harpist Judith Kogan, she has two recordings of Britten's Folksongs of the British Isles and songs of Fauré scheduled for release later this year on Centaur Records.
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