04/21 Sat 8:30 HAPPY TRAUM, also STEVE KATZ $25 +$2 processing
Towne Crier Cafe Pawling, NY
Share this event:
Event
04/21 Sat 8:30 HAPPY TRAUM, also STEVE KATZ $25 +$2 processing
HAPPY TRAUM
Happy Traum began playing guitar and 5-string banjo as a teenager, and was an important participant in the legendary Greenwich Village folk scene of the 1950s and '60s. He has performed extensively throughout the U.S., Canada, Europe, Australia and Japan, both as a soloist and as a member of various groups. His avid interest in traditional and contemporary music has brought him recognition as a writer, editor, session musician, folklorist, teacher, recording artist, and is still an active performer.
Happy first appeared on record at a historic session in 1963 when a group of young folk musicians, including Bob Dylan, Phil Ochs, Pete Seeger, Peter LaFarge and The Freedom Singers gathered in Folkways Records' studio for an album called "Broadsides." (It was re-released by Smithsonian/Folkways Recordings in August, 2000 as part of a box set "The Best of Broadsides.") Happy, with his group the New World Singers, cut the first recorded version of "Blowin' In The Wind," and Happy sang a duet with Dylan on his anti-war song "Let Me Die in My Footsteps." Later that year, the New World Singers recorded an album for Atlantic Records, with liner notes by Dylan.
In 1965 Happy wrote "Fingerpicking Styles for Guitar," the first of more than a dozen important instruction books which documented the playing of the great traditional guitarists. He also started writing for Sing Out! The Folksong Magazine, and in 1967 became the magazine's editor, a position which he held for three years. Happy still writes instructional columns and other pieces for Acoustic Guitar, Guitar Player and other publications.
In 1968, Happy, his wife Jane and their three children moved to Woodstock, NY, and Happy and his brother, Artie, formed a duet that Rolling Stone said "defined the Northeast folk music style." Their performances at the 1968 and 1969 Newport Folk Festivals helped to gain them an avid following and a contract with famed manager Albert Grossman. In 1970 they recorded their first album for Capitol Records, "Happy And Artie Traum," which The New York Times called "One of the best records in any field of pop music." A second highly praised album, "Double Back," soon followed. Happy and Artie toured extensively throughout the U.S., and in 1972 made their first trip to England to play at the prestigious Cambridge Folk Festival.
In 1971 Happy once again joined Bob Dylan in the studio, playing guitar, banjo, bass, and singing harmony on three songs, which appeared on Bob Dylan's "Greatest Hits, Vol. 2." The following year, Happy and Artie produced the classic folk album "Mud Acres, Music Among Friends," which became a best seller for Rounder Records. In 1974 Happy and Artie cut "Hard Times In The Country," their third duet album, with liner notes by poet Allen Ginsberg, and they subsequently produced and played on three more albums featuring top folk and rock musicians under the collective title The Woodstock Mountains Revue. Other members of this group included John Sebastian, Eric Andersen, Rory Block, Pat Alger, Roly Salley, Paul Butterfield, Larry Campbell, Bill Keith, Jim Rooney and several others.
Happy recorded his first solo album, "Relax Your Mind," in 1975 and embarked on the first of many solo European tours. "American Stranger" was released in 1977 ("An absolute gem...one of the best folk music albums released this year." - Folk Scene). "Bright Morning Stars" was released in 1980, and "Friends And Neighbors," recorded "live" in a Woodstock concert, was released in 1983. Shanachie Records released a compilation album, "Buckets Of Songs," in 1988, and "Bright Morning Stars" was re-released on CD both in the U.S. and in Japan in 2001.
For four years Happy and Artie hosted a popular "live" radio show, "Bring It On Home," which was broadcast monthly from the performance studio at National Public Radio affiliate WAMC in Albany, NY. Sony Records later issued a two-CD set featuring excerpts from "Bring It On Home." In 1994, Happy and Artie released "Test of Time," their first CD as a duo in many years. As Levon Helm of the Band said: "Their music still flows as natural and clear as a Catskill Mountain stream."
Perhaps Happy's most important and lasting musical contribution has been Homespun Tapes, which he and his wife Jane founded in 1967. This dynamic and growing company has a catalog of more than 500 music lessons, now primarily on DVD and CD, and their products are sold around the globe. Taught by top professional performing musicians, the lessons cover a wide variety of instruments and musical styles. Happy produces all of the lessons, and brings to Homespun nearly 50 years of experience as a guitarist, performer, writer, teacher, and popular member of the music community.
Steve Katz studied guitar with Dave Van Ronk and the Reverend Gary Davis. He was also a part of the Greenwich Village, American roots music scene. Along with John Sebastian, Maria Muldaur, Stefan Grossman and David Grisman, Katz formed the Even Dozen Jug Band and recorded an album for Elektra in 1964. In 1965, Steve joined Danny Kalb in the Blues Project. They recorded three albums while together in their first incarnation. Steve then became a founding member of Blood, Sweat & Tears, which won three Grammies and sold millions of records worldwide. After BS&T, Steve went on to produce two Lou Reed albums, both of which went into Billboard's Top Ten. His last official band membership was with American Flyer in the mid-seventies. Steve then went on to become a Vice-President of Mercury Records.
* We do not reserve specific tables except for TCC members, when possible (see membership benefits). * Tables closest to the stage are held for dinner guests. * The earlier you arrive, the greater the selection. The Towne Crier Cafe is an intimate room, and there are no bad seats. * "Show Only" tables are assigned after those reserved for "Dinner & Show" parties. * Recommended time for an enjoyable, relaxed dining experience: Party of 2: One hour before show time Party of 3 or 4: Two hours before show time Party of 5 or more: At least two and one half hours before show time. * $2 handling & processing charge per ticket. * All sales are final. No refunds. No exchanges.
