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Simon's Discography |
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Musicians |
Album Title and Liner Notes |
Image |
Song Titles |
Available |
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Musician |
Picks |
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Simon St. Pierre |
Fiddle |
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Walter Hensley |
Banjo |
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Jim Hensley |
Guitar |
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Danny St. Pierre |
Guitar |
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Dee Gunter |
Mandolin |
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Jerry Yager |
Bass |
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Joys of Quebec
Revonah RS-915 1973
"The first time I heard Simon St. Pierre was in the dead of night at a parking lot
pickin' session at the Country Gentlemen Festival in July of 1972 up at Webster,
Mass. I never really saw him that night because the light from my little flash light
could not penetrate the large crowd he had surrounding him. I saw many good fiddlers
like Bud Morrisroe, Vernon Derrick, and others who were fiddling along with this
wild French Canadian either close up to him or around the periphery of the crowd.
All were listening very intently because this was a true “happening” and they all
wanted to hear the great music.
It was, as usual, a 3-4 hour session with almost never a repeat of tunes few had
heard before. The French flew fast and loose as he had a friend with him who played
bass and his son Danny on guitar. It was a night I will never forget but I never
really saw his face.
Next day I had to find him… and of course there he was again in the field, fiddling,
and with an even larger crowd around him. To say the least he is an unusual fiddler.
He knows hundreds of tunes and plays them in a unique style – he holds the fiddle
against his chest instead of under his chin. This of course, is against all the
rules of good fiddling but when you hear his work on this album, you can only say,
as we all did…what rules?
This professional lumberjack was born in 1930 on the hill of St. Benoit, Quebec
Province (about 20 miles from the U.S. border). He says, “I play the fiddle. I was
14 years old…then in 1967 I met a guy, musician, Clair Lake, Island Falls, ME and
get really interested again. After that, I go to Jamborees and festivals…”
Although I was not there, I heard that he played again up at Smokey Green’s 1973
festival in upstate New York where Paul Gerry found him and arranged to record this
album. The word was that he was so great up there that Paul had to think hard to
match this talent with a back-up band who could do him justice. Of course, who better
than the great Walter and Jim Hensley and the Dukes of Bluegrass…the decision was
not difficult. As Paul puts it, “First class talent needs first class accommodations”
And so, Revonah Records has produced a winner. This is like no other fiddle album
you have ever heard. Two cuts are fantastic, five or six are magnificent and the rest
are super. Can you ask for more than that?
Now to the individual cuts: “The Joys of Quebec” is my far and away
favorite. I don’t know what you call it technically but it is surely some sort of
a “figure dance” related to some of the court dances dating back to the 16th or
17th century French Kings. But for me…if I close my eyes I see the horses racing
through the snow in the old French section of Quebec. They are pulling a sleigh
and it’s full of kids and they are all laughing and shouting…faster, faster etc,.
(Oh, well enough of the old romantic). The piece is beautiful and played with the
drive that is a credit to the Dukes of Bluegrass as well as Simon. Listen especially
to Walter’s chiming banjo and Simon’s style which is just incredible.
My second favorite is “Minstrals Fancy”. This piece is in the style of
a French quadrille (duple meter in 2/4 time). Historically the French migrated from
Canada to New Orleans and course, brought with them their music. The roots of ragtime jazz were replanted, as it were, in New Orleans and strongly influenced by French fiddle and dance music such
as the quadrille and gavotte. You can still hear it in some of the Cajun Fiddlers
today. Simon’s version of this piece is a beautiful example of how different styles
of music come together as roots while the branches spread out in many directions.
Enough of history and musicology just listen to it. I’m sure you will enjoy it.
There are two “reels” on this album. “Golden Wedding Reel” has a good strong
fiddle kick off, an excellent guitar break, and is neither in major nor minor scale,
but rather in a “modal” scale. “St. Ann’s Reel” and “Woodchoppers Reel”
are two solid fiddle tunes which are given new life and spirit in Simon’s expert
hands. “Maple Sugar”, I have heard before by Bill Poffenberger who is on
good fiddler but this version is a bit different. The backup for “Big Jim McNeil”
is tastefully done by the Dukes of Bluegrass and the drive of “Donnie Gilcrist’s
Breakdown” has some especially good guitar work by Jim Hensley. |
The waltz
tune to end all waltz tunes is Simon’s version of “Waltz of the Leaves”.
Listen especially for those ornaments and “turns” or whatever you call all those
extra notes he gets in. I especially liked the hornpipe he does called “Point Prime
Hornpipe". “Caber Feigh” – a duet between Simon and Walter - has
Walter playing the bass line on the banjo and has an ending which is unexpected
to say the least. “Cuckoo’s Nest” is an English or Scottish air also in
the “modal” key.
This album his airs, reels, hornpipes, waltzes, quadrilles, and whole host of other
things I have never heard before but I’m sure I will listen to over and over again.
Bon Chance, Simon St. Pierre, avons plus de eux.
Donald Kissil, Mountain Lakes,
New Jersey February 1974" |
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Golden Wedding Reel |
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Big John McNeil |
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Joys of Quebec |
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Woodchopper's Reel |
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Point Prime Hornpipe |
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Maple Sugar |
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Johnny Gilcrist's Breakdown |
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Minstrals Fancy |
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Cuckoo's Nest |
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Caber Feigh |
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Princess Irena |
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St. Anne's Reel |
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Transferred from Vinyl to CD
$15.00 plus $3.00 shipping
Bluegrass@denonco.net |
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Musician |
Picks |
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Simon St. Pierre |
Fiddle |
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Bill Kimball |
Banjo |
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Danny St. Pierre |
Guitar |
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Fred Pike |
Guitar |
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Sam Tidwell |
Mandolin |
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Bob Denoncourt |
Bass |
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Woods of Maine
Revonah RS 920 1975
Recorded at Revonah Records December 1975
"This is a new album by an unusual French Canadian fiddler, Simon St. Pierre.
Most fiddle fans have purchased the first album that Simon recorded for Revonah
back in 1973. To those of you who have purchased that album no explanation of Simon's
great ability on the fiddle is necessary. To the newer listeners of this fiddle
player, just a word or two about him.
This album was recorded in December of 1975
following up his first successful album, "The Joys of Quebec". When he discussed
recording the second album, we spoke about who would back him up and Simon mentioned
to me he had a very good band in mind from the New England area, Fred Pike/Sam Tidwell
and The Kennebec Valley Boys. I had remembered hearing Fred on an album recorded
a few years back, which I liked very much, so Simon got together with the band and
we all decided on a December recording date. As it turned out, Fred and the band
were going to be in Washington, D.C. in December, so it would be convenient to meet
Simon at my studio in Ferndale, New York to do the recording.
This was the first
time I had met Fred and the rest of the boys and I must say it certainly was a pleasure
working with such a group of professional musicians. It worked especially well,
since while they were at my studio, they also recorded an album for me "The Last
Log Drive".
Simon was also backed up by his son Danny, and I must say, as Danny
gets older he gets better each time I hear him play. Danny's timing is perfect as
he backs his father up on his unusual style of fiddle playing with the various,
interesting timing effects that Simon uses.
You will hear Fred playing the guitar
on this album, instead of his usual fine banjo picking and Bill Kimball on banjo
instead of the guitar. Of course, Bob Denoncourt is on bass and Sam Tidwell on mandolin.
Some of the numbers on the album, I'm sure many fiddle fans will have heard before.
Three or four of the numbers I had never heard, but I really enjoy listening to
Simon play them in his very unique style. They are, "The Home Sweet Home Reel",
"Black Velvet Reel", "Roseanna Waltz" and "The Happy Acres 2 Step". Of course, all
the other tunes are equally as well done. One very interesting number is the last
cut on side two, "Antiquite #3", which caught Simon off guard at a moment when he
thought I wasn't recording. I liked this number so much, I included it in the album.
This describes how things were many years ago when people didn't have any money
for instruments, so they used their feet to accompany themselves while playing the
fiddle.
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In closing, Simon was born in 1930, on the hill of Saint Benoit, Quebec
Province, and started playing the fiddle at the age of fourteen. Since he recorded
his first album for Revonah, he has been making the Bluegrass festival circuit,
so many Bluegrass fans have seen and heard Simon’s fine fiddle playing, and like
very much what they hear, so it is a pleasure for me to be able to issue another
album of fiddle music by the great Simon St. Pierre, his son Danny and ably assisted
by Fred Pike/Sam Tidwell and the Kennebec Valley Boys.
Paul Gerry June 1976"
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Happy Acres 2 Step |
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Quebec Reel |
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Fishers Hornpipe |
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Jimmie's Favorite Jig |
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Bow on the String |
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Roseanna Waltz |
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Running Water |
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Flannagan Polka |
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Montreal Reel |
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Black Velvet Waltz |
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Frenchie's Reel |
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Growling Old Man & Old Woman |
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Home Sweet Home Reel |
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"Antiquite" #2 |
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Transferred from Vinyl to
CD
$15.00 plus $3.00 shipping
Bluegrass@denonco.net |
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Musician |
Picks |
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Simon St. Pierre |
Fiddle |
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Bill Kimball |
Banjo |
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Fred Pike |
Guitar |
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Sam Tidwell |
Mandolin |
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Bob Denoncourt |
Bass |
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Fiddler From Maine
Revonah RS-926 1977
Recorded November 10 & 11, 1976 at Revonah Records Studio
"In October of 1976, I relocated and constructed a new recording studio
and disc mastering complex.
The first group in the studio to record new material
was Simon St. Pierre backed up by my good friends Fred Pike/Sam Tidwell & The
Kennebec Valley Boys. They were impressed with both the studio size and the complex
control room. It gives all our groups a relaxed feeling while recording; the atmosphere
is like that when neighbors gather for some good picking. Tension and pressure are
kept to a minimum. The results of that session are inside this album jacket.
What
started as a difficult job, turned out to be a gratifying and rewarding experience
for all of us. Simon, in addition to being a unique fiddler is a lot of fun at a
recording session. His humorous stories about lumberjacking and some of the “North
Woods” people he knows kept us all in good spirits.
Unfortunately shortly after
the session, the band broke up. Fred formed a new group and Sam reorganized the
Kennebec Valley Boys.
One of the nice things about a record is its permanence. I
am pleased to have captured Simon, Fred, Sam & The Kennebec Valley Boys during
some of these great musical moments.
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Simon has two other albums out on the Revonah
label, the first of which is R-915 “The Joys of Quebec” backed by Walter Hensley
& The Dukes of Bluegrass. The second is RS-920 “The Woods of Maine” where Simon
is backed up by Fred Pike/Sam Tidwell & The Kennebec Valley Boys."
Paul Gerry
May 1977 |
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Redwing |
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Waverly Two Step |
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Busy Fingers |
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Joe King's Hornpipe |
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Uncle Henry's Reel |
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Run, Johnny, Run |
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Kiss Me Waltz |
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Little Roy's Breakfast |
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Light House Keeper |
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Concert Reel |
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Nova Scotia Hop |
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Grandfather's Reel |
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Transferred from Vinyl to CD
$15.00 plus $3.00 shipping
Bluegrass@denonco.net |
This is the CD offered by The Field Recorder's Collective
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Musician |
Picks |
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Fred Pike |
Guitar |
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Simon St. Pierre |
Fiddle |
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Bob Denoncourt |
Bass |
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Simon St. Pierre
FRC206 – Simon St. Pierre
BrandyWine Festival 1977
"Simon St. Pierre is a fascinating and elusive Maine lumberjack and fiddler skilled
in an array of music. He came to the 1977 Brandywine festival with Fred Pike, a
stunning guitarist from Maine. They made a huge impression upon Dewey Balfa who
called Simon "a brother I met today."
Reared in a logging community in Quebec, Simon told of long winters in the logging
bunkhouses of the northern region of the province. Simon's eclectic repertoire began
with fiddlers employed there from many parts of Canada. He heard radio fiddlers
and recorded ones such as Isadore Soucy, but his favorites were men he had met and
learned from, such as his favorite, Claire Lake, a neighbor in the Smyrna Mills
area of northeast Maine's Aroostook County.
Simon had been in the U.S. for about twenty years at the time of the festival, and
still earned his living operating a one-man sawmill, sawing white swamp cedar into
logs to create insect-proof cabins. In 1983, Simon was awarded a National Heritage
Fellowship by the Folk Arts Program of the National Endowment for the Arts and performed
at the White House with his friend Joe Pomerleau. He is living in retirement in
Maine." |
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- Introduction
- Bowing the Strings
- Joys of Quebec
- Waverly Two Step
- The Cuckoo’s Nest
- Fishers Hornpipe
- French’s Reel
- Unknown Title
- Bonnie Kate
- Growling Old Man and Growling Old Woman
- Swallowtail Reel
- Roxanna Waltz
- Saint Anne’s Reel
- Happy Acres Two Step
- Grandfather’s Reel
- Jig
- Big John McNeil
- Run Johnny Run
- Unknown Title
- Dry and
Dusty
- Unknown Title
- Little Roy’s Breakfast
- Unknown Title
- Soldier’s Joy
- Schottische
- Ragtime Annie
- Over the Waves
- Maple Sugar
- Running Water
- Jimmy's Favorite Jig
- Concert Reel
- Uncle Henry’s Reel
- Waverly Two Step
- Huckleberry Hornpipe
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You can order this CD
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