Andrew Baxter of Georgia was an accomplished fiddler who played occasionally with Bill Chitwood of the Georgia Yellow Hammers. He recorded with his son James on guitar and together made some extraordinary music. Andrew Baxters fiddling is inventive and poignant, not without rough edges and always exciting. James Baxter’s guitar playing is a perfect foil for his father’s fiddling. Together, they never appear to be on auto-pilot, but continually shift their phrasing underneath the song. They are one of the real gems in both old-time and country blues - a wonderful example of how deep the art can be.
If you’re attuned to such things, you’ll notice that in particular, James Baxter’s sense for harmonic accompaniment differs from modern notions of harmony. For example, in both ‘Bamalong Blues’ and ‘K.C. Railroad Blues’, the fiddle plays an ‘E’ note at key points in the development of each song. Even though the songs are in different keys (G and C, respectively), James Baxter responds with a full E chord on the guitar - a strange choice for modern tastes, but gives both songs a characteristically strong flavor. Makes me wish that modern country blues and old-time musicians could approach their music with as much combined wildness and restraint.
6 Comments »
01.24.10 @ 6:33 pm
Maybe a little Bamalong Blues will grease the skids on your day…
02.08.10 @ 2:05 am
Great little article on the Baxters - I had never noticed the chording, and listening again the knowledge “changed” my perception of the recordings. Thank you very much.
I’ve been trying to make people “hear” the way that generation heard - and felt the music - I’ll be linking to your article a lot in the future.
Tony ‘the woodchuck’ Spadaro
02.10.10 @ 11:48 am
I’m glad you like the article - I think I need to put one up on Butch Cage!
04.14.10 @ 5:43 pm
[…] stumbled upon this fine article about the music of Andrew and Jim Baxter on “Done Gone”, a great blog about Country […]
04.17.10 @ 9:19 am
This Saturday, April 24th, 2010 we will present our Fourth Annual International string Band Festival honoring our local recording heroes Andrew and Jim Baxter and The Georgia Yellow Hammers in their home town of Calhoun, GA, in NW GA, 1/2 way between Atlanta and Chattanooga (TN) on I-75.
We will have free music performances outside the Harris Arts Center starting at 11AM, fiddle & banjo contests, a Historical presentation and evening performances in the theater. Jamming all day downtown, so bring your strings. Flyer posted at Old Hat Records, a most generous sponsor.
Y’all come celebrate our music heroes!
04.17.10 @ 12:17 pm
Hi Paul - I fixed the link in your comment. The festival sure sounds interesting. Do any of the bands you’ve booked feature the music of the Georgia Yellowhammers or the Baxters? I couldn’t really tell from what I found online. Good luck with it, though, and I wish you the best!
RSS feed for comments on this post.
Leave a comment