Bert Jansch was one of the most influential and unique guitarists to emerge from the British folk music scene of the sixties. His influence can be traced in the playing of Neil Young, Jimmy Page, Johnny Marr, and countless others. Over the course of nearly fifty years, he produced a prodigious body of work, as a solo guitarist, singer, and songwriter, as a member of the seminal "folk-baroque" band Pentangle, as a duo with his equally revered friend John Renbourn and in a variety of other ensemble situations.

In this DVD, we explore a representative selection from the folk, traditional, and blues segment of his guitar arrangements, ranging from simple early folk guitar settings like "Running From Home" to his most iconic, sophisticated, and original accompaniments (e.g., Reynardine, Black Waterside). These are carefully arranged little gems, and his virtuosity as a guitarist allowed him to have a very specific and beautifully wrought arrangement while still showing an ability to create a number of subtle variations which occurred in his recordings over the years.

Rolly Brown first heard Bert's playing in the mid-60s, and has been a fan ever since. For this project, Rolly pored over much of the available video and recordings, using the modern technology of "slow-down" software to clarify heretofore elusive details in Bert's playing. Along with basic arrangements, Rolly discusses variations, introductions, and endings where appropriate. 

Titles include: Running From Home, Blues Run The Game, Strollin' Down The Highway, In The Bleak Midwinter, Angie, One For Jo, Black Waterside, First Time Ever I Saw Your Face, Reynardine

144 minutes • Level 2/3 • Detailed tab/music PDF file on the DVD

Review: His was the guitar of a generation, the bonny bedrock beneath the Folk-Baroque movement, the intrepid one which boldly unplugged from Swinging 1960s London right when his peers like Keith, Eric and Pete were very much doing the electrified opposite. (If the name Bert Jansch still doesn't ring a bell, go ask Neil Young or Johnny Marr or Oasis' Noel Gallagher, who'll each gush to his defense. As will Rolling Stone, who drafted him for their team of 100 Greatest Guitarists of All Time.) So given the chance to teach the ins and outs and, ultimately, the how-to of "The Guitar of Bert Jansch" Rolly Brown positively beams with all the meticulously detailed insight from being a devoted lifelong fan. Aside from decades of personal study, he also spies Bert's idiosyncratic moves from both archival performance footage (several gems are included here) and albums (aided with the precision of slow-down software). For well over two hours, Brown traverses from peak ("One For Jo") to peak (the famed abstraction of "First Time Ever I Saw Your Face") to peak (the wonderfully crooked "Angie"), advancing from the more simple "Running From Home"; all the way out to the intricate clockwork of "Reynardine." Secrets to that signature sound get divulged, from strategic use of bends and implied chords to that identifying fingerprint vamp within the lapping waves of "Black Waterside."That little left-hand somersault adorning "Blues Run the Game." That strangely moaned A chord igniting "Strollin' Down the Highway." And that telltale Jansch magic of softly clouding complexity within the most gorgeous of cumulus textures. – Dennis Rozanski/Blues Rag

Review: I'm writing to you today ...to send you a heartfelt and immense thank you for your guitar teaching. Pardon the pun, but you really strike the right chord when it comes to clear instructions, patience, and a marvelous efficiency in guitar teaching. I'm surprised at how quickly I'm picking up "Blackwaterside," which is quite far beyond anything (difficulty-wise) that I've ever tried. I believe I may have heard this old saying in a smoky, crowded bar one time from a Yoda-like voice coming from the next table: "when a great guitar teacher arrives, the fingers will find a mind of their own and surprise you." Anyway, I love your Bert Jansch DVD and am looking forward to making my way through the rest of the songs on it and then through the other DVDs in your series. With best regards. – Brian Murphy

The good timey sounds of jug band music - infectious and influential - have enjoyed popularity since its beginnings in the "spasm" and "novelty" bands that developed in New Orleans in the late 19th and early 20th Century. Jug bands were playing jazz and blues long before the music was recognized and labelled as such. Their instruments were home made in some cases, or substitutions were found such as with a jug sounding like a tuba, or using a washboard for a rhythm instrument. Music was made and created and invented, and new styles were developed. Jug bands played on all the Ohio and Mississippi riverboat paddle wheelers and many of the southern night clubs. They were in vaudeville, on the streets and in traveling medicine shows.

Two of the most popular and well recorded jug bands in the 1920s were Cannon's Jug Stompers and The Memphis Jug Band. In this lesson I have arranged some of their songs for fingerstyle guitar. I have also included the wonderful Shine On Harvest Moon which fits perfectly in to the jug band tradition. They're fun songs to play and sing. You'll probably recognize some of the titles and melodies from the recordings of the Rooftop Singers, Grateful Dead and Lovin' Spoonful.

Jug band music is close to my heart. In 1964 with my friends Steve Katz, John Sebastian, Maria Muldaur, Josh Rifkin, Peter Siegel and Bob Gurland we formed the Even Dozen Jug Band. Hopefully some of the fun and joy that I found in jug band music has been transposed to the fingerstyle arrangements in this lesson.

A detailed tab/music booklet is included as a PDF file on the DVD. Each tune is taught phrase by phrase and played slowly on a split-screen. As well, a Bonus Audio section features original recordings of the tunes taught.

Titles include: Stealin' Stealin', Going To Germany, K.C. Moan, Mississippi River Waltz, Walk Right In and Shine On Harvest Moon

117 minutes • Level 2/3 • Detailed tab/music PDF file on the DVD

Review: With just a little application and practice it's actually possible to start sounding like one of our editor's all-time favourites, kids! The Jug Band repertoire of the 1920s and 1930s is a rich vein for the solo performer to mine. Stefan Grossman was (with, among others, John Sebastian and Maria Muldaur) a founding member of the legendary Even Dozen Jug Band. The deep, abiding love that he has for this music is obvious. Using ideas and techniques learned first-hand from Rev Gary Davis, Grossman guides the viewer through his solo arrangements of Stealin', Going To Germany, KC Moan, Mississippi River Waltz, Walk Right In and Shine On Harvest Moon. The DVD's running time is 117 minutes, the fun lasts a lifetime. This lesson is best suited to more experienced players. The disc features the usual Guitar Workshop high-standard split-screen camera angles, and includes a PDF booklet of the tablature and notation, plus bonus audio sections with all the original recordings. – Steve Hunt/fRoots

Review: As a guy who tried to be "Johnny Jug Band Seed" in various ways for a couple decades I always welcome any other efforts in that direction. Stefan Grossman was in the Even Dozen Jug Band with Maria Muldaur, John Sebastian and several other players back in the early 1960s, and now he's got this new teaching DVD for some popular Jug Band songs. We've gone over the style of these videos several times: spilt screen - two cameras so you can see both hands; after playing through the tune each part is carefully explained and then played again slowly; a pdf file with tablature for all the parts taught; and in this and many cases the original recordings of the songs also included as a bonus on the disc. The list of tunes taught seems shorter than usual, but the disc has 117 minutes of playing time. Taught are "Stealin' Stealin'" , "Going To Germany" (actually, there is a town in Mississippi called Germantown, and around here we sing "Goin' to Duvall", "K.C. Moan," "Mississippi River Waltz,"; "Walk Right In," and "Shine On Harvest Moon." These tunes are in at least 3 different keys, so you get a wide variety of licks you might also be able to use in your own songs! Another bonus feature is a 1950s video of original Memphis Jug Band members Will Shade (playing resonator tenor guitar) and Charlie Burse (washtub bass) singing "Kansas City Blues." Although I believe I've reviewed another Guitar Workshop DVD that had this same clip, it is absolutely precious, and if you've never seen it would be worth the price of admission by itself. Having met a couple of the original Even Dozen Jug Band, I've really enjoyed getting to know Stefan a bit through his videos and other recordings over the years! Now if I could only locate my cassette that has "Jug Band Songs Of The Southern Mountains" by the Even Dozen Jug Band! I've got the case, but the cassette has gotten misfiled. – Marc Bristol/Blue Suede News

Review: Unlike the hard, rotgut stuff, jug band music is the champagne of the blues world: typically effervescent, festive and fun - making it all the more intoxicating. During the formative period of the 1920s and 1930s is when kingpins like Will Shade's Memphis Jug Band and Gus Cannon's Jug Stompers began uncorking the genre. Then the blues revival of the 1960s sparked a popular resurgence of both the songs and the band format. "Stealin' Stealin'" re-lived as a staple of primordial Grateful Dead sets, circa 1966. The Rooftop Singers renovated "Walk Right In" for their one-hit-wonder smash of 1963. That's also when the Even Dozen Jug Band sprung forth. Having been a member (along with David Grisman, John Sebastian and Maria Muldaur), Stefan Grossman knows the inside scoop about the bubbly business, sharing two hours of his firsthand insight by arranging Jug Band Music for Fingerstyle Guitar. Here, you'll conquer the "unfriendly" Rev. Gary Davis/Merle Travis C7 chord; the fanciness of diminished chords; the string-pinched loveliness of "Mississippi River Waltz," as well as five other singalong stomps. "K.C. Moan," a chugging railroad piece, receives the Lonnie Johnson treatment, right down to extracting honey from its D chords. "Shine on Harvest Moon" uses the same rustic recipe as when Texas bluesman Mance Lipscomb cooked it, unjugged. Historic audio recordings dating as far back as 1909, along with 1950s footage of Will Shade and Charlie Burse in ragged-but-right action, are among the DVD's hidden surprises. – Dennis Rozanski/Blues Rag  

Mississippi Hill Country Blues Guitar offers a look into the Hill Country technique byway of songs from legendary artists Fred McDowell, R.L. Burnside, Jessie Mae Hemphill, Junior Kimbrough, Rosa Lee Hill and Ranie Burnette.

For this lesson Tom Feldmann has compiled a grouping of songs that highlight the individualistic traits of each artist and also gives a well rounded grasp of the genre as a whole. Though many of these artists played slide guitar, Feldmann focuses solely on their non slide arrangements in Open G, Standard, Open D and Crossnote tunings.

Hypnotic grooves, steady guitar riffs, and few chord changes are the trademark of Mississippi Hill Country Blues and this lesson hands you the keys to some of the greatest examples the genre has to offer.

A detailed tab/music booklet is included as a PDF file on the DVD. In addition the original recordings of all the tunes are included.

Titles include:Black Cat Bone (Jessie Mae Hemphill), Dough Roller Blues (Ranie Burnette), That's Alright (Fred McDowell), Poor Black Mattie (R.L. Burnside), Jumper Hanging Out On The Line (R.L. Burnside), Meet Me In The City (Junior Kimbrough), Standing In The Doorway Crying (Jessie Mae Hemphill), I'm Crazy About You Baby (Fred McDowell), Count The Days Until I'm Gone (Rosa Lee Hill)

117 minutes • Level 2/3 • Detailed tab/music PDF file on the DVD

Review: Mississippi Hill Country Blues Guitar is actually codename for Groove 101, Tom Feldmann's crash course on the highly potent strain of drone-and-moan grown amongst the kudzu, up north of the Delta. Riff riders from the Black Stripes to the North Mississippi Allstars were spawned from this heavily rhythmic stock. Yet six of the original architects for the region's guitar trances are the honored role models here. Heroes who shook 'em on down at backwoods house parties, like Fred McDowell and his local competitor, Ranie Burnette. And Jessie Mae Hemphill, Queen of the Hill Country, who, with aunt Rosa Lee Hill, was part of the Hemphill clan, Mississippi fife-and-drum royalty. Of the nine grooves that Feldmann works out, none rely on use of a slide for their hypnosis. A thwack-happy thumb, an unwound third string, the steady pump of your foot? Yes. But no slide, this time. Here, life gets stripped down to the utmost basics of an elastic chord (or two) and an almighty riff that gets ridden for all it's worth. "Dough Roller Blues" is Burnette's snaky hybrid of "Roll and Tumble," just as McDowell's "That's Alright" is John Lee Hooker's "Hobo Blues." As a twist, "Count the Days Until I'm Gone" delivers its gut punch in crossnote tuning. And for your dancing pleasure, R.L. Burnside's "Jumper Hanging Out on the Line" and the incredibly percussive "Poor Black Mattie" share long histories of quaking juke joint floorboards around Marshall County, just as the sloshing motion of "Meet Me in the City" did its share of moving bodies inside Junior Kimbrough's joint. Prepare to shake the shack. – Dennis Rozanski/Blues Rag

Review: Often described as a more 'primitive' form of blues music than its Delta cousin, Hill Country Blues is vocal-driven dance music built on hypnotic grooves and steady, repeated guitar licks. This 117-minute DVD provides a great introduction to both the regional style and to the techniques required to play authentic versions of songs by Jessie Mae Hemphill, Ranie Burnette, Fred McDowell, RL Burnside, Junior Kimbrough and Rosa Lee Hill.

Focusing solely on non-slide songs, Feldman's guitar (equipped with a 20-gauge plain steel unwound third string for authenticity, guitar geeks!) unlocks the workings of open G, open D and cross-note (open minor key) tunings, as well as some unusual stuff in standard. He is, of course, a superlative guitar player, but Feldman's also a convincing singer on material like RL Burnside's Jumper Hanging Out On The Line, which enables him to impart the feel as well as the technique for this material.

With all the usual Guitar Workshop split-screen camera work, PDF tabs and bonus audio tracks of the originals, this DVD should supply any solo guitarist with the necessary chops to set the house a-qua kin' and your ass a-shakin'. – Steve Hunt/fRoots