Audio Samples

Professor Blackie

The Bee’s Wing / President Garfield’s Hornpipe

Playlist

1. Professor Blackie
2. The Bay of Fundy
3. The Bee’s Wing/President Garfield’s Hornpipe
4. Farewell to Killikrankie/Archie Menzies/The Haggis
5. The Miller of Drone/Big John MacNeil
6. Cape Breton Johnny Cope/Miss Lyle/The Black Mill
7. MacNab’s’/The Plains of Boyle
8. Da Slockit Light/The Smith’s A Jolly Fireman/The Bride’s Reel
9. Rakish Paddy
10. Stella’s Trip to Kamloops/Devil in the Kitchen/The High Reel
11. You Married My Daughter, and Yet You Didn’t
12. Glen Coe March/ Lord Gordon
13. The Stool of Repentance/Come Under My Plaidie
14. Trad. Strathspey (Munlochy Bridge)/Heather on the Hill/Sheehan’s Reel/Farmer’s Reel
15. Coilesfield House/Trad. Strathspey/Loch Earn

Reviews for Devil in the Kitchen (Marimac Recordings)

Bluegrass Unlimited

Ken Perlman should be no stranger to lovers of the melodic clawhammer banjo. He has taken this art form to places that it hasn’t and may well never have been, since its heyday in antebellum America. Mr. Perlman has written a book on clawhammer style and recorded several albums prior to this release. This labor of love [“Devil in the Kitchen” on Marimac Recordings] is a culmination of an extensive collecting trip he made to Prince Edward Island. It has been the thrust of his work to play Celtic music on the five-string banjo. From listening to this it appears he has come a long way to perfecting this blending of two disparate tangibles…This recording draws the listener into it. It is not a loud or uproarious thing. Loaded with good Celtic tunes from Prince Edward Island…In places, Perlman eschews the banjo for guitar, and we are treated to first class fingerpicking of a highly complex and expressive nature. His stately technique on a steel string guitar possesses a strong drive and full delivery.This recording is recommended to all lovers of clawhammer banjo, Celtic tunes and fingerpicked guitar. There are hours of listening pleasure contained here along with a wealth of good tunes.

Banjo Newsletter

A brilliant player and re-inventor of modern melodic down-stroke (clawhammer) banjo playing is Ken Perlman. Ken also plays outstanding finger-style guitar… As far as I know, I have every tape, book and BNL column he has ever done…

Drawn largely from his recent work with Cape Breton fiddlers, this new album “Devil in the Kitchen” on Marimac Recordings features Celtic tunes from that area. This album only has three guitar tunes on it… For banjo players, that is good news as it means more of Ken’s immaculate banjo work. This new album is awesome, and even better it has an accompanying tab booklet that steps you through some truly beautiful arrangements. This is an impressive album, and I encourage every serious banjo player to add it to their library… A technical masterpiece, with copious liner notes!

Fiddler Magazine

…Over 30 tunes are represented in this collection [“Devil in the Kitchen” on Marimac Recordings] by one of America’s great melodic clawhammer players. Perlman, well-known for his books Melodic Clawhammer Banjo and Clawhammer Style Banjo has also written several guitar books…

The CD opens with Perlman on fingerstyle guitar…playing “Professor Blackie.” The arrangement is beautifully performed…It is a soothing opener for the collection. After the opening guitar solo, Perlman jumps into “The Bay of Fundy”… This is Perlman at his best — a pure melodic clawhammer style fully imitative of the plectrum style banjo, with none of the drone sound or rhythmic structure associated with the southern clawhammer style. The piece moves quickly as Perlman plays some of his variations on the basic theme.

“Cape Breton Johnny Cope”/”Miss Lyle”/ “The Black Mill” demonstrates Perlman’s mastery of the style played on this album as he combines pull-off triplets with some of the picking tremolo. As Perlman notes, he is using his index nail with a down-up- down motion to imitate the … sound of this type of music on tenor or plectrum banjo. More is heard on the following track, with a sound reminiscent of Seamus Eagan…

This CD represents a large collection of Celtic tunes from the Northeast U.S. and Canada, well-performed by one of the premier melodic clawhammer players alive. Highly recommended for anyone interested in this type of music, including fiddle players looking for tunes and/or phrasing and melodic ideas. The liner notes are well written, with sources and history of the pieces included.