In Sacred Trust: The 1963 Fleming Brown Tapes

by Hobart Smith

Overview

These intimate tracks featuring Hobart Smith playing banjo, guitar, fiddle, and piano were recorded in October, 1963 at Fleming Brown's home in Chicago, and while they were never intended for commercial release, they add up to a well-rounded portrait of this immensely talented old-timey musician. There doesn't seem to have been an instrument that Smith couldn't play (in addition to what he plays here, he also mastered accordion, harmonica, mandolin, and organ), and his repertoire ranged from sacred hymns and Tin Pan Alley classics to the blues and the Appalachian ballads he grew up hearing as a child, all of it delivered with an obvious joy and delight. Among the highlights here are a piano version of "Fly Around My Pretty Little Miss" (Smith is a rare example of a man who could play piano in a string band); a fiery and hard-charging rendition of "Cuckoo Bird," full of hammered and pulled notes on the banjo that Smith called "double-noting;" a slide guitar take on "John Henry," and the a cappella "I Feel So Good," probably best known in the version recorded by Big Bill Broonzy in 1941. Smith incorporated a 19th Century Afro-American feel into his banjo playing, which is apparent on the brief and lovely "I'll Meet You When the Sun Goes Down" (as well as on "Cuckoo Bird"), and his guitar playing drew heavily from the blues, as evidenced by the closing track, a spirited instrumental version of "K.C. Moan." Smith keeps time throughout the set with his exuberant and percussive foot stomping -- and the coffee cups rattling, dogs barking, and Brown's children occasionally wandering in and out of the room -- only add to the real-life intimacy of these recordings, which provide a priceless and fascinating glimpse of a brilliant rural musician performing in a relaxed and casual environment. A beautiful set, In Sacred Trust was assembled and produced by Stephen Wade, who provides detailed song by song annotation in the nearly 80-page booklet that accompanies the CD. ~ Steve Leggett

Product Details

Release Date:	08/30/2005
Label:	Smithsonian Folkways Recordings
UPC:	0093074014127
Rank:	97960

Tracks

1. Heaven's Airplane
2. Banging Breakdown
3. Buck Creek Girls
4. Fly Around My Pretty Little Miss
5. Brown Skin Blues
6. John Brown's Dream
7. Cuckoo Bird
8. Cripple Creek
9. John Greer's Two-Step
10. Wabash Blues
11. Jim and Me
12. Old Joe Clark
13. John Henry
14. Give Me Your Heart
15. What Did the Buzzard Say to the Crow
16. Soldier's Joy
17. Uncloudy Day
18. I Feel So Good
19. Cumberland Gap
20. Jim Along
21. Soldier's Joy
22. Railroad Bill
23. Railroad Bill
24. Old Joe Clark
25. Wayfaring Stranger
26. Chatham Hill Serenade
27. I'll Meet You When the Sun Goes Down
28. Indian March
29. Walking Boss
30. Woman at the Well
31. Clog Dance with Guitar
32. Black Annie
33. Wildwood Flower
34. "Full of Music as I Could Be"
35. Katie Went A-Fishin' with a Hook and Line
36. K.C. Moan

Album Credits

Performance Credits

Hobart Smith   Primary Artist,Banjo,Piano,Fiddle,Guitar,Vocals

Technical Credits

Stephen Wade   Audio Production,Liner Notes,Producer,Annotation
Pete Reiniger   Mastering,Tape Transfer,Sound Supervision
Dan Sheehy   Production Supervisor
D.A. Sonneborn   Production Supervisor
Mary Monseur   Production Coordination
Carla Borden   Editorial Assistant
Kiko Konagamitzu   Photography
Fleming Brown   Photography
Wiley Johnson Smith   Photography
Flood   Design,Layout Design