Frank Wakefield
Concert
The Freight &
Salvage Coffee House
Berkeley, CA, 18 Nov. 1997
 By Ted Silverman
First Set: I Hear a Sweet Voice A Calling; Pistol
Packin’ Mama; Counting on David; Gilbert Street; White Silver Sun;
Ain’t Gonna Work Tomorrow; T For Texas/Rocky Road Blues; Alligator Man;
Walking in Jerusalem; New Camptown Races On this stormy Tuesday evening, at the Freight & Salvage Coffee House, Berkeley, California, the sunny sounds of hard driving Bluegrass were heard emanating from the voices and hands of musical masters. The remarkable Mandolinist, Frank Wakefield accompanied by a select group of sidemen were tossing of hot licks right and left as the rain pelted the roof of this renowned establishment of Bluegrass and American roots music. Wakefield was once honored by the International Bluegrass Music Association as a ‘Living Legend’ and he showed glimpses of his greatness throughout the evening. Wakefield’s resume reads like a who’s who of Bluegrass having played with the Greenbriar Boys, Red Allen, Jerry Garcia, The New Riders of the Purple Sage, his own group; The Good Ole’ Boysand many other legends, including Bill Monroe. Wakefield, looking seventy-odd years young was clearly still in command of his formidable, and irascible chops. His picking falls neatly in line with the hard driving style pioneered by the late Bill Monroe but with an added touch of manic, exploratory quirkiness. Early in the show his tone and approach were bogged down a bit with raw and weary voicings but as the show continued he displayed a remarkable capacity to fire off breaks filled with lightning speed and melodic variety. With a firm command of tremolo he fanned arpeggios which pushed the melody of each tune all the while interspersing single note figures often loaded with whimsical dissonant passages. Clearly this guy has been around the frets in his forty plus years as a premier picker. His spirit, good humor and charm were evident has he taunted the crowd with the goofy ‘backwardisms’ which have become his trademark stage banter.
Wakefield appeared to be the de facto leader of this loose knit affiliation but backing him were four capable players. Frank Black, a veteran of Monroe’s Bluegrass Boys, was clearly the most consistent talent on stage. His banjo breaks were all strongly voiced and loaded with dynamic and playful melodic passages. His consistency added much to the early portion of the show as his musical compatriots appeared to need a bit more time to warm up their ‘chops’. On fiddle was Jim Moss, a fine fiddler and a veteran of Wakefield’s band, The Good Ole’ Boys, as well as the Bay Area’s own High Country. According to the stage banter it was Moss who gathered together this ragtag group for this rare performance. Wakefield had traveled nearly 3000 miles from his home in Saratoga Springs, New York. Presumably the other pickers live somewhere in the Bay Area. On Guitar was “Too Tall” Paul Squyres, who took a few select, yet very tasteful, flat picking breaks and added his basso profundo to the vocal mix. Rounding out the line-up was Bill Amatneek, the first Bassist for the original David Grisman Quintet. The opening set was a straight ahead serving of ensemble vocal numbers mixed with Wakefield’s original rags and fiddle tunes, a heaping of Monroe compositions and a touch of Gospel. The picking interplay and exchange of breaks was well executed throughout the evening. One could fault the band for it’s less then stellar vocal sound. Creaky harmonies and often sour crooning could be viewed as authentic representations of the Appalachian musical style. But to be honest, the heartfelt delivery of the music made up somewhat for the weakness in vocal production. By the standards of contemporary touring Bluegrass units this group’s singing pales but the hot licks, musical interplay, stellar Mandolin virtuosity and historically interesting song choices provided the listener with enough substance to chew on. During the set break Wakefield made himself available to an adoring room full of fans, signing autographed copies of his newest CD, That Was Now, This Is Then. A selection of the disc’s songs were rendered throughout the evening including Mexican Stomp, Waltz in Bluegrass and Wakefield’s tour de force composition, New Camptown Races. In classic “backing talkwards” style Frank came on stage after the set break, thanking the crowd and saying goodbye instead of hello. He then pulled through classic tunes such as Highway of Sorrow, Nine Pound Hammer, Midnight on the Stormy Deep, and Swing Low Sweet Chariot. Throughout the first set Wakefield kept inquiring whether David Nelson was in the house. He and the band rendered an old tune of Nelson’s called Pistol Packin’ Mama and Wakefield told a few stories of playing with the New Riders of the Purple Stage in the early 1970’s. During the second set Nelson himself appeared on-stage and performed the old Tex Logan chestnut, Diamond Joe, as well as I’m Just Here To Get My Baby Out of Jail and Rawhide among others. Later, Peter Rowan of Bluegrass Boys fame appeared and picked authentic, driving renditions of The Dreadful Snake, Whitehouse Blues, and Walls of Time which he co-wrote with Bill Monroe. Rowan paid a moving tribute to Wakefield by informing him publicly that he was the first person ever to encourage him down the long musical road. This initial encouragement was coincidentally helped along by three-fifths of Moonshine Whiskey, which the two had long ago shared. But what a wonderful road it has been indeed. Rowan capped off his comments by indicating that Wakefield had done a fine job of carrying the hard driving bluegrass torch pioneered by Bill Monroe. The remainder of the show brought more tight ensemble picking, duet and trio vocal arrangements and the reappearance of the evening’s special guests for a two song encore of It’s a Beautiful Life and a reprised New Camptown Races with everyone getting a chance to peel off a hot break or two. The happy audience strolled back out into the stormy night feeling much levity in comparison to the evenings heavy weather. It’s evident that Frank Wakefield remains a humorous personality, a hot and inventive picker, a dynamic technician of his instrument, a strong band leader and remarkably long lasting figurehead of Bluegrass music. His spirit shone throughout the evening and helped to ignite a fire under his sidemen and the audience as well. Altogether a wonderful night was had by all. Frank’s newest album: That Was Now, This is Then is a worthy and desirable instrumental album, available via mail order from: Rosewood Records, PO Box 364, New Castle, Pennsylvania 16103 (USA)
By Ted Silverman, San Francisco, CA USA.
Recommended further reading: Bluegrass Unlimited, 18 (1) July 1983, pp 16-22, “Frank Wakefield; Bluegrass Unlimited, 31 (10) April 1997, pp 38-41, “Jesus Loves His Mandolin Player”
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