The resonant sound board of the hammered dulcimer helps make beautiful music. The instrument is being redefined for the modern age by artists who’ve played at Caffe Lena.
This is episode 33 of the Caffe Lena: 60 Years of Song podcast. Thanks to Sarah at the Caffe for coming up with the list of artists and songs for the feature.
Paul Van Ardsdale was a hammered dulcimer player. John McCutcheon is a multi-instrumentalist. Ruth Rappaport is a rhythm guitarist and pianist. Together, they recorded the album Dulcimer Heritage, which comes with a book with all of the songs transcribed in standard notation.
Simon Chrisman and Wes Corbett grew up around the same time on the same small island but only met by chance thanks to Bill Frisell and a local noodle shack. They’ve made music together whenever they could. Simon Chrisman brings unusual style to the hammered dulcimer and is redefining the instrument. Wes Corbett originally played classical piano before switching to contemporary bluegrass banjo, which he taught for a while at Berklee College of Music.
Caffe Lena: 60 Years of Song, a production of WEXT Radio.