I am a beginning Banjo Player and had heard about Reed Martin from another list so I went to the Martin, Bursen, and Grosswendt Concert put on by the FSGW in Washington D.C. last saturday night. All I can say is WOW. I don't know if I should be depressed because of how far I have to go, or inspired (I was inspired). The first thing I did when I entered was buy the Reed Martin CD because I had heard it is a must have for anyone learning old time banjo. It is a great compilation of Old Time tunes. (I wish the liner notes don't say anything about the banjos he plays and there were words to the tunes, but you can't have everything). New horizons were opened for me to what banjo can do by both the concert and the CD.

I did not know anything about Howie Bursen or Martin Grosswendt before the concert. Both are great, but Howie especially blew me away with both his playing and singing. He mentioned that he is married to Saly Rogers and recorded CDs with her. Does he have any recordings on his own. Are they Old Time? If I had to get only one which should it be?

Also, does anyone know about Martin Grosswendt?

Any additionalinformation would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks

JAB