RobertJ711 - Posted - 12/27/2010:  06:43:32

I read that Kenny Baker plays mandolin as well as fiddle,anyone know of any videos or recordings of him playing mandolin?

H20 - Posted - 12/27/2010:  11:26:04

Now that would be really cool! Seeing KB on the mandolin with his fiddle style. I'll look around and do some searching. Will share as or if I find some. Great thought!

mandolinman31639 - Posted - 12/27/2010:  11:50:11

I'm sure he does but never seen him anywhere.

dmiller - Posted - 12/27/2010:  12:24:29

I've heard him pick guitar before, but not the mandolin. That's just my personal experience though.

He and Josh Graves recorded a couple of albums together with just the two of them playing.
Josh was on dobro, and Kenny was on guitar. No one else. I think Kenny played fiddle on one track,
but guitar on all the rest. Excellent recordings.

I found both records on CD from Country Sales - - - - - > > >

countysales.com/products.php?p...Sessions'

H20 - Posted - 12/27/2010:  12:39:41

dmiller,

Awesome! TY! I bet that is a good album.

dmiller - Posted - 12/27/2010:  14:16:48

Kenny absolutely shines on the guitar. Probably Bluegrass's best kept "secret".

mandogryl - Posted - 12/28/2010:  02:14:47

If Kenny is a good guitarist, and we know he is a great fiddler, then I think
it is a reasonable assumption that he can play the mandolin. THough I have no first hand confirmation of that.
So many great fiddlers through the years who could play the mandolin, and vice-versa:
Sam Bush, Mike Marshall, Mark O'Connor, TIm O'Brien, etc, etc,

mrbook - Posted - 12/29/2010:  10:04:51

Kenny Baker is a fine guitar player, but I beleive he is a fingerpicker, not a flatpicker (I could be wrong), which doesn't necessarily transalate to the mandolin.

Loafers Glory - Posted - 12/29/2010:  17:57:47

Evenin Fellers...
Kenny Baker is one the finest guitar pickers...finger style or flat picking.Fine flat picking on those Puritan things with Josh also. Kenny plays mandolin in kind of a jazzy,Texas style that
is wonderful...really pretty and bouncy or bluesy as it gets...Baker is my musical hero,learned a lot from this man...he's not doing well now,really sad...hurts me a bunch....he is my fav fiddler ever...love him .

Loafer

Hillbilly DL - Posted - 12/29/2010:  19:39:07

One'a mine too Ray....he's a great versatile fiddler....tha Chet Atkins of fiddle. Hummm, did Chet play tha fiddle too ?

Bassora - Posted - 12/29/2010:  19:56:01

Baker is a finger-picker. Had heard that his first instrument was the guitar. Did a little research and found this interesting tidbit from the International Bluegrass Museum in Kentucky.

quote:

---

He learned to play a unique four-finger style in open G tuning, influenced by Ernest Johnson, a blind African-American musician who sold peanuts in Jenkins, Kentucky.

---

fiddlepogo - Posted - 12/30/2010:  00:23:45

Playing with the Bluegrass Boys, Kenny Baker might have gotten into a habit of hiding his chops on mandolin... guitar wouldn't have been a problem. Maybe I'm wrong, but from what I've heard of Bill Monroe's personality, he sounds like the kind of boss you wouldn't want to "show up". Can anybody confirm or refute this???

mandogryl - Posted - 12/30/2010:  05:36:45

To add to FiddlePogo's comment, Roland White, a great mandolin player,
played the guitar for Bill. Bill was the mandolin player. Period.

Hillbilly DL - Posted - 12/30/2010:  08:49:28

Monroe's personality confirmed Michael. An FHO member told me he worked with Bill in his younger days & was very demanding and a real a**-h*** to work for.