I receive emails regularly because I am a member of WFMT, a classical music station in Chicago. I received one this morning with a lot of program information along with links to various articles and videos. One caught my eye because it was the story of Steve Martin helping Jens Kruger of the Kruger Bros. trio inducted into the American Banjo Hall of Fame. (Yes, yes, I know the banjo Hall of Fame can be contradictory for many people. But as I have written here in the past, I love the banjo and I also learned and own it to play. I took part in the Topanga Banjo and Fiddle Contest for a while, so it’s nice to have a Banjo Hall of Fame.)
I don’t know Kruger Bros. The group consists of Jens, Uwe Kruger and Joel Landsberg. I’ve heard it occasionally, though. The story of their birth in Germany and immigrating to Switzerland at a very young age is interesting. Jens and Uwe started playing banjo and guitar, fell in love with music, moved because of a difficult family life, and left to perform as a teenager. Jens moved to the United States first, though Uwe joined him a few years later. They played with Bill Mornoe’s group and Doc Watson was one of their mentors. Their music was traditional, but it also diverged in its own direction, including composing some classical works. Eventually, both settled in North Carolina.
Anyway, on the webpage with Jens Kruger’s Judo, there were three videos of the group playing with WFMT’s resident ensemble, the Kontras Quartet, for the most obvious reason why these three videos were chosen to be published. I was so curious, so I picked the one I liked under the title ‘Autumn Carolina’. It turned out to be a great choice. It is absolutely wonderful. It’s basically a traditional song, but the arrangement of the two groups adds a nice texture. The other two songs on the page were also very good. here This is a webpage with all three songs. But this was the part that stood out to me the most. It’s clearly an electrical number, and in an article I read later, it became standard at their concerts.
I don’t know Kruger Bros. The group consists of Jens, Uwe Kruger and Joel Landsberg. I’ve heard it occasionally, though. The story of their birth in Germany and immigrating to Switzerland at a very young age is interesting. Jens and Uwe started playing banjo and guitar, fell in love with music, moved because of a difficult family life, and left to perform as a teenager. Jens moved to the United States first, though Uwe joined him a few years later. They played with Bill Mornoe’s group and Doc Watson was one of their mentors. Their music was traditional, but it also diverged in its own direction, including composing some classical works. Eventually, both settled in North Carolina.
Anyway, on the webpage with Jens Kruger’s Judo, there were three videos of the group playing with WFMT’s resident ensemble, the Kontras Quartet, for the most obvious reason why these three videos were chosen to be published. I was so curious, so I picked the one I liked under the title ‘Autumn Carolina’. It turned out to be a great choice. It is absolutely wonderful. It’s basically a traditional song, but the arrangement of the two groups adds a nice texture. The other two songs on the page were also very good. here This is a webpage with all three songs. But this was the part that stood out to me the most. It’s clearly an electrical number, and in an article I read later, it became standard at their concerts.
Uwe leads and Jens plays the banjo. Joel Landsberg is on the left side of the bass guitar. (Sorry, they are independent as I cannot individually identify the Kontras Quartet. But to give them credit, Dmitri Pogolerov, François Henkins, Jean Hatmaker and Ai Ishida. andOne of the four in the still frame below.)
If you would like to see an introductory video to the Hall of Fame, it would be a good idea to include it. Don’t expect Steve Martin to be fun. It is clear that he has great respect for Jens Kruger (who performed with him). Also, his roles at the event are small, and most of the videos tell about Jens Kruger along with his brother.
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