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Banjo superstars highlight Dayton festival

Rhythm in Shoes banjo player Rick Good sits in on a Wednesday night acoustic jam recently at the Trolley Stop in Dayton. Playing with him is Ben Cooper on fiddle (left) and Sharon Leahy on bass.

Staff photo by Chris Stewart Rhythm in Shoes banjo player Rick Good sits in on a Wednesday night acoustic jam recently at the Trolley Stop in Dayton. Playing with him is Ben Cooper on fiddle (left) and Sharon Leahy on bass.

ENLARGE PHOTO

Joe Mullins of Joe Mullins and the Radio Ramblers plays and talks about the banjo at his Xenia radio station, WBZI AM 1500.

Staff photo by Chris Stewart Joe Mullins of Joe Mullins and the Radio Ramblers plays and talks about the banjo at his Xenia radio station, WBZI AM 1500.

ENLARGE PHOTO

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By Khalid Moss, Staff Writer Updated 2:23 AM Thursday, July 2, 2009

Dayton has a date with banjo royalty this weekend when two superstars of the instrument visit the city to perform at the 2009 Cityfolk Festival.

Bela Fleck and Ralph Stanley are banjo masters from different eras with different styles. Fleck will play Saturday, July 4, and Stanley on Sunday at the Cityfolk Festival, which kicks off Friday at 5:30 p.m.

At 9:30 p.m. Saturday, Fleck will join Malian vocalist Oumou Sangare for a journey into the African roots of the banjo.

At 5:30 p.m. Sunday, Stanley will perform with his bluegrass band The Clinch Mountain Boys.

The banjo is a five-stringed instrument that has traveled a complex evolutionary path. Although primarily associated with bluegrass, Appalachian or country music, the roots of the banjo are planted deep in African soil.

The appearance of two celebrated banjo players has sparked interest in an often-overlooked instrument.

“Ralph Stanley is the king of mountain music,” said Joe Mullins, a local banjo player whose father, the late Paul “Moon” Mullins, was a well-known fiddler and radio personality. “Stanley’s one of the founding fathers of bluegrass. He was the first bluegrass recording artist to incorporate a cappella gospel into his music.

“Bela’s been researching the origins of the banjo in Africa,” Mullins said. “He’s even produced a movie, ‘Throw Down Your Heart,’ about his adventures. It’s an honor to welcome these outstanding banjo players to Dayton for the Cityfolk Festival.”

Mullins also said he was glad the festival was showcasing the banjo. “Dayton has a rich history of banjo players, and Ralph Stanley is one of my favorites. He sounded like he was a hundred years old when he was 25. Now he’s 82 and it’s as good as ever.”

The late Red Allen was a prominent Dayton bluegrass singer known for his powerful tenor voice. His 55-year-old son, Greg, is a banjo player who has settled into a life of teaching and recording after 20 years on the road.

“The difference between three-finger picking and clawhammer is night and day,” Allen said. “I prefer the three-finger style and have even designed my own picks. I’ve written five how-to books on the banjo and have a couple of DVDs that are available to aspiring banjo players. I’m looking forward to hearing great banjo music at the Cityfolk Festival.”

Rick Good is co-founder with wife Sharon Leahy of the Dayton dance company Rhythm In Shoes. He began playing banjo in grade school and hosts an “acoustic jam” at the Trolley Stop on Wednesdays.

“It’s fitting that Bela Fleck will perform at the Cityfolk Festival with an African group,” Good said. “The banjo came from Africa. The banjo is a drum with strings. It sets the rhythm.”

Good’s banjo also provides the foundation for most of Rhythm In Shoes’ dance routines.

He said the fusion of banjo with dance is the result of the confluence of three cultures.

“The rhythm of the clawhammer banjo is exactly the same as the clogging step,” Good said as he pounded out the beat on a table. “Appalachian clogging is a fusion of the Irish fiddle tradition, the African banjo and the Sioux Indians who were the original mountaineers.”

“Those three cultures came together and evolved into Appalachian clogging. That’s what Rhythm In Shoes has developed to its fullest.”