Background
It was a thrill and honor to write this setting of “The Cuckoo” for Dr. Karen Kenaston-French and the Fort Worth Chorale, and what an electric 2022 premiere we had of it! I had learned this Appalachian “standard” some twenty years earlier from my mentor Steve Kinzie, and I will never forget his haunting vocals and flying fingers the first time I heard it.
Only recently did I discover that Steve’s source for “The Cuckoo” was early bluegrass banjo “legend” Clarence Ashley, who came again to prominence in the 1960s Folk Revival. (Our mentors have their own sets of shoulders to stand on!) It turns out there is even an archival video of Mr. Ashley performing his rendition — and what a delight to discover there some of the interesting mixed meter interludes I learned from Steve. So, hats off to Mr. Ashley and the liveliness of his musical material that endures in this “passed down” telling of the song. [Mr. Ashley’s video below.]
Traditional songs often have rotating sets of verses, and I took further “folk liberties” with the ones I learned via Steve and Mr. Ashley. But I could never do without the traditional “Jack of Diamonds” verse, although I transformed its melody and chords into a “B section” to create more “architecture” in the arrangement. As I worked on this piece, my housemate clearly detected the joyful magnetism of that verse — enough to assume that the piece was called “Jack of Diamonds.” After you’ve gotten to know the piece, you will understand!
Jack of Diamonds, Jack of Diamonds! I know you of old;
You robbed my poor pockets of their silver and their gold…
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