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Dick Kimmel has been associated with traditional bluegrass and old-time country music for more than 40 years -- as a performer, recording artist, and songwriter. Dick has performed throughout North America and Europe; sharing concerts with a variety of artists including Bill Monroe, Ralph Stanley, and Del McCoury. Kimmel performs as a solo, in collaboration with other artists, or with his band Dick Kimmel & Co. He is most often featured as a vocalist playing mandolin, clawhammer banjo, or guitar. His recordings for Copper Creek Records (listed below) have received excellent reviews and Top-25 status on radio stations programming traditional music. Dick Kimmel's performances highlight his lead vocals. He is equally at home singing hard-driving bluegrass selections like his original composition "Ride On By" or slower, more soulful numbers like his sensitive treatment of Ola Belle Reed's "High On A Mountain." Alan Walton wrote in Bluegrass Unlimited (January 1993), "His vocal delivery is solid, pure, and confident...His rendition of ‘The Prisoner's Song' is one of the best and most soulful you are likely to ever hear." Following a solo concert by Dick Kimmel at Scotland's Guildtown Bluegrass Festival, Scottish bluegrass promoter, John Sheldon, wrote, "Your performance was the highlight of the main concert and the audience was totally captivated and enthralled by your great selection of songs and instrumentals. Your programme gave us a wonderful combination of soulful singing combined with multi-instrumental talent with a thoughtful blend of traditional and original bluegrass interspersed with marvelous old time material." Dick Kimmel is a multi-instrumentalist, using a variety of stringed instruments for his performances. Dick Kimmel is recognized as an exceptional old-time clawhammer banjo player. Dick has recorded many banjo selections and has published clawhammer banjo music and tablature for various publications including Banjo Newsletter and Bluegrass Unlimited in the USA and Banjo Package in Japan. In 1998, "Water Medley," a Kimmel banjo recording first released from "Dick Kimmel & Leo Rosenstein - Road To Braemar" (Copper Creek Records CC-0132), was selected to appear on the international compilation, "Banjo Influences," produced by the French label, Xiii Bis Records. Of the 17 banjo players representing 10 different countries on this recording, Kimmel was one of only two banjoists representing the USA and the only representative of the clawhammer banjo style. "Dick Kimmel - Fishin' Creek Blues" (Copper Creek Records CC-0173), - released in 2000 - highlights Kimmel's clawhammer banjo playing. In conjunction with Mel Bay Publications, Dick produced a book entitled "Fishin' Creek Blues - 17 Clawhammer Banjo Tablatures" of the music from this recording. Dick Kimmel's mandolin playing fits well within bluegrass and old-time music traditions; yet Dick is completely original in his approach to this instrument. Mandolin instrumentals that Dick wrote and recorded include "Wild Turkey Rag," "Caledonia Jake," "Road To Braemar," and "Sacred Heart." Dick's mandolin playing is often described as powerful; he can literally drive a bluegrass band with his mandolin. For a 1979 review for Bluegrass Unlimited, Frank Godby wrote, "Kimmel artfully attacks the mandolin with amazingly successful results." For a November 1997 article for Inside Bluegrass, Mark
Johnson wrote, "The side of Dick Kimmel's musical talent that is
so well-steeped with traditional soul is Dick's ability to incorporate his
extensive knowledge of old-time music into his playing. Dick has a
passion for all that is right concerning the preservation of Appalachian
music and it's presentation...Kimmel's playing leaves one thinking of how
it might have been on a Saturday night, in a small West Virginia town, back
in the 1930's depression days when the most fun anybody could afford was
to bring their entire family to town for the local Saturday night dance.
His music is the sound that would have brought smiles to the faces of people
who were dancing the night away. Kimmel's playing is up beat, happy
sounding, hard driving, from the heart and purely an American art form."
Quotes "An Ambassador of Bluegrass." -Len Kalakian, Bluegrass Unlimited (November 1994) "...a leading figure on the national and international bluegrass scene." -Jerome Clark, Rambles (July 2005) "Dick Kimmel & Co played bluegrass since before bluegrass was cool." -City Pages (Wausau, WI), April 6, 2000 "Dick's music moves from old-time to Bluegrass with consistently
high quality. Dick's fine lead vocals are the centerpiece of 'West
Virginia, My Home.' The more I played Dick Kimmel's '25-Year Collection,'
the more I was amazed at Dick's wonderful talent, and the more I wanted
to replay the CD." "Dick
Kimmel is a well-known and long-respected multi-instrumentalist and bandleader
on both the bluegrass and old-time music scene." "Dick Kimmel is excellent mandolin picker who also excels on
guitar and clawhammer banjo, whilst having fine voice too. An extremely
pleasing blend of old time, mountain and bluegrass."
"Dick Kimmel's 25-Year Collection does a fine job commemorating
Dick Kimmel's illustrious musical career." "Kimmel plays Bluegrass music with fervor and a reverence for
the way the first generation greats believed it ought to sound."
"Dick Kimmel can best be described as a musicologist, a staff
writer for Bluegrass Unlimited for twenty years, record producer, country
and bluegrass musician. There is very little about country music that
Dick doesn't know about." "A true veteran of the idiom. . ."
Recordings and Books Dick Kimmel - Wild Turkey Rag Copper Creek Records CCCD-0115 Dick Kimmel & Leo Rosenstein - Road to Braemar
Dick Kimmel - 25 Year Collection Kimmel Rosenstein & Co - Ramblin' Away
Dick Kimmel - Fishin' Creek Blues Dick Kimmel & Co - My Lord Keeps A Record Fishin' Creek Blues - 17 Clawhammer Banjo Tablatures. Book by Dick Kimmel. Mel Bay Publications For information on ordering recordings and books, please
visit: http://www.dickkimmel.com/merchandise.html
Description of Recordings and Books Recordings - "Dick Kimmel - Wild Turkey Rag" Copper Creek Records CCCD-115.
– This recording features a variety of bluegrass and old-time selections with
Dick playing solo or with a 5-piece bluegrass band. The band includes
such musicians as Bob Black (who played banjo with Bill Monroe in the 1970s),
Alan Murphy or Brian Wicklund (fiddle), and Glenn Zankey (guitar and tenor
vocals). Dick is featured on lead vocals, mandolin, clawhammer banjo,
and guitar. Selections include "The Prisoner's Song," "Sugar Hill," "Ride
On By," and "Dream of the Miner's Child." "Dick Kimmel and Leo Rosenstein - Road to Braemar" Copper
Creek Records CCCD-0132 . - This recording features Dick with singer/guitarist
Leo Rosenstein. Support musicians for this ensemble bluegrass recording
include Paul Horrisberger (bass), Jed Malischke (banjo), Kevin Barnes (banjo),
and Brian Wicklund (fiddle). Selections include "Peach Pickin' Time
in Georgia," "That Little Old Country Church House," and "Elzic's Farewell."
"Dick Kimmel - 25 Year Collection" Copper Creek Records
CCCD-0143. – The "Collection" includes both out-of-print and unreleased
cuts recorded by various musical collaborations featuring Dick Kimmel that
were waxed between 1969 and 1993. A wide variety of musicians appear
with Dick on these classics, including Andy Boarman, Buddy Griffin, and
Dick's 1970's bluegrass band, Mountain Grass. Selections include a
variety of bluegrass and old-time music; "Soldier's Joy," "West Virginia,
My Home," and "Yellow Rose of Texas." "Kimmel Rosenstein & Co - Ramblin' Away" Copper Creek
Records CCCD-0149 . – This release features Dick Kimmel with the Minnesota
band with which he toured the United Kingdom two years prior to this CD's
release. The ensemble includes long-time band member Paul Horrisberger
along with Jed Malischke and Leo Rosenstein. This is a selection of
traditional bluegrass offerings including band originals "Sacred Heart,"
"Door to Door to Heaven," and "The Man of the Stillwater Trolley."
"Dick Kimmel - Fishin' Creek Blues" Copper Creek Records
CCCD-0173. – This recording from Dick Kimmel is an all clawhammer banjo
CD, released in 2000. The recording resulted in many excellent record
reviews and Dick on the cover of the June 2001 issue of Banjo Newsletter.
This recording highlights instrumental and vocal cuts backed by Bob Bovee
& Gail Heil, Paul Horrisberger & Jed Malischke, Shawn Craver, and
a host of other musicians. Selections include such old-time numbers
as "Turkey in the Straw," "Ian Charles," and "Dickey's Discovery."
"Dick Kimmel & Co - My Lord Keeps A Record" Copper Creek
Records CCCD-0240. - The most recent of Dick Kimmel's recordings is
a bluegrass gospel CD released in January 2005. The band includes Darrell
Fuhr (on Dobro), Paul Horrisberger (bass), Jerilyn Kjellberg (vocals), and
Tim O'Connor (banjo) along with guest artist, Becky Buller (fiddle). Kimmel
originals for this recording include "It's Never Too Late" and "Door To Door
To Heaven." The following recordings were released in Europe; each containing one of more cuts featuring Dick Kimmel: "Guildtown 2001 - 15 Years of Bluegrass" (released 2001
in Scotland). "Banjo Influences - World Banjo Tour" (released in 1999
in France). "European World of Bluegrass - 1998" (released in 1999
in the Netherlands). Books - "Fishin' Creek Blues - 17 Clawhammer Banjo Tunes" by Dick Kimmel, Mel Bay Publications, Inc. - This is a book containing tablatures of all the tunes featured on Dick Kimmel's clawhammer banjo CD by the same name. Since the 1970's, Kimmel tablatures have appeared in publications like Banjo Newsletter and Bluegrass Unlimited. This book, released in September 2001, is the first collection of Kimmel clawhammer banjo tablatures. For information on ordering recordings and books, please visit: http://www.dickkimmel.com/merchandise.html
Selected Kimmel Performances Radio and Television Appearances BBC Radio, Various appearance in England, Scotland, and Wales "Appalachian Moods" PBS TV - National Broadcast
"This Is Bluegrass," Jones Innercable TV - Tampa, FL WKKW - Clarksburg, WV KMSU - Mankato, MN "Prime Time Live Variety," WCCO TV - Minneapolis, MN "Bluegrass Saturday Morning," KBEM Radio, Minneapolis, MN WAJR - Morgantown, WV KNUJ - New Ulm, MN "Bluegrass Special," PBS Radio, Tampa, FL "Northwoods Opry," CCTV, Mankato, MN |
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Dick Kimmel PO Box 101 New Ulm, MN 56073 USA Phone: 507-359-1163 E-mail: kimmel@newulmtel.net |
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visit our band web site: http://www.dickkimmel.com |
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