Tommy Polka (1860) p. 5

Comment by Greg Adams on April 17, 2010 at 10:07pm

This was an interesting specimen to arrange for minstrel banjo. I worked it up back in 2007. Multiple modulations made it fun to work out on the fretless neck.

Comment by Bob Sayers on April 17, 2010 at 10:30pm

Hi Greg,

I'll be interested to hear your banjo version some day. A few years ago, some Japanese scholars got hold of an original copy of the Tommy Polka sheet (only a handful of copies have turned up so far). Since then, the tune has been circulating around old-time music circles in Japan. There are two really wonderful YouTube videos featuring the Tommy Polka: the first a mini-documentary about Tommy and the 1860 Japanese Embassy, the second a performance of the polka by a Japanese "English country band" (with flute, concertina, button accordian, fiddle, and mandola). Worth checking out!

Bob

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