Bag O' Tells (an Archeology of the Mandolin)

I. Catacomb
II. Mbira
III. Canzona
IV. La Bamba

Bag O' Tells, written for a 1984 Mandolin Celebration in Hartford, Connecticut, is transformative music. With the intention of investivaging the distinctive characters of four musical tells, or archeological digs, it evokes cultures and music far removed from those we normally associate with the mandolin. Bresnick emulates the "dark and somber sounds" of the Russian Balalaika in Catacomb; he imitates the sounds of the African thumb piano in Mbira; he models Canzona on the Italian song style in which a repeated note begins each phrase; and in La Bamba he celebrates the Latin American dance known to all mavens of '60s pop music.

Recorded on CRI CD 697 Long Distance, Seth Josel.