Vassar Clements - Orange Blossom Special

Vassar Clements Band - 1980
"Orange Blossom Special"
Vassar Clements - Fiddle
Jim Tipton - Guitar
Corky MacMillan - Bass
Steve Davidowski - Keyboards
Ric Ward - Drums

[@1RalphEboy]

Thank the gods I got to see him play several times. First at "Stompin' 76, a 3-day Bluegrass Festival in Galax, VA. He went from straight-up bluegrass music, to jamming with Jerry Garcia in "Old and in the Way," to "Hillbilly Jazz," ...to eternity. What an incredible musician.

[@markn1978]

He lived in the world of country music, but the man is a JAZZ player of the highest order. A GENIUS.

[@charlieharris9527]

Well said,he was the best!!!

[@jenniferfar]

Takes one to see this. kudos.

[@thendrjazz]

Very true. When he starts with a quote from "Sweet Georgia Brown", you know your not in a traditonal country mindset. He did a 2 lp album in 1974 called Hillbilly Jazz which lived up to its name.

[@JustFiddler]

i see, matur suksma

[@TomTom-xp2jb]

Was just thinking he is more jazz than country. 👍

[@themermaidstale5008]

I count myself lucky to have seen Vassar Clements perform many decades ago - he's responsible for me liking folk/country music.

[@TomTom-xp2jb]

Wow, Vasser plays that fiddle like a magician. Incredible display of talent!!! Rock on Vasser, wherever you are!!! ❤️🌟👏

[@daniweissman2853]

Insanely skilled. Coolest fiddle ever too!

[@devildog917]

Damn!!! He's pulling this out of a different dimension.

[@jeffreysiegel9125]

Vassar was such an extraordinary entertainer, and a great person! amazing Performance! Thank you for posting this!!!

[@chadcarr8967]

Jeffrey Siegel he was. He is my great great uncle and I remember him and granddad always playing at our family reunions. I got uncle vassars fiddle but I play guitar unfortunately

[@ThePapastrauss]

If you have any inclination to enjoying music, you cannot deny this for a second!

[@alexrodemich4743]

He's killing these guys.

[@danotunes]

I saw vassar with this same band,at the Lone Star nyc. never ceases to amaze. saw him umteen times and 90 per cent of them were with different musicians.

[@missa1969]

Man!!!! I'm one blessed feller for just getting to say, "Howdy" to this great man.

[@oberryconnection]

Mindblowing!

[@paulsusen810]

The Best, Vassar Clements. Most creative fiddle player, ever. His playing, especially from 1966 until the mid-80's. To bad this music is out of fashion now. Vassar's violin, which he always claimed was a 16th century French violin, he played almost his entire career. Another well known fiddler described playing it "like playing a wet cardboard box". Maybe they had to use a fire hose to cool it off after a concert. Anyway, V.C. made it sing, and he made it swing. To paraphrase Bill Monroe, this is where fiddling begins.

[@bikeboatski5692]

He could also play traditional bluegrass very good. During the last 10 years of his life he was recognized by most of the pros as the best country fiddler alive.

[@terrylock7815]

I saw him on The VHS Nitty-gritty dirt band, Will the Circle be Unbroken, incredible player..Great album.

[@lorettabaker1299]

seen him play this at my family reunion in bushnell florida !

[@SmokedMulletMaster]

Awesome... His brother lived in Samsula near me. Boy, they could cut loose. Good stuff.

[@charlieharris9527]

Carroll Clements, seen him and talk to him about a month ago.92 years old and sharp as ever. VASSER is the best!

[@constellatiocom]

So cool!

[@benbonnell2071]

He pays the fiddle like Clapton or SRV play the guitar. So much emotion and heart. So crazy. Easily the best fiddle player ever. Act like he ain’t...I will fight you

[@TomTom-xp2jb]

👍👍👍

[@patriciajrs46]

You have your opinion.

[@mikeslessor750]

Many would dispute that. Several fiddlers of the same or greater ability; Joe Venuti, Stephane Garppelly, to name two.

[@theoriginalrabbithole]

That bass player's got a serious mullet goin. lol

[@doughesson]

scottiemcnichols It was 1980. If you weren't there, you wouldn't understand.

[@oldwest517]

I love how just about every time he is about to play something fast and complex, the camera cuts away and doesn't show his left hand. Plenty of shots of the bow and everyone's backsides! LOL. Clements is famous for his economy of motion, only lifting his fingers just as much as needed and no more. Incredible discipline and technique.

[@djnodj]

Love the "Country" "Metal head" crossover... is that double? quadruple time?

[@allthingssonic]

My grandpa rode the orange blossom express when it was around.

[@jetcitysinatra7300]

I didn't hear that song in there but I did notice that Vassar and Charlie have similar band styles. . .

[@adamkrolikowski892]

Bravo Skrzypce😊❤🎉

[@mwells219]

This is like Jimmy Hendrix level playing. I almost thought he was going to set his fiddle on fire.

[@mattross6902]

Jimi learned fiddle from Vassar, never did it justice, so he started playing guitar!

[@rueridge7597]

Jimi was a dope head

[@JustFiddler]

matur suksma

[@chessmentor63]

Psychedelic Fiddling!

[@Nola473]

Clements Is really sporty

[@patriciajrs46]

I guess I like it. I have never heard it started out like that on the fiddle before. He adds alot of his own expressionism in there. That's not to say that's bad, it isn't. It's just not a pure version of OBS. Just my opinion. He's good, and so are the other players.

[@erniea4424]

Yeah - I'm with you. This doesn't really do anything for me. As the saying goes - "just cuz ya can, doesn't mean you should." There is really nothing in here that sounds like Orange Blossom Special. Reckon I'm just too dumb...

[@theforeverpuddle8754]

I wish they would show his fingers more.

[@Finarphin]

Some people are good.

[@jenniferfar]

are you British? that is some understatement!

[@jamesvanslyke5568]

Vassar wold make those cat gut scream to a different tne. I wold like to see him and Papa John do screaming fiddle det

[@rueridge7597]

Not Vassar’s best by long shot. But still great.

[@OutBoardTink62]

Great to see this but the sound mix is so dry and you can hardly hear the backup band making Vassar sound too on top .Vassars fiddle is too loud in the mix at least here on KZbin resulting in a bad mix. His higher volume level is way louder then the backup band. Im sure the mix was better in person . Playing live you get these scenarios now and then it use to happen to me. Anyway great unique one of a kind fiddle player for sure. I seen him live a year before this concert in Tulsa at Cains Ballroom and he was fantastic ...GP

[@tahititoutou3802]

Well... I find he didn't get better with the years. His "Orange Blossom Special" with the Nitty Gritty Dirt Band was SOOOO much better. When I heard it I really put Clements in the same class as the québécois fiddler Jean Carignan. Just compare with the original via the first link below. Yep : it is Clements playing. In this one you can almost actually see the train , the connecting rods go up and down, and hear the whistle blowing... kzbin.info/www/bejne/Y37We3Sqg5V0fMk Now here is Jean Carignan I was telling you about. (Note : Carignan never studied music...) kzbin.info/www/bejne/eJvPnIV-Z9yfbbM

[@songsabai3794]

The style and attire of his band members are almost cartoonish compared to his musical style.....but hey, dems the 80's!

[@paulharty3081]

Hmm, long buildup to a short tune. I love Vassar, but this was less than the sum of its parts, IMHO.

[@WildwoodvalleyBoy]

...hate that intro to OBS !,...-such a waste !

[@doughesson]

wildwood valleyboy There's as many ways that the song can be played as there are people who pick up a violin to play it.

[@erinbremer5490]

Blast beats on drums! Lol