The WSCL Blog - December 21, 2012
A 2-CD timeless delight! I first discovered
Gregg Miner through his harp guitar website and his online museum of
"musical oddities." He has a physical museum as well as his
online museum, with a primary focus on harp-guitars (guitars with additional
strings beside the fingerboard to play like harp basso-continuo notes).
His museum grew to include a multitude of zithers and salon-music oddities that blossomed
during the pre-TV & radio days of the 1800s when the bourgeoisie was
actively involved in music making for personal enjoyment and personal display...
and the appetite for a "unique" instrument that would set oneself
apart from the bevy of those playing piano, violin and flute was at its peak.
And amazingly: Miner plays almost all of these instruments with total,
deft assuredness. Not only that, but he arranges music on a high
professional level, and then does multi-track recordings of his arrangements.
We are talking about a musician with the kind of skill set that was displayed by
Mozart. Now, his focus is definitely NOT classical. Miner's
music is true crossover, with a heavy leaning toward the folk and pop-rock that
one would expect from someone whose core instruments are guitar/mandolin/banjo.
But he leavens his work with a musical ear that understands the classical and
the contemporary, western and eastern traditions, which make for a Christmas
collection that is infinitely enjoyable by the entire family for years to come.
The two CD set also includes museum-worthy booklets that show the pictures of
the instruments played on each piece with information about the instruments as
well. This set is part of my personal Christmas music collection,
and I think so highly of it that I have repeatedly given it as a gift.
-
Kara Dahl Russell
Shreveport Times - December 10,
2004
Name a stringed instrument -- mandolin, harp
or banjo -- and Gregg Miner plays it. Adam Giblin of Red River Radio suggests
this two-volume set as a refreshing retake on holiday favorites. Miner plays all
the instruments with warmth and whimsy, making some old melodies sound new
again. This recommendation definitely falls in the cheery category.
Vintage Guitar Magazine -
November 2001
It's not too soon to be thinking about
Christmas. Decorations will be appearing at local stores shortly and lists for
Santa will be on everyone's mind. If you need musical inspiration, let Gregg
Miner put you in the mood with these two eclectic collections of Christmas
music. Each cut features a different vintage instrument, from banjos to
lap-steels, from Renaissance lutes to harp guitars, all from Miner's own Museum
of Vintage, Exotic, and Just Plain Unusual Instruments. Miner systematically
restrung, restored and researched playing techniques of each of the 100-plus
instruments in his collection. Most are rare, and many are one-of-a-kind. Each CD comes with a large full-color booklet that explains
in detail the varied instruments, and many are quite unusual. One is struck not
just by the arrangements of these Christmas classics (all by Miner), but also by
his obvious command of the instruments. He has chops! Whether it's a sitar, oud,
dobro, tiple, octofone, zither, or guitar, Miner can play, and play well. The
"Charlie Brown Christmas Medley," arranged for Gibson harp guitars, is
especially impressive and whimsical. These are full digital recordings and are guaranteed
to please spouses who might otherwise object to "guitar" music. Information and full ordering instructions are available at
minermusic.com, where photos of the Miner Museum provide a glimpse of just some
of the many instruments used on the CDs.
ST. PETERSBURG TIMES - Friday, December
10, 1999
Recordings that
never grow old / Notes from Christmas past:
. . . Or try A Christmas Collection, Vols I and II,
featuring the Miner Museum of Vintage, Exotic and Just Plain Unusual Musical
Instruments. Crumhorn, oud, saz and dumbek, Martin and Knutsen guitars,
from balalaikas to zithers, 100 strange and wonderful instruments restored and
restrung, each played only once on the 27 songs on these two discs. Great liner
notes, fine photographs, superb musicianship and everything from Jesu, Joy of
Man's Desiring to The Chipmunk Song. --- Judy Stark
Daedalus Books and Music
- December 1999
This is one of the coolest Christmas compilations you’ll ever
hear, and it’s certainly one of the most offbeat. “Sleigh Ride,” “Jingle
Bell Rock,” “O Tannenbaum,” and other holiday favorites are heard on
instruments from the Miner Museum of Vintage, Exotic and Just Plain Unusual
Musical Instruments; more than 100 of its holdings are introduced both singly
and in unison (via the miracle of multitracking) by the museum’s curator,
Gregg Miner. From the mandolin orchestra on “Jesu, Joy of Man’s Desiring”
to the balalaikas on “Ukrainian Bell Carol,” this collection crosses
boundaries of time period and geography, making the world as one with the
vibrations of plucked strings. And isn’t that what Christmas is all about?
We played the dobro “big band” arrangement of “Let It
Snow” for jazz guitarist Larry Coryell, and he thought it as uproarious and
delightful as we did. American zithers are heard on “The Holly and the Ivy,”
ukuleles—what else?—on “The Chipmunk Song,” Japanese koto (with the
flute-like shakuhachi) on “O Come, O Come, Emmanuel,” and sitar and tabla on
“The Little Drummer Boy.” Early music lovers will appreciate the classical
strains of the chitarrone, viola da gamba, and tromba marina on “Angels We
Have Heard on High,” as well as the classical guitar and unique mandolins on
“Bright, Bright the Holly Berries.”
DIRTY LINEN - December 1996
Gregg Miner is a collector and player of an
extraordinary variety of old, rare, and unusual acoustic
instruments, and this two-disk set of mostly familiar European
and American holiday tunes offers a tour of his personal museum.
Miner plays over a hundred different instruments on the 27
tracks, usually overdubbing numerous parts, and given their
diversity - harps, zithers, tiples, octophones, sitars, and ouds,
assorted medieval, Latin American, and Eastern instruments, as
well as various guitars, banjos, and mandolins - his versatility
and virtuosity is nothing short of amazing. The history of each
instruments is detailed in the well-illustrated accompanying
booklets, which could be read alone as mini-textbooks. This
project will be of greatest interest to fellow instrument
collectors and music historians, but the graceful and diverse
instrumental arrangements stand on their own as well. - Tom Nelligan
ST. PETERSBURG TIMES - Friday,
December 6, 1996
Sounds of the season
- Big names covering traditional
songs fill the holiday music bins, but if you're looking
for something a little bit different, keep digging, it's
there too.
My candidate for most fun disc of the season is
A Christmas Collection, Vol. I and II, featuring the Miner
Museum of Vintage, Exotic and Just Plain Unusual Instruments
(Miner Music/Delos DE 2101 and 2102; order from (800) 364-0645).
For this album, performer and curator Gregg Miner restored and
restrung more than 100 rare and exotic instruments and just to
make it more of a challenge, he plays each of these instruments
only once on the 27 songs on these two discs. What's here? Martin
and Knutsen guitars to die for, everything from balalaikas to
zithers, Gibson mandolins, banjos and harp-guitars, lutes
crumhorns and tambourines, octophone, oud, saz and dumbek, and
much, much more. The music ranges from Jesu, Joy of Man's
Desiring to Sleigh Ride to classic carols to The
Chipmunk Song. The liner notes are great reading, the
photographs are terrific, and Miner is a first-rate musician.
This is one wonderful surprise after another, a delightful treat
amid so much same-old, same-old Christmas fare and a can't-miss
gift idea.
ACOUSTIC GUITAR - December
1996
I grew up loving the music that came with every
Christmas season: the reassuring repetition of melodies year
after year. The timeless quality of the centuries-old tunes, and
the magic that seems to make people a bit nicer when they hear
Christmas music.
It now seems a given that every recording
musician who stays in the business long enough will eventually
put out a Christmas album. From the old-school Perry Como and
Tony Bennett chestnuts to the wonderful modern Christmas albums
from David Grisman, Bruce Cockburn, and other folk-based
musicians, the bins are full at the record stores. Gregg Miner
may not be a recording industry old-timer, but his two CD set A
Christmas Collection stands with the best Christmas
recordings I've heard, and it has an incredible hook for guitar
fans: through the magic of multitracking, Miner recorded the
music playing his entire collection of 100-plus vintage and new
instruments, most of them acoustic and most with strings.
Unfortunately, the collection didn't make it out in time for the
1995 Christmas season, but Delos Records has licensed the set and
is giving it the push it deserves for 1996.
Like the Tone Poems albums from David
Grisman, Tony Rice, and Martin Taylor, Miner's A Christmas
Collection features a wonderful assortment of vintage (and
future vintage) instruments, and it puts them where they ought to
be--in a musical context. Miner has not only learned to play all
his instruments well, but he has also developed a deep
sensitivity about combining the sonic textures he has at his
fingertips, Oud, harp guitar, lap steel, sitar, saz, folk harp,
banjo, lute, and many other stringed instruments are all used to
great effect. I particularly liked the use of Andean instruments
on "I Wonder as I Wander" and Middle Eastern
instruments on "We Three Kings," which give the tunes
an atmospheric context I never quite got from Mantovani-like
elevator music arrangements. Miner's instrumentation helps
highlight the original meaning of these Christmas songs. And
although these albums are all instrumental, with music this
familiar, listeners will fill in the words.
Each CD comes with a lavishly produced booklet
with color photos as well as historical information about all of
the instruments used. Miner's love for his instruments is clearly
based on musical value, not just dollar value. His is an eclectic
collection that includes not only the "normal"
desirable vintage pieces, such as old Nationals, Dobros, Gibsons,
and Martins, but also the really interesting and quirky
instruments at which most vintage dealers turn up their noses. I
hope this album inspires more collectors to appreciate the less
valued old instruments and perhaps to actually use them.
After the novelty of A Christmas Collection
wears off, what's left is its consistently high level of
musicianship and lovingly whimsical arrangements. Miner has made
a recording that can be enjoyed in any season (I'm writing this
on a hot August 4!) and one that should be in every acoustic
music lover's CD library. I hope we have not heard the last of
either Miner the musician or Miner the collector. - Rick Turner
THE SEATTLE TIMES - Friday,
November 29, 1996
DO YOU HEAR what I
hear? Sounds of the holidays
fill the CD bins. Here's our critic's guide to the best.
Most unusual holiday CD: "A Christmas
Collection," Gregg Miner (distributed by
Delos International, DE2101 and 2102). Actually two discs, these
feature "The Miner Museum of Vintage, Exotic and Just Plain
Unusual Musical Instruments." What the title doesn't fully
explain is the charm of hearing the Ukrainian Bell Carol with
banduras and balalaikas, an entire mandolin orchestra playing
"Jesu, Joy of Man's Desiring," and an assortment of
other songs played on everything from sitar, oud, duduk, shakuhachi, lute,
cornetto, zither, and more other instruments
than it's possible to list here (all played by Miner himself).
It's beautiful, and also wryly funny. And the repertoire! From
traditional classics to "How the Grinch Stole
Christmas" and (gulp) "The Chipmunk Song."
20TH CENTURY GUITAR - October 1996
New releases every collection should have: the
two-disc set (sold separately) of traditional Christmas songs
from Gregg Miner, with a twist. Miner is a collector of
"vintage, exotic and just plain unusual musical
instruments" and he utilizes them to their fullest on these
discs. Just about every kind of stringed instrument you can think
of shows up and Miner mixes them beautifully while showcasing the
unique characteristics of each. Both CDs come with illustrated,
50-page booklets explaining each song and the instruments that
were used. This set is a must for every collector of stringed
instruments.
LOS ANGELES TIMES - Thursday,
December 21, 1995
VALLEY WEEKEND / BEST BETS: EXOTICA
If you're looking for that last minute gift for
the weird one in the family--you know, the one who listens to
music when he could be watching TV-here's an idea. Gregg Miner of Van Nuys has produced an album
of Christmas music performed on his own private collection of
rare and exotic musical instruments. Miner calls his collection
the Miner Museum of Vintage, Exotic and Just Plain Unusual
Musical Instruments. Miner, who works in the aerospace industry,
started collecting acoustic instruments in the early 1970s after
his high school infatuation with hard rock began to fade. He has
researched, played and sometimes restored each of his 100
instruments. In "A Christmas Collection" Volumes 1
and 2, each volume has a CD accompanied by a full-color 52 page
booklet. It's easy to see that "A Christmas Collection"
is not a commercial venture as much as a love affair between a
man and his instruments. Miner has recorded familiar Christmas songs
using small ensembles of instruments taken from his private
collection. The arrangements are accessible, though the
instrumentation can sometimes be esoteric. Imagine "Jingle Bells" performed on a
trio of Dobros or "We Three Kings of Orient Are" played
on the Egyptian oud or "The Little Drummer Boy" on the
Indian sitar. The booklets feature photos of the instruments
used in the recordings along with Miner's informed, loving and
sometimes humorous musings on the histories and characteristics
of the various instruments.
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