Jody Kruskal (Anglo concertina and vocals) and Paul Friedman (fiddle) live in Brooklyn NY where they have been playing for local contra, English and ritual dancers for 30 years. They formed the Paul & Jody duo in 2008 to perform traditional American songs and tunes in concert and have played at local coffee houses, clubs and the UK Broadstairs Folk Week.
Their CD, titled Paul & Jody has been praised in both the USA and England. Here is what Sing Out! magazine has to say: "Paul Friedman and Jody Kruskal are two musicians ideally suited to perform together. They have an uncanny sense of each other?s style ? that all comes through on this fine recording. What a refreshing sound! ... A perfect pairing of concertina and fiddle.?
Jody?s compelling rhythms and harmonies are quite different from the styles in Irish and English traditional music where concertina is more often heard. Paul?s fiddling reflects his years of playing for dancing and the influences of American, Quebecois, Shetland, and Swedish musicians and repertoires. The songs tell American stories that are hilarious, gritty and true ? stories of train wrecks and wrecked marriages, death-row convicts and lonesome lovers, heroes, losers, swaggering braggarts, and lazy slackers. Plan on singing along in the chorus.
Copyright 2018 The Folklore Society of Greater Washington
