We are saddened to announce that Jerry
passed away on September 25, 2015 after a
battle with heart disease and strokes.
We will miss him.
A memorial service was on Saturday, October
17, 2005, at St. Marks Episcopal Church, in
Jackson Heights, NY 11372.
In lieu of flowers, donations may
be sent to the Folk Music Society of New
York (FMSNY, c/o H. Wood, 444 W. 54th St,
#7, NYC, NY 10019); please note on the memo
line JECK FUND. Donations in memory of
Jerry may also be made to Doctors Without
Borders or Amnesty International (or any
other worthy organization, for that matter.)
David Jones wrote the following
tribute in 2005:
Just getting to think of all the things
I would not have done if Jerry Epstein had
not been around. The list is very long.
Jerry, was not only a major force in
traditional folk music, but was highly
trained as a classical musician. He
transcribed the wonderful Frank and Anne
Warner collection, listening to the field
recordings and writing down the notes. He
was for many years the music director for
the New York Revels, and was an accompanist
for the Revels founder Jack Langstaff, to
whom, he was very close. Some of his musical
settings are included in the Revels song
books, they are outstanding. He organized
the Bermuda Quadrangle and set up, with the
help of Sara Grey, a tour of Ireland and
England for the group. His lessons, in
voice, and sight reading, were legendary.
Jerry helped me on many occasions as an
accompanist, a singing partner, and as a
friend. There will, no doubt, be a full
report of Jerry's many achievements in due
course, but for now, there you go. Oh! By
the way, he had a Phd in Physics.
Jerry Epstein
- has been involved in traditional music
for 50 years.
- Jerry is widely known for his powerful
voice and his consummate mastery of the
older traditional styles of singing. He is
also among the best players of the English
concertina around and he is widely known
for scholarship as well as performance.
- His workshops for singers, involving
both voice and traditional style, are
widely respected in the U.S., and he
taught singing at the Easter School
connected with the National Festival in
Canberra, Australia (2003, 2006), the
National Festival of Scotland (2002), and
at the Tenterden Festival in England
(2005, 2006) .
- Jerry has performed for dozens of folk
clubs and festivals in the Eastern U.S.
and Canada, he has done ten solo tours of
clubs and festivals in England, Scotland
and Ireland, and three tours of Australia.
Jerry
has performed for: |
NY South Street Seaport Festival Fox Hollow Festival Eisteddfod Festival (USA) National Folk Festival (USA) Old Songs Festival Mystic Seaport Festival Portsmouth (USA) Maritime Festival Niskayuna Folk Festival Newfoundland Traditional Festival
|
Whitby Festival (UK) Loughborough Festival (UK) (later the National Festival) Beverly Festival (UK)* Festival on the Moors (UK) Tenterden Festival (UK) Dublin Festival (Ireland)* National Folk Festival of Scotland (2002) National Folk Festival of Australia (2003, 2006) *with Bermuda Quadrangle
|
and
for
dozens of folk clubs, coffee houses,
schools and colleges
in the United States, Canada,
England, Scotland,
Ireland, Australia, China, and
New Zealand. |
- Jerry
records
for Minstrel Recordings:
- Jerry
Epstein: Time Has Made a
Change in Me (JD-212 CD/Cassette)
- Jerry
Epstein: Her Bright Smile
Haunts Me Still (JD-214 CD/Cassette
-- out of print)
- Bermuda
Quadrangle: A Beautiful Life
(JD-211 Cassette)
-
has recorded as group singer,
instrumentalist, and arranger on many
other recordings. He has recorded
extensively as performer, arranger,
conductor for the Christmas and Spring
Revels.
- Sample
tracks are available
Booth Shot Lincoln (complete
song, 1.9M) (first
verse only, 0.2M)
Barbara Allen (complete
song, 2M) (first
verse only, 0.3M)
Time Has Made a Change in Me (complete
song, 1.6M) (first
verse only, 0.4M)
The Garden Hymn (complete
song, 0.7M) (first
verse only, 75K)
Been All Around This Whole Round World
(complete
song, 2M) (first
verse only, 0.1M)
Pretty Sally (complete
song, 2M) (first
verse only, 0.1M)
Shove Around the Grog (complete
song, 1.1M) (last
verse only, 0.2M)
To main Minstrel
Records Page
- He
has
recorded extensively as performer,
arranger, conductor for the Christmas
and Spring Revels
- He
has
a number of scholarly publications in
music, including Music Editor of the
Frank & Anne Warner Collection
(Syracuse Univ., 1984), articles in Living
Tradition, Sing Out! and
other publications, presentations at
several conferences, including the 2003
conference marking 100 Years since Cecil
Sharp began collecting songs, and the
1999 conference in New York on 100
Years of the Folk Revival.
- He
has
published
arrangements of traditional and early
music for Revels, Inc. (Godine Press),
and of two large volumes of Jewish
sacred music.
- He
specializes
in ballads, songs of inland water and
woods, especially of the northeast and
Canada, gospel, work songs, songs
of history
— all in the old style.
- He
is
a caller of New England contra dancing
and a teacher of English Morris and Long
Sword.
Contact Info:
Minstrel Records, 35-41 72nd Street,
Jackson Heights, NY 11372, (718) 426-8555
WHAT
THE
KNOWLEDGABLE PEOPLE PEOPLE ARE
SAYING:
“Well-known
and
respected singer and folklorist Jerry
Epstein paid a rare visit to Washington...
Jerry always put the song first in this fine
evening of traditional song.”
Folklore
Society of Greater Washington
“A
very fine singer of American traditional
music.”
Folk Song Society of
Greater Boston
“We
were very lucky to have him.”
Folk Music Society of
New York
“Best night at the club this year.”
Jean Seymour, Bury
(U.K.) Folk Song Club
“Take
a
lot
of talent, mix it with erudition,
tradition and a little sedition, and you
have a smashing night with Jerry Epstein.”
Pat and Pete
Elliott, Birtley (U.K.) Folk Club
“The
fact
that I have always made sure that Jerry
has visited our club every time he has
been in the U.K. says a great deal for our
appreciation of his skills.
He is a talented musician, a fine
and knowledgeable singer, and an
unassuming and relaxed performer. (It's
not his fault he's from the States!)”
Geoff
Bibby, Warrington (U.K.) Folk Song Club
“A
powerful voice, a deep knowledge of
traditional music, a consummate stylist, all
coupled with a wonderful, unusual
repertoire. Definitely much more than an
entertainer, Jerry is worth a trip to hear.”
Roy Harris
“Jerry
Epstein
is a fine musician--concertina and
keyboard--an accomplished arranger, an able
hunter of unusual songs and a thoughtful,
effective singer. His repertoire is
vast, his choices tasteful and his knowledge
encyclopedic. He is a teacher and an
artist, and I am proud to have worked with
him on countless projects.”
Jeff
Warner, Portsmouth Maritime Folk Festival
“We
always rely on your strong sense of
tradition and never fail to be impressed
with your singing and your knowledge.”
Craig Edwards, Mystic
Seaport Festival
“You
have
a compelling way with everything you sing.”
Ken Sweeney,
“Jerry
has
a great repertoire of little known
traditional songs, and he performs them with
power, sensi-tivity, style and taste.
He knows how the great traditional
singers did it, and he knows how to do it.”
Sara
Grey
“Jerry
Epstein
is a compelling performer of traditional
song with a wonderful ability to get an
audience to really listen to what he is
singing about.”
Will Noble
“Jerry
Epstein
is more knowledgeable about folksong styles
than any singer that I know today.
His interest in the traditional
singers and their songs is exemplified in
his own singing.”
John
Langstaff
“I
knew Jerry Epstein as a classical musician
first almost 40 years ago, and over the
years saw him become also a first-rate
singer of traditional songs. Jerry's respect
and love for traditional music shows forth
in his choice of material, in his sensitive
approach and delivery, and in his obvious
enjoyment of the songs.”
Jean Ritchie
"Jerry
is,
and has been for years, one of the most
valid and dedicated exponents of the true
art of traditional American singing in the
whole of the US and beyond. Looking
for a 'blueprint'? He's one. ..."
Keith
Kendrick
“Not just a fine singer and musician, but
one of the major figures in ballad
scholarship. Jerry combines the essential
qualities that make him so accessible,
especially to ballad singers — not just a
fine voice and love of singing, but also a
deep understanding of the songs, their
social and historical settings, and ability
to communicate all aspects of the art. His
work on the Frank and Anne Warner Collection
is masterful and timeless.
Margaret
Bennett
“When I first heard you, I thought you were
one of the old guys.”
Joe
Heaney
“Jerry
is
that rare thing: a serious student of
traditional singing who has taken on the job
(as Almeda Riddle said we should) to 'get
behind the song'. He's
collected a repertoire of rare and elegant
gems, and he sings 'em up good.
Amazingly he's a bang-up concertina
and piano player too.”
Jeff Davis
“Jerry
Epstein
combines a consummate knowledge of
traditional styles with the ability to sing
a song the way it should be sung. His skill
at, and passion for, singing is evident
always, ensuring a feast for the ears, mind,
and heart.”
Joe Newberry
“Jerry
brings
a blend of superb musicianship, scholarship
and taste to his performance of the
traditional music which he loves.”
Tom
Gibney
“Jerry
Epstein
has a love of traditional music in its many
forms that shines through his performances. Add to this fine
musicianship, a wide repertoire, and a
lively sense of humor, and you have a recipe
for a thoroughly enjoyable evening.”
Heather Wood
“Jerry
Epstein
is making sure that really important things
remain within reach of our space-time
continuum. He's
on the back of about half of the Yazoo
records, he's in books authoritatively
discussing ballad modalities, he's holding
down an entire corner of the Revels, and
he's belting out dynamite versions of some
great old songs the way the old people did
it.”
Andy Cohen
revised 9/25/22