Together In Time, (Hometown Productions/Great Meadow Music, 2001)
Susan Songer, with Clyde Curley, The Portland Collection (Self-published, 1997)
Susan F. Conger (editor), Along The River (Self-published, 1999)
Various Artists, Contra Music: The Sound Of New England (Great Meadow Music, 2002)
Susan Conger & Friends, Along The River (Independent Release, 2000)
George Peek, Clyde Curley, & Susan Songer, A Portland Selection (Independent Release, 2000)
The Portland Megaband, Live (Independent Release, 2002)
The Clayfoot Strutters, Going Elsewhere (Epact Records, 2002)

I started contradancing under duress. No, really. Someone had recommended attending because I might like the music (I did). I wouldn't have to dance; I could just sit off to the side and listen. It sounded like a good arrangement to me, because I was pretty sure that I couldn't dance. However, I made the mistake of showing up at the scheduled starting time. Contra dancers, at least around these parts, tend to arrive fashionably late. There weren't enough dancers, and I found myself pulled onto the floor, protesting all the way, into my first contradance. To my amazement, it turned out that it really was as easy as my new friends said it would be, and even more fun. That was twenty years ago, and it still manages to hold my interest, so I was pleased to recently get hold of a pile of contradance materials.

Together In Time traces the history of contradancing in New England, from colonial days to modern times. It took root despite the disapproval of the Puritan clergy ("It cannot be tolerated in New England!" said Increase Mather). It has thrived, withered, and flowered again, thanks to the efforts of some who didn't want the tradition to die, among them the jazz-hating Henry Ford. The video contains some interesting footage of Ford dancing and playing fiddle. Peter Coyote's narration sketches the general history, interspersed with quotes from historical dancing masters. The history is better told by the dancers and musicians themselves. Several are interviewed, including legends like Dudley Laufman, Rodney Miller, and Bob McQuillen. All of them stress the sense of community that the dance provides. The gem is 101 year old Florence Giffen, who tells of a long-ago night when she danced every dance, and wore out the soles of her shoes. But even more than the history, this video stresses the timelessness of the form. This is a form that is dynamic, and continuing to grow. As Rodney Miller remarks, dancers are "dancing to tunes that were popular two hundred years ago."

Maybe by now you've decided that you want to be a contradance musician. You'll need a good tune book. The Portland Collection is a good place to start. This spiral-bound volume has 196 pages of tunes listed alphabetically, 70 pages of notes on those tunes, and appendices which include an extensive discography. The tunes presented are popular ones, mostly traditional, in the Portland, Oregon dance community, hence the name. These are all tried and true tunes that work for contradancing, so anyone searching for good dance music won't go wrong here.

Along The River is collection of recent compositions; dance tunes from the pens of musicians living in the Connecticut River Valley. The music is divided by tune form (reels, jigs, waltzes), with background notes following each piece. Short biographies of the composers are included, as well as a discography of the tunes in the book. The styles range from traditional-sounding to, well, strange, but all of them get under your feet.

Contra Music: The Sound Of New England is a compilation gathered from various CDs released by the Great Meadow label. There are tracks featuring such artists as Wild Asparagus, Mary Cay Brass, The Moving Violations, and Bob McQuillen. More than half of the cuts, though, are of Rodney Miller. I don't know if that's because he's made the most recording with Great Meadow, or if it's just that he's that good (and he is). The selections are all good ones, but arguably two stand out from the rest. One is "Leather Britches/Miller's Reel", where Rodney Miller's fiddling is joined by Pater Barnes playing some gritty harmonica, and John McGann adding some pretty flatpicked guitar. The other is a set of tunes by Susan Kevra, Mary Cay Brass & Friends, that features Kevra's calling over an ensemble of piano, bass, and triple fiddles.

Along The River is a companion CD to the book of the same name. The book's editor, Susan Conger, turns out to be an exceptional fiddler, bringing a selection of those tunes to life. Many of the tracks are her compostions, but all of the musicians heard on this disc are composers, and have pieces included. I especially like the cuts featuring the paired fiddles of Conger and either Van Kaynor, David Kaynor, or George Reynolds.

A Portland Selection is also a companion recording, in this case to The Portland Collection. Every tune heard here can be found in the book, although one was altered into a waltz (the book contains no waltzes). George Peek plays sweet, driving fiddle. Susan Songer drives the melodies with bouncy piano. Clyde Curley fills in the gaps on mandolin, octave mandolin, or 4-string banjo, doubling the fiddle's melody, adding harmony lines, or playing accompaniment patterns. The overall sound is lean and danceable.

The Portland area must have a lot of good musicians, and a booming dance scene. How else can one explain The Portland Megaband? They call themselves the largest contra band in the world. Who can argue? They have 32 fiddles, 6 mandolins and/or 4-string banjos, 1 autoharp, 2 banjo ukes, 5 flutes/whistles/recorders, 1 clarinet, 1 saxophone, 3 concertinas/accordions, 3 hammered dulcimers, 9 guitars, 4 percussionists, 1 keyboard, 1 bass, and 1 harp, plus 2 conductors, and a caller. And here I once quit a dance band because I thought six was too many. The balance is uneven, as is often the case with live recordings -- I can hear those 32 fiddles quite well, but I'd never know the autoharp was present if I hadn't read the insert -- but not uneven enough to be a detriment. The arrangements stay interesting, as the various instruments drop in and out. Some of the Megas even do a little singing on "Boatman". Live is infectiously merry. One question has been bugging me, though: When all of these musicians are set up and playing, how much floor space is left for the dancers?

Do you call it old-time/funky/Latin/zydeco/ska/swing? No, it's just the latest release from The Clayfoot Strutters. The Strutters are a Vermont-based group playing what they term "groove-based contradance fusion". The groove-based part is readily apparent, as is the fusion. They stray a long way from contradance, though, much of the time. I'm not saying you couldn't contradance to it; it's possible, I'm sure, but I didn't have enough dancers available to try it. What the Strutters have done here, though, is take contradance tunes, and use them as vehicles for jazzy improvisations. That may seem strange at first, but think how many bebop solos are based on the chord progression to "I Got Rhythm." It's the same concept. They can play the tunes straight, too, when they want to. Well, almost straight...and besides, I like the fiddle/banjo/congas combination on "Grub Springs". Going Elsewhere is certainly different, and it's not what you'd normally think of as contradance music, but it's also good listening.