Biography

Tim Lake - Kentucky Home
Release Date: 2000

This album was recorded live in a barn on August 8, 1998, on the J. Peterman Farm during an annual private event. It was performed live by Tim Lake, Ken Holbrook, and James Moore and recorded digitally on location by Bill Johnson, W.H. Johnson Co. The song selection is very representative of the music from Lake's home state of Kentucky and is his first recording of predominantly traditional music. Tim was very happy with the performances on this recording (playing background banjo and singing the correct words at the same time can be a daunting task) and we at Padraig Records are glad to add this collection of primarily traditional music to our catalog.

Kentucky Home

Disc 1
1. My Old Kentucky Home (Stephen Foster) 3:35

2. I Can Play The Banjo/Chromatic Shuffle 3:30
(Tim Lake)
3. Footprints In The Snow (Bill Monroe) 2:39

4. Clinch Mountain Backstep (Ruby Rakes) 2:49

5. They Will Always Love You (Tim Lake) 3:29

6. Arkansas Traveler – Arch Form (Trad.) 2:59

7. Sitting On Top Of The World (Trad.) 5:01

8. Red Haired Boy (Trad.) 3:31

9. Lonesome Road Blues (Trad.) 3:08

10. El Condor Pasa/Caravan(Trad./Ellington)6:22

11. Emily (Tim Lake) 2:41

12. Waiting At The Alamo (Tim Lake) 4:18

13. Sail For The Lord (Tim Lake) 2:51

14. Grey Eagle (Trad.) 3:28

15. Keep On The Sunny Side (Carter Family) 2:37

16. Orange Blossom Special (Irving Rouse) 6:51

17. Amazing Grace (John Newton) 4:51

18. Was It Something You Said? (Tim Lake) 4:17



Disc 2
1. Leather Britches (Trad.) 2:30

2. Light My Passageway/Cripple Creek 6:57
(Tim Lake/Trad.)
3. Only Eat When You’re Hungry (Tim Lake) 4:13

4. Temperance Reel/Gerry Owen (Trad.) 6:03

5. Nine Pound Hammer (Merle Travis) 2:44

6. Blackberry Blossom (Trad.) 3:08

7. St. James Infirmary (Trad.) 3:49

8. A Russian Sailor Running From A Fight 1:51
(Tim Lake)
9. Stay Mad (Tim Lake) 4:33

10. Gold Rush (Trad.) 1:48

11. John Hardy (Trad.) 3:15

12. Mississippi Sawyer/Soldiers Joy (Trad.) 3:11

13. Glendale Train (John Dawson) 3:17

14. Morrison’s Jig/Flowers Of Edinburgh 3:41
(Trad.)
15. Sidh Beag Agus Sidh Mór (Turlough O'Carolan) 5:01

A original songs words, music, and arrangements by Tim Lake and published by Padraig Publishing, ASCAP. All Rights Reserved.

Musicians:

Tim Lake - 5-String Banjo, Guitar and Lead Vocals

Ken Holbrook - Guitar, Mandolin, Fiddle and Background Vocals

James Moore - Electric Bass, Guitar and Background Vocals

About the Artist – Tim Lake

Tim Lake is a singer-songwriter, composer, performer, and teacher who was born in Manhattan, New York and raised in Lexington, Kentucky. Playing banjo and guitar, Tim has been a professional musician for over 40 years, has released eleven albums of original songs, and has performed internationally and across the United States with his group “The Little Big Band.”

Tim received a doctorate in music in 1991 from the University of Kentucky. In 1993, he performed and recorded the world premiere of his doctoral work, “An American Concerto For 5-String Banjo And Orchestra,” with the Atlanta-Emory Orchestra in Atlanta, Georgia. In 1995, his concerto was awarded Kentucky’s prestigious Al Smith Fellowship for music composition and he has also received recognition as a composer from ASCAP’s Standard and Popular Awards panel from 1994 through 2017.

Rounder Records released Tim’s first recording entitled “Same Old Roadside Inn” and in 1993, Tim started his own company, Padraig Records LLC, which has since released seven compact disc/cassette recordings. His recording efforts are very diverse in scope but easily fall within an ‘eclectic folk’ and Americana category in that they are unique banjo related efforts. “Jazz With Bluegrass And Blues” has as its major focus the singer-songwriter and banjo player attributes of his music while the “banjo concerto” and selections such as his banjo arrangement of Beethoven’s “Für Elise” should intrigue classical aficionados as well. The Padraig Records/ Audio Park release entitled “Live In Tokyo, Japan” features two duets with Japanese traditional musicians on shakuhachi and shamisen while “Kentucky Home” is a two CD set that is Tim’s first recording to feature primarily traditional music. He has received acclaim from respected music critics such as Nat Hentoff, Paul E. Comeau, and John Lupton.

Tim’s trio plays an eclectic mix of American music presented in an original show on banjo, guitar, bass, fiddle, and mandolin. The recording “Jazz With Bluegrass And Blues” best demonstrates his live show. A typical performance will take the listener through original songs with thought provoking lyric content, to Classical music on the banjo, to Jazz, and finally, to Bluegrass and Blues.

As a banjo artist, songwriter, and composer of the highest order, Tim Lake has performed his brand of American music with Kentucky style in international music festivals and concerts all over the world, including Tokyo, Osaka, and Yokosuka, Japan; Ambato and Quito, Ecuador; Bø, and Oslo, Norway; Graz, Austria; and Wexford, Ireland. His form of American music, boundless and refreshing, will always be welcomed by world audiences.

Education
D.M.A., University of Kentucky, Lexington, Kentucky, 1991.
Major: Music composition.

M.M., University of Kentucky, Lexington, Kentucky, 1988.
Major: Music composition.

B.A., University of Kentucky, Lexington, Kentucky, 1987.
Major: History.

B.A., University of Kentucky, Lexington, Kentucky, 1983
Major: Music.

Contact Information:

Tim Lake
Padraig Records, LLC
P. O. Box 31
Wilmore, KY 40390
Phone/Fax: 859-858-0118/cell 859-797-6505
web site: www.TimLake.com
email: TimLakePAD@aol.com


Kentucky Home – “Tim Lake is probably best known for his inventive use of the banjo. He’s played jazz, classical, and blues and extended the range of the instrument far beyond what others have done. What might have been overlooked is how well he plays straight old-time banjo, but this new two-CD set should help set the record straight. All the classics are here …. played with Lake’s trademark skill and imagination. Lake’s between-song chatter is funny and informative and adds to the relaxed nature of this recording. Lake has come up with yet another enjoyable album that, even at over 135 minutes of music, never wears out its welcome.
–Jim Lee, Dirty Linen, October/November 2001


Kentucky Home – “Tim Lake is one heck of a banjo player as is evidenced on his latest two-CD effort, which contains 33 tunes performed live with his trio. While many of the tunes may be traditional, Lake can hardly contain himself to one style of playing and is prone to a lightning quick chromatic flourish with tinges of blues and jazz at any given moment. His playing sounds fresh with interesting ideas. There is a lot of good music on Kentucky Home. Fans of 5-string banjo – traditional and otherwise – should definitely consider adding this one to their collection.
–Eddie Collins, Bluegrass Now, October 2001


Kentucky Home – “He’s a folksinger, he’s a songwriter, he weaves jazz and blues riffs in amongst his Scruggs licks, and even by banjo player standards, his musical imagination often creeps into dark corners and crevices that the rest of us can’t fathom. —— Kentucky Home represents something of a return by Lake to his bluegrass roots —- While Lake’s banjo style carries the rock-solid timing that’s to be expected of a Crowe disciple, there’s also a melodic side to his picking that few others can claim to be nearly as good at.”
— John Lupton, Sing Out! Summer, 2001


Kentucky Home – “Tim Lake is one of those little-known musicians who deserve much more fame. His banjo style is something to envy even for the great banjoists of the past and above all he manages to put together an explosive mixture of styles that see blues and bluegrass in jazz as the right fuse. His previous “Jazz With Bluegrass & Blues” from 1995 is a record that ennobles the banjo beyond the stereotyped prairies and green hills with the variety of styles and rhythms that are found in each song. With his latest “Kentucky Home,” Tim returns to his Kentucky traditions but without nostalgia or sentimentality. His approach is lively and virile and his arrangements of classics like “Arkansas Traveler” mixed with Irish reels and jigs together with a detailed version of “El Condor Pasa/Caravan” still manage to intrigue. The disc was recorded live during an intimate concert and conveys the direct and immediate atmosphere of a concert with friends. We must absolutely remember Ken Holbrook and James Moore who together with the leader make this album particularly interesting and worthy of a refined disc.”
— Robert Menabo/Chitarrando/Bluestime.it Magazine (Italy: Italian to English translation), November 2001


Kentucky Home – ‘Given the combination of Lake’s instrumental virtuosity, his broad stylistic range, and the informal live setting, this album has some great moments.”
— Rick Anderson, Bluegrass Unlimited – June 2001