Album Notes

Chirps Smith has been playing the fiddle for nearly thirty years now and is the premier interpreter of fiddle tunes collected from fiddlers throughout Southern and central Illinois. He continues his musical journey through the heartland with Down to Little Egypt, his third solo outing. The material on this CD is comprised mostly of tunes that Chirps and his cohorts from the Indian Creek Delta Boys collected in the mid- to late 1970s from fiddlers like Pappy Taylor of Effingham, and Noah Beavers from Elkville. In addition, there's a tune from the E.F. Adams collection, an Irish reel from a 78 by the Flannagan Brothers that has been reworked into a square dance piece, plus a couple of tunes learned from recordings of a Polish-American immigrant fiddler from Chicago. Throughout, Chirps is backed up by some of the finest old-time players in the Midwest, including his former bandmates from his days with the Volo Bogtrotters, Fred Campeau (on banjo, guitar, fiddle, banjo-uke, and Hawaiian guitar) and Jim Nelson (on guitar), plus banjo pickers Jeff Miller, and Dave Landreth from St. Louis. Rounding out the ensemble on a few numbers is Curtis Buckhannon of the Buckhannon Brothers and Ill-Mo Boys fame.