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By Winslow Yerxa ©2004. All rights reserved.

Ulysses LaCasse was a trail guide and later forest warden in the Canadian Rockies. A neighbor and friend of my grandparents, he can be seen in the June, 1947 issue of National Geographic. The Rockbound Trail leads from near where his cabin stood to the hidden lakes behind Castle Mountain, while the Bow and the Spray is where two historic mountain rivers meet at the foot of Bow Falls. Accompanying me on this live performance in 2004 are Vince Moulton on guitar and Christa Burch on bodhran. Played on a Low D harp.

Traditional. Arrangement ©2005 Winslow Yerxa. All rights reserved.

For something even further back in the woods, here are a couple of fiddle tunes in crooked time. Drops of Brandy exists in many versions; this Métis rendering comes from Manitoba fiddler Reg Bouvette by way of Henry Gariepy. This first part of this tune is in 3+3+2+2 beats. The second part is in 5 except when it's in 6 or 7, while the third part settles into a nice 4. Hay in the Loft Two Step comes from Teddy Boy Houle, from his father's repertoire. The first part of this tune is in 5, while the second part can be counted in 5 but it's really in 5+2+4+4. Played on a G harp and a low D harp.

By Winslow Yerxa ©2006, 2002. All rights reserved.

A dance is just getting under way in Ulysses Lacasse's barn at the foot of Castle Mountain (pictured here). The musicians warm up with a tribute to K'nikanik, the wild cranberry that grows in the Rockies (and many other places). Then they strike up a meet-and-greet tune just as the Dominion thunders past, pulling a long string of passenger and freight cars from Montr�al to Vancouver, and sounding its horn as it approaches Castle Junction. K'nikanik is played on an SBS harp in D, while the Dominion is played on an XB-40 in A.

By Winslow Yerxa ©2005. All rights reserved.

High in the Canadian Rockies three rivers meet the North Saskatchewan, for centuries a vital east-west trade artery. Traditional foot rhythm drives piano, guitar, bass and chromatic harmonica to evoke that historic vista, with the sound of the river rushing away in the coda of the tune.

By Winslow Yerxa ©1996. All rights reserved.

The old Banff-Windermere road clings to the hills high above the Bow River, which can be glimpsed through openings in the pine, poplar, and blue spruce. At Hillsdale Meadow, the entire panorama of the Bow valley can be viewed at leisure on a bright summer day. Played on a chromatic in D with the duplicate blow D notes tuned down to B, except for the last chorus, which is played in a C chromatic in order to access notes beyond the range of the D-harp.

By Winslow Yerxa ©2001. All rights reserved.

Windermere is a lakeside resort town in the Canadian Rockies. This original quasi-blues tune, played on a Hohner XB-40 (Extreme Bender) in A, paints a picture of mostly indoor activities, some of which might also fit the description of "extreme bender."

Traditional. Arrangement ©2003 Winslow Yerxa. All rights reserved.

Sometimes the most beautiful melodies tell the cruelest tales. This one, from the repertoire of Acadian fiddler Joseph Larade, tells of a woman left alone with hungry children who goes searching, lantern in hand, from tavern to tavern for her drunken soldier husband. After she finds him in bed with the barmaid, her humiliation is compounded by her children, who declare they want to be just like him. Played here as an instrumental by a trio of country-tuned G-harps.

Traditional. Arrangement ©2001 Winslow Yerxa. All rights reserved.

A brief ode to the blue spruce tree leads into three reels from Qu�bec, Reel du cultivateur played on AutoValve harp in D accompanied by G and low D diatonics, La galope de la Malbaie played on two G-harps, then Reel de Ste-Anne, played on F Echo tremolo and low F-harp.

Traditional. Arrangement ©2002 Winslow Yerxa. All rights reserved.

This haunting and nostalgic waltz is from the playing of old-time Quebec accordionist Alfred Montmarquette. Suzuki tremolo chromatic harmonica is accompanied by two Bb diatonics.

Check out Winslow's other harmonica-related pages: