Ken Lelen Combo - Spring 2011 Connecticut Tour

Tuesday, April 26, 2011 to Thursday, April 28, 2011

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We entertained 125 people at three concerts in three days.

I played four guitars: 1938 B&D Groton 1 flat-top; 1926 Maurer #493;

1937 Kalamazoo KG-21 (Riggs); and 1933 Martin OM-18 (Sandburg).

Tuesday, 26 April 2011

Avery Heights, Hartford, CT

We last played this hilltop retirement facility in November for a small but enthusiastic audience in the Adams Room. This afternoon we played a 16-song, 60-minute program for about 30 people.

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Wednesday, 27 April 2011

Tower One / East, New Haven, CT

This afternoon's event went much better than our previous concert in November, which was marred by simultaneous events, people moving through the room, private talks by audience members, people on cell phones, and an absent program person. This time, we had a nice crowd of 40 people who enjoyed our 17-song, 55-minute program.

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Thursday, 28 April 2011

Arbors, Manchester, CT

We see an enthusiastic crowd nearly every time we play this facility. Tonight was no exception and we played 16 songs in a 65-minute set for about 35 people.

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                  © 2011 Kenneth Lelen - All Rights Reserved

Ken Lelen Combo
Spring 2011 Virginia-North Carolina Tour

Monday, April 4, 2011 to Saturday, April 9, 2011

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We entertained 300 people at five concerts in six days.

I performed with five guitars: 1926 Maurer #493; 1937 Kalamazoo KG-21 (Riggs); 1933

Martin OM-18 (Sandburg); 1938 B&D Groton 1 flat-top; and 1939 B&D Groton 2 arch-top.

Monday, 4 April 2011
Lakewood Manor, Richmond, VA

With 500 residents, Lakewood Manor is a big continuing care retirement facility set in Richmond's northwest suburbs. Twice a year for about five years I've filled Simms Center auditorium. Our 50-minute concert was no less successful even as we emphasized swing tunes from the 1940s in a 13-song set.

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Tuesday, 5 April 2011

Hanson & Crawford, Raleigh, NC

1939 B&D
Groton 2 archtop

Today I picked up my B&D Groton 2 from Hanson & Crawford luthiers in Raleigh, NC who had made repairs to its frets, bridge, saddle and braces. A 153/4-inch archtop made by the Regal Co. of Chicago circa 1939, it is the sibling instrument to my B&D Groton 1, a 15-inch. flattop also made by the Regal Co. circa 1938.

     For more about the B&D Groton 1, see my posting of Saturday, January 15, 2011, "My first vintage acoustic guitar," in this website's Guitars section.

     Built with a solid spruce top and solid mahogany back and sides, the B&D Groton 2 archtop had received a sloppy neck re-set and other repairs by Ithaca Guitar Works in Ithaca, NY prior to my acquiring the instrument in 2009. Thus, the need for a partial refret and set-up work by Hanson & Crawford.

      Alas, with all its buzzing, plinky treble and lacklustre tone, the geometry of the fingerboard is still not right. It may need a full refret, which would include planing of the fingerboard and installing new frets.

Springmoor, Raleigh, NC

In the past five years I've been blessed to play many times for a good-sized crowd of friendly people at this CCRC located in Raleigh's northern suburbs. This time was no different as I played a 70-minute, 15-song concert played for about 85 people. Considering the enthusiasm of the people visiting the stage at the end of the concert, this event could have gone half again as long. What a pleasure.

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Wednesday, 6 April 2011

Stewart Health Center, Charlotte, NC

Stewart is a 50-unit skilled nursing facility I've played here two or three times a year for the past decade. At this event we pulled about 25 people to my 17-song, 60-minute concert. We got people singing, humming along and tapping their feet to the music. Things were going along just swell until Virginia, one of the health care aides at Stewart, joined in with her free-form dance. Then, the crowd lit up even more!

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Thursday, 7 April 2011

Southminster, Charlotte, NC

When I first I played this community two years ago I discovered an audience of sophisticated, independent-minded people. The songs they liked, the questions they asked and the humor the enjoyed — all indicated a high level of taste and interest. Tonight's event was another fun concert as I played 17 jazz and swing tunes in a 70-minute program. I also told a few stories about Swing Shift Maisies of WWII and Skating Vanities of 1946. 

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Friday, 8 April 2011

Carl Sandburg Home, Flat Rock, NC

1933 Martin OM-18 (Sandburg)

Ever since I acquired a 1933 Martin OM-18 guitar once owned by Carl Sandburg (1878 - 1967), I've been determined to learn as much as I can about the man who famously was a poet, folksinger, biographer and womanizer.

     See posting for Wednesday, July 28, 2010, "Carl Sandburg and his Hollywood liaison," in the Newsletter section of this website.

     I visited the Sandburg home because I want to document that part of his life associated with the guitar, which he bought at a Los Angeles pawn shop in 1957 or 1958. What was the 80-year old poet doing in L.A. at that time? Visiting his lady friend Mildred Loewenthal née Norton (1910 - 2001) and consulting on movie scripts with Hollywood producers.

     This was my first visit to the Sandburg Home, which is owned and managed by the National Park Service and set atop 264 acres in North Carolina's western foot hills. It maintains the Sandburg family's personal belongings, library, furnishings, Mrs. Sandburg's goat farm, and some — but not all — of Sandburg's papers.

     On a splendid spring afternoon I worked indoors with curators Ashley Tate and Miriam Ferris at the Museum Preservation Center where thousands of Sandburg documents are stored. Together we poured through hundreds of letters as well as carbon copies of letters sent to or from Sandburg and his family by his literary agent Lucy Kroll and other correspondents. To my delight, a few letters shed new light on Sandburg's female relationships and on his guitar playing.

     Sandburg owned and played dozens of guitars during his lifetime. Late in life he favored classical guitars because they were easier to play than steel-stringed instruments and to honor Andrés Segovia, his musical ami. When he passed away he left behind six instruments, which the Park Service possesses. Still, mine is the only one with such fascinating provenance, including hand-written love notes from Sandburg to Norton.

     My goal is to document Sandburg's work in Hollywood, his guitar playing and his relationship with Norton. Likewise, I want to locate documents, photographs and ephemera relating to this specific instrument. My findings from this day of research at the Sandburg Home will be displayed in the Journal section of this website at a future time.

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Saturday, 9 April 2011

The Glebe, Daleville, VA

This was my first visit to the Glebe, a sprawling CCRC set along the Blue Ridge in western Virginia. We had a meager crowd of 25 people at a Saturday afternoon event at which we played 18 songs played in a 75-minute concert. However, we expect to attract a bigger crowd in October when we return for a mid-week, evening concert.
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                 © 2011 Kenneth Lelen - All Rights Reserved

Ken Lelen Combo
Spring 2011 New England Tour

Tuesday, March 29, 2011 to Friday, April 1, 2011

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We entertained 175 people at four concerts in four days.

I played four guitars: 1912 Grauso; 1926 Maurer #493; 1937 Kalamazoo

KG-21 (Riggs); 1933 Martin OM-18 (Sandburg); and 1938 B&D Groton 1.

Tuesday, 29 March 2011

Southgate, Shrewsbury, MA

Our second concert at this venue, we drew a small crowd — about 25 people — to the facility's splendid theater. The audience size, which was half newbies and half returnees, was as disappointing to our host as it was to us. But we were heartened to hear several people say afterwards that their friends had missed a nice concert, which included 16 songs in a 65-minute program.
     Nevertheless, our host has planned a return to Southgate in late October for a Sunday afternoon soirée. It will be held in a large informal space with tables and chairs, so we hope we'll see both the facility's residents and their families.
     When residents and family combine to attend our concerts, they tend to enjoy themselves in fun and unexpected ways. First, they're not stuck in the parent's apartment on a visit. And they're not out shopping. Instead, they're sitting in a pleasant setting, enjoying music they both know. The adult children often tell me they recognize all the songs we play. We are not surprised. Long ago we learned that people in their 30s, 40s and 50s grew up hearing mom and dad's music in the background of their youth. So we are expecting a large and pleasant crowd in October.

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Wednesday, 30 March 2011 

Heatherwood, Yarmouth Port, MA

Heatherwood is a gorgeous retirement community filled with warm and friendly residents. Matt and I again filled the facility's Meeting Room for our latest concert, which included 17 songs in a 70-minute event.

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Thursday, 31 March 2011

Mayflower Place, West Yarmouth, MA

Though Sarah Franey, our long-time host at Mayflower Place, has departed for a greener professional setting elsewhere on the Cape, the facility's managers still provided us with a full house. This time, we offered 18 songs in a 70-minute concert. As is usual at Mayflower, our music enticed a few people to get up and dance. This is always fun for us because it makes the rest of the audience glow with joy.

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Friday, 1 April 2011

Overlook Community, Charlton, MA

This was the second appearance for the Ken Lelen Combo at Overlook. We performed a 17-song, 65-minute concert in the Performing Arts Center.

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                                  © 2011 Kenneth Lelen — All Rights Reserved