JESSIE SMITH. AKA - "Miss Jessie Smith," "Mrs. Smith's Strathspey." Scottish, Strathspey. D Major. Standard tuning (fiddle). AAB. A favorite strathspey on Cape Breton, given the numerous times it has been recorded by fiddlers from the island. It is also a popular session tune in Scotland. The tune was printed in Joseph Lowe's 1844 collection as "Miss Jessie Smith," however, this was predated by its appearance in Islay (inner Hebrides) fiddler-composer Alexander Mackay's Collection of Reels, Strathspeys and Slow Tunes (c. 1822) under the title "Mrs. Smith's Strathspey." The tune is unattributed in Mackay's collection, with no hint as to its origin.
Additional notes
Printed sources : - Cranford (Jerry Holland: The Second Collection), 2000; No. 110, p. 43. Hunter (Fiddle Music of Scotland), 1988; No. 101. Kerr (Merry Melodies, vol. 1), c. 1880; Set 3, No. 3, p. 4. Milne (Middleton’s Selection of Strathspeys, Reels &c. for the Violin), 1870; p. 18. Stewart-Robertson (The Athole Collection), 1884; p. 86.
Recorded sources : - Culburnie Records CUL 102, Alasdair Fraser & Jody Stecher - "The Driven Bow" (1988). New World Records 80239, Harvey Tolman - "Brave Boys: New England Traditions in Folk Music" (1995, various artists. N.H. fiddler Tolman was recorded in 1976).Wildcat Records WILDCD 101, Ronan Martin - "Ronan Martin" (2008).
See also listing at : Alan Snyder's Cape Breton Fiddle Recording Index [1]
Jane Keefer's Folk Music Index: An Index to Recorded Sources [2]
Alan Ng's Irishtune.info [3]
