Jamie Gives Presentation at UVM entitled

On Wed. March 12, UVM was treated to an insightful and unique appearance by Jamie Masefield. The presentation, entitled: Organic Music and the Community was sponsored by the Music Appreciation Suite at the Living/Learning Center. A sizeable crowd attended in interest of Masefield, himself a UVM alum even though Lou Reed, Rob Wasserman and DJ Logic were performing simultaneously on campus.

The topic, vague enough to be sure, left much room for Jamie to speak on many issues, from his personal history to current notions of the music scene that he finds himself attached to. His own experiences (including nine years of living in a small cabin in the wooded hills of Vermont honing his skills and living simply) most certainly exemplify the basic concept of organic music. After a fair amount of personal history was imparted, the good-natured crowd feasted upon a solo performance by Masefield. Opening with a sweet chordal interplay that lead into the Bach classic "Jesu, Joy of Man's Desiring", he parlayed into an "as-yet-unnamed" song that was performed for the first time in front of a crowd. The performance was incredibly well received and Masefield fielded numerous questions from the eager students to round out the appearance. Topics covered included his mandolin technique: Jamie going so far as to point out that even he still has bad habits yet to be broken. Jamie's thoughts on Mandolin Orchestras: While not his cup of tea, he clearly supports anyone's use of the instrument. The corporate elementıs increasing involvement in the "Jamband scene": Jamie feeling that the current level of support for the scene, corporate or otherwise can only improve awareness and that "supply and demand will weed out the problematic elements on it's own. How it happened that Bernie Williams from the NY Yankees performed with JMP; Jamie says Bernie's a great guitar player and a great person. Matt Mundy; the only mandolin player that Jamie sites as a strong influence on his playing; he says Matt is the most interesting mando player alive. The evening was humorous, entertaining, and another positive mark for both Jamie Masefield and the Living/Learning Center at UVM.