Tex Logan Birthday Bash

When I was 19 years old, I and a few other local bluegrass musicians discovered that fiddle legend Tex Logan lived close by. We decided to pay him a visit and ask him to play in our band - oh yeah, we had chutzpah. Tex, besides being a monster fiddler, received his PhD. from MIT. He worked for Bell Labs many years. When I decided I wanted to learn bluegrass fiddle, Tex was an inspiration to me. 

When Bill Monroe was scheduled to play several college dates in the Northeast over the course of several months, Tex was asked to play fiddle but could play only one of the shows which was at Jordan Hall in Boston, Mass. He suggested to Bill Monroe that I play twin fiddle with him for that show, and then by myself for the other two shows. That gave me the opportunity to 'audition' with Monroe, and resulted in Monroe's invitation for me to come to Nashville to work for him.

Tex's daughter, Jody, threw a party for his 85th birthday and invited musicians from across the country to come and jam. I don't have much of an opportunity to play bluegrass fiddle these days. All the music I play is as a violinist in an orchestra or string quartet. I went to the party not so much to play as to take photos of the event - just personal shots of my friends and colleagues having fun together. 

Tex was a gracious host, and his mind is as sharp as it ever was. It was a joy to spend some time with him. I hope we can do it again for his 90th birthday party.  

Here's a shot of Tex thanking everyone for coming to celebrate with him.

I dug this photo out of my archives of memorabilia. I don't know who took it. It was backstage at Jordan Hall. On the left partially out of the frame is Peter Rowan playing guitar, that's me and Tex playing fiddle (I'm on the left) Bill Monroe is center between us, and Bill Keith is to the right of Tex.