About Ramsey & Vaan

International Duo from New Orleans:
Bart Ramsey on piano, guitar and vocals. Neti Vaan on fiddle and vocals.

Bart Ramsey’s powerful lyrics & melodies, and Neti Vaan’s passionate fiddle playing are at the heart of this two-headed monster. The repertoire flows easily from folk-jazz to country-blues to roots-rock. This is World Music seen through a Louisiana lens, with outstanding original songs and border-hopping fiddle tunes.

"...an enticing and typically wide-ranging gumbo that effortlessly takes in its stride texmex, mardigras, hotclub, gypsy bluegrass, country and barroom swing..."

~ Froots, UK

"The arrangements, featuring Ramsey's maestro piano playing and Neti Vaan's haunting, soulful fiddling, are highly melodic, packed with exquisite playing."

~ Offbeat, New Orleans

Originally from Chicago, singer/songwriter and piano player BART RAMSEY has lived in New Orleans for half his life, give or take a few years in West Africa, Central America, and Europe. His first professional gig was in Bamenda, Cameroon, when he became the regular organist for the traveling Nigerian band "Jerry Cooper and the Jark Brothers." Once the band dissolved, he moved to New Orleans to write a couple of novels and soak up the music of his adopted hometown. Bart is a prolific songwriter with twisted tales to tell and an off–beat sense of humor. He writes in styles ranging from smooth New Orleans swing, including the quirky love song "The Lady I Hated to Lose"; to New Orleans Mambo, as in "Don’t Rain on My Mardi Gras"; to country blues, as in the abduction–by–aliens shuffle "I Thought It Was God But It Was Only a UFO." His lyrics have been described as "vivid, evocative mini-epics." Bart’s singing voice has a personable, bluesy quality. Besides piano, he also performs on guitar and accordion, and records with a variety of other instruments, including harmonica, jaw harp, glockenspeil and percussion. He has done session work on piano, accordion and/or hammond organ for many local recording artists, including Mike West, Jonno Frishberg, Denise Marie, and Martin Simpson & Jessica Radcliffe. He also performs and records with Austin producer and performing artist Rob Halverson, with whom he has recently co–written a record. He was a founding member of the award winning New Orleans gypsy swing band Vavavoom, which has since disbanded. He continues to play locally in New Orleans under varfious guises, including New Orleans Gypsy Jazz All Stars.

Fiddler NETI VAAN is fascinated by the varied fiddle traditions she has encountered on her musical journey. She started her travels at an early age, when her family moved from the Netherlands to Texas by way of Uganda and Kenya. In Texas she took up the violin, and couldn’t help but be influenced by the local western swing, tex-mex and bluegrass styles. After many years of honing her skills as a street musician on sidewalks from New Orleans to San Francisco, living in a converted Dodge van as a modern-day nomad, Neti moved to London in 1987. She went there to visit a friend and stayed long enough to become a founding member of the folk–roots bands "Companions of the Rosy Hours," "Bill Caddick’s Urban Legend" and "Zumzeaux." For six years she toured throughout the UK full–time, appearing at art centers, folk clubs, village halls and festivals, as well as on BBC radio and TV (including fiddler Aly Bain’s "Shetland Sessions"). She accompanied renowned American tap–dancer/clogger Ira Bernstein on several of his British tours. In her work with Bart Ramsey, she adapts easily to the wide range of styles, and draws on her extensive repertoire of traditional and original fiddle tunes. Besides spot–on harmonies, her vocal contributions range from off–beat swing numbers to Cajun and French chansons. Neti has made guest appearances on CDs by artists such as Michelle Shocked, Andy Cronshaw, Rory McLeod, Rob Halverson, and Myshkin. Her interest in twin fiddling and traditional fiddle styles led to her recording "Toonzville," featuring Bart as well as many other fine musicians. From 2002-2006 she was a member of the popular "New Orleans Jazz Vipers," and recorded and co-produced three CDs with the band. 2005-2008 she was a founder member of New Orleans gypsy swing band Vavavoom, and recorded and co-produced two CDs with them. For the past many years in New Orleans she has performed regularly with various local Cajun bands, and with Patrice Fisher’s "Arpa" (a latin– jazz & celtic harp based band). She recently finished renovating her flood-damaged home in New Orleans. Her latest endeavour is to produce a CD of songs written by promising young composer/musician Ayla Miller, at the Word of Mouth Studio in Algiers. Exciting new projects are on the horizon.

DISCOGRAPHY:

"LIVE IN ITALIA ," Bart Ramsey & 39 Strangers. Recorded in Italy, released 2006.

"TOONZVILLE," Neti Vaan. Recorded in New Orleans and Austin, Texas, released 2005.

"IN SEARCH OF A CHEAP HOTEL," Ramsey & Vaan. Recorded in New Orleans, released 2002.
"LITTLE RED WAGON," Bart Ramsey & Neti Vaan. Recorded in New Orleans, released 1999.
"PRINCE OF SANITY", Bart Ramsey. A strong collection of original songs, recorded in New Orleans, released in 1997, available from BIG EASY DISTRIBUTING. The CD, produced by Louie Ludwig and Anders Osborne, features many fine local New Orleans musicians, including Neti Vaan. It got the thumbs up from Folk Roots (UK): "A fine strutting roots rock set by a bloke firmly anchored in the Delta."
"ZING ZANG," Bart Ramsey & Neti Vaandrager, with Rob Halverson. Recorded in New Orleans, released in 1996. British magazine "Rock’n’ Reel" called it "an invigorating work of quality that overflows with their individual and collective talents. "

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