"Waldman combines a vital, raw-edged Appalachian-styled fiddle with unpretentious poem-stories of everyday Alaska life. The poetry and musical establishments may not know what to think of Waldman's genre-merging, but the calm sense of wonder he engenders is easily accessible."
--Boston Herald


"Ken Waldman is truly an original. A talented poet and writer, he is also an accomplished fiddle player and imaginative composer of new tunes. His performances are as close to traditional fiddle styles as you can get, with a down-to-earth presentation and a stylistic purity that harkens back to the days of Fiddlin' John Carson. . . . I recommend him most highly."
--Bill Bradbury, Professor of Music and Music Technology, Cal State University San Marcos, San Marcos CA


"A wonderful, prodigious, and indescribably unique talent."
--Jean Greenwood, Lecture and Fine Arts Coordinator, University of Wisconsin-Marathon County, Wausau WI


"It was Cal Poly Arts' great pleasure to host Ken Waldman, Alaska's Fiddling Poet, for a short residency in April of this year. We cannot recommend him highly enough for both his public performance and his educational outreach. At an extremely affordable price, Ken brought together a wonderful collection of California folk musicians . . . This was an afternoon of roots music that left our audience amazed."
--Denise Leader Stoeber, Production Specialist, Cal Poly Arts, San Luis Obispo CA


"A marvelous confluence of music and poetry. Waldman's fiddling brims with enthusiasm."
--Tom Sauber, The Brainstormers, Arcadia CA


"A unique and rewarding listening experience, All Originals is direct and unpretentious. . . . The players all have evident skill and deep knowledge of Appalachian (and older) music tradition, but this is neither the polished sound of young Nashville upstarts, nor the stuffy preciousness of folk music antiquarians."
--PopMatters


"Poet and fiddler, or, if you please, fiddler and poet, Ken Waldman combines a lyric heart with a good old fiddle shuffle. His writing is singular and superbly crafted, and his playing strikes to the heart of the tune."
--Joe Newberry, Big Medicine, Durham NC


"Waldman is proficient at turning his observations of Alaska life into thoughtful, optimistic work that evokes faith in humanity and the grandeur of nature."
--Philadelphia City Paper


"I especially love music that sounds like places I've never been, and Alaskan fiddler-poet Ken Waldman works hard at evoking his home state, as if he were the only man charged with bringing its tales down to the lower 48. . . . the self-released All Originals, All Traditionals combines old and new material, and you'd have to know fiddle music very well to tell which is which just by listening--Waldman's own compositions have all the richly melodic hairpin turns and switchbacks of the genuine article."
--Chicago Reader


"I love Ken Waldman's fiddle tunes, and I can't wait to learn them. I mean it--they're incredible."
--Mitch Reed, Beausoleil, Scott LA


"Thanks again for performing at our "Americana Crossroads Live" concert series. We really enjoyed having you here. It would be a pleasure to have you back again so keep in touch. . . I admire what you're doing to further Americana music."
--Paul Hitchcock, WMKY, Morehead State Public Radio, Morehead KY


"For the record, your work is real. You are an original voice and you deliver an excellent evening of music and theatre that is sweet, beautiful, and valid. . . . I feel the world could use more of what you do."
--Steve Duchrow, Director of Performing Arts, Elgin Community College, Elgin IL


"fun and inspirational . . . travel to the beautiful backwoods of Alaska without leaving the comfort of home."
--Anchorage Daily News


"Renegade Americana."
--Denver Post



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