The Golden Link Folk Singing Society brought Bruce Molsky to Rochester last night. He performed solo on fiddle, banjo, and guitar. I am a fan of Molsky's music and feel he is one of the best old-time fiddlers in the world. He played in several other styles last night, including West African guitar and Bulgarian dance music. It was an inspiring display of musicianship and tradition.

Old-time performers often limit themselves to playing the melody, and I've even spoken to old-time musicians who don't feel that improvisation is an important part of the tradition. Molsky is an improviser, and performs with improvisation at the heart of traditional music. He adds harmonies and licks to old-time melodies, stretches song forms out to accommodate extended phrasing, mixes up rhythms, and makes every tune particular to his style and voice. Unlike bluegrass, in which improvisation is structured around the soloist, improvisation in old-time music is a more organic process. There is no specific soloist, and the tune becomes a vehicle for energy and in-the-moment communication between musicians. Molsky's performance last night inspired me to continue pursuing my convictions about improvisation as the beating heart of traditional music.

I had a chance to speak with Molsky for a few minutes last night, and I asked him how he ended up a professional musician. He worked as a mechanical engineer for twenty years after dropping out of Cornell. Ten years ago he gave himself one year to try and be a full-time musician as a "what if." Now he tours the world with his wife; as he put it to me, "It's a great feeling to wake up in the morning, and the first thing you think about is music." He encouraged me to keep playing for the love of it and perform at as many dances as I could.