More on John

John hails from Montreal, QC and caused a sensation playing banjo for Big Redd Ford,  The Humber River Valley Boys, and other popular Canadian bands. (He’s mentioned in the  Encyclopedia of Canadian Music under Bluegrass.) In the early eighties he came to the U.S.  (yes, he’s legal)….

Here’s a photo of him with the well-loved Cleveland based Hotfoot Quartet.  (He’s third from left, alternatively, he’s third from right. Does that make him a palindrome?                                                 (from left, Roland Kausen, Steve Slottow, John, Bob Frank, Dennis Bailey)

John’s Bluegrass banjo skills have led him to  perform with Peter Rowan, Vassar Clements, Ricky Scaggs, Jerry Douglas, Byron Berline, Tony Trischka, Butch Baldassari, and many other great players. What’s more, when he was 17, Don Reno handed John his banjo and watched John play it on stage at Dawson College in Montreal. Neat memory.

From L to R, Dave Huddleston on bass, Vassar Clemens on fiddle, Paul Kovac, guitar, and John Saunders, banjo. Cuyahoga Valley, 1994
  • John Saunders with bluegrass buddies Vassar, Paul, Dave at Cuyahoga Valley, 1994
Back in Montreal, John plays more classic bluegrass at the Wheel Club with Bob Fuller and Genie Arsenault