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Jay
Ungar and Molly Mason
"Doing [A] Prairie Home Companion is a homecoming
to a bunch of old friends," Mason said. "It's doing something we've done
a lot of and enjoy. Maybe because Garrison's show is based on a community,
it is easy for us to kind of plug into that feeling. I feel like we're
performing for a community of people who kind of know and understand the
real things."
For Ungar, becoming part of A Prairie Home Companion
is about taking a journey away from the day-to-day grind of everyday.
"It does take you to a special place that is just
a little different than your regular day to day life - maybe a lot different,"
he said. "We love the musical variety. The fact that Garrison writes all
that comedy each week is incredible."
Ungar and Mason's unique and heartfelt sound has
earned them accolades both far and wide. Ungar's 1982 song "Ashokan Farewell"
struck such a chord with filmmaker Ken Burns that he used it in his PBS
documentary on the Civil War. The song was later nominated for an Emmy
and became the centerpiece of the documentary's soundtrack.
Currently, Ungar, a kid from the Bronx, and Mason,
a native of Washington State, are building musical relationships with
the likes of singer/songwriter Dar Williams, and prepping for performances
with symphony orchestras that will later this year take them to Alaska
as well as their own backyard, the Catskill mountains of New York.
Playing with the symphonies is another sort of homecoming
for Ungar, who gained a taste for performing with others while performing
in classical ensembles as a kid. That fondness for communicating with
a musical instrument has followed Ungar through his life, whether it's
been playing with an orchestra, jamming with the gang from "Dancing on
the Air," or playing a few tunes with the APHC house band.
"In an ensemble, you're really communicating with each
other. And there is the improvisational side of it. If everyone is listening
to each other, that can really take you on a trip. These little ensembles
- we all listen together. And we all create moods. It is a mood. Not
just the notes."
John W. Barry is a writer living in New York's Hudson
Valley. He can be contacted at jwbarry@bestweb.net.
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