Jim Couza (April 27, 1945 – August 2, 2009) was an American

hammered dulcimer The hammered dulcimer (also called the hammer dulcimer) is a percussion-string instrument which consists of String (music), strings typically stretched over a trapezoidal resonant sound board (music), sound board. The hammered dulcimer is set bef ...

player. He was born in

New Bedford, Massachusetts New Bedford is a city in Bristol County, Massachusetts, United States. It is located on the Acushnet River in what is known as the South Coast region. At the 2020 census, New Bedford had a population of 101,079, making it the state's ninth-l ...

, United States, Couza was one of the early musicians at Tryworks Coffeehouse in New Bedford, Massachusetts. In those days he played a well used, but good sounding

Gibson guitar Gibson, Inc. (formerly Gibson Guitar Corporation and Gibson Brands Inc.) is an American manufacturer of guitars, other musical instruments, and professional audio equipment from Kalamazoo, Michigan, and now based in Nashville, Tennessee. Orvil ...

, and a banjo, and sang mostly British Isles music with a distinctive voice. He was living in

Acushnet, Massachusetts Acushnet () is a town in Bristol County, Massachusetts, United States. The population was 10,559 at the 2020 census. Acushnet is a part of the South Coast region of Massachusetts which encompasses the cities and towns that surround Buzzards B ...

in the early 1970s, which was when he started to play the hammer dulcimer. He became a resident in

England England is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is located on the island of Great Britain, of which it covers about 62%, and List of islands of England, more than 100 smaller adjacent islands. It ...

in 1982. In addition to the hammered dulcimer, Couza also played

Appalachian dulcimer The Appalachian dulcimer (many variant names; see below) is a fretted string instrument of the zither family, typically with three or four strings, originally played in the Appalachian region of the United States. The body extends the length of t ...

and

guitar The guitar is a stringed musical instrument that is usually fretted (with Fretless guitar, some exceptions) and typically has six or Twelve-string guitar, twelve strings. It is usually held flat against the player's body and played by strumming ...

. He made several recordings, both solo and with the D'Uberville Ramblers. He also worked with

Björk Björk Guðmundsdóttir ( , ; born 21 November 1965), known mononymously as Björk, is an Icelandic singer, songwriter, composer, record producer, and actress. Noted for her distinct voice, three-octave vocal range, and eccentric public per ...

on the album ''

Post Post, POST, or posting may refer to: Postal services * Mail, the postal system, especially in Commonwealth of Nations countries **An Post, the Irish national postal service **Canada Post, Canadian postal service **Deutsche Post, German postal s ...

'', and with

Peter Gabriel Peter Brian Gabriel (born 13 February 1950) is an English singer, songwriter, musician, and human rights activist. He came to prominence as the original frontman of the rock band Genesis. He left the band in 1975 and launched a solo career wit ...

on his album, '' OVO''. (Couza was featured on a track called "The Time Of The Turning (reprise) / Weavers Reel"). He also worked with Celtic singer-songwriter Jim Fox, performing at many venues and festivals around the UK. Couza suffered a number of health problems in his later years, resulting in amputation of both his legs. Jim Couza died in August 2009 in England, at the age of 64.

Discography

*''Angels Hoverin' Round'', Folktrax FTX-909 (1972) *''Brightest And Best'', Greenwich Village GVR211 (1982) *''Music For The Hammered Dulcimer (aka The Enchanted Valley)'' (with Eileen Monger), Saydisc CD-SDL335 (1983) *''Friends & Neighbors'', Greenwich Village GVR221 (1983) *''Appalachian Beach Party'' (with the D'Uberville Ramblers), Dragon Records, DRGNCD922 (1992) *''Out Of The Shadowlands'', Folksound Records, FSCD14 (1993) *''Welcome To The Fair'', Folksound Records, FSCD16 (1998) *''Jubilee'', Folksound Records, FSCD06 (2002) *''Jim Jam'', FSCM23, (1993) Cassette Tape with Jim Fox

References

External links

Folk Artist Profiles
1945 births 2009 deaths American hammered dulcimer players People from New Bedford, Massachusetts 20th-century American musicians American folk musicians People from Acushnet, Massachusetts {{string-musician-stub