Reviews

WE BANJO 3 HAVEN No Label WB3CD005 This is a really nice project of contemporary acoustic music from this band based in Galway, Ireland. The all-original selections are marked with influences from bluegrass, Jazz, and Celtic styles. The band is two sets of brothers: David Howley (guitar), Martin Howley (mandolin, banjo), Fergal Scahill (fiddle, percussion),…

VICTOR FURTADO DELLORTO ISLAND Patuxent Music CD-319 This young man comes from a musical family and it shows. This is not his first recording, and this one is more fully realized than his earlier effort (Patuxent CD-261), taking his clawhammer banjo to new frontiers. He’s accompanied by three fiddlers—Nate Leath, Aila Wildman, and Andrew Vogts—the…

THE SLOCAN RAMBLERS QUEEN CITY JUBILEE No Label No Number    One of the biggest challenges in bluegrass music is to draw heavily on a traditional style, yet still make it sound fresh. The Slocan Ramblers, a young Canadian quartet, have managed to find a sparkling balance on Queen City Jubilee, their third recording. I’ve not heard,…

AL JONES, BILLY BAKER, DEE GUNTER JUST A MEMORY Patuxent Music CD-320 Baltimore, Md., with its legendary bluegrass scene beginning in the 1950s, was common territory for Al Jones, Billy Baker, and Dee Gunter at various times in their careers. Al Jones worked with Earl Taylor, Johnnie Whisnant, and eventually Frank Necessary. Billy Baker, who…

ANDREW COLLINS TRIO TONGUE  ANDREW COLLINS TRIO GROOVE No Label No Number Canadian mandolinist, composer, and stringed-instrumental master Andrew Collins has shown repeatedly his skills as a soloist, arranger, and creator of fine music in styles ranging from north-of-the-border bluegrass to the most modern and progressive acoustic music. Now, he’s out with a paired-CD project,…

ETHAN SETIAWAN FLUX No Label No Number Ethan Setiawan, a 2014 winner of the National Mandolin Championships at Winfield, Kans., is a rising star of the progressive acoustic style. Mentored by legendary mandolinist Don Stiernberg, Setiawan has produced a stirring CD of original instrumental music that sounds fresh and alive at its best. Filled with…