Reviews

JACOB UNDERWOOD THE BANJO FILES Plum River PRP1115 Underwood is a 19-year-old banjo picker who plays with the band Bluegrass Express. He’s helped here by some big name friends on this ten-track effort. He wrote four of the cuts, and they show his approach to bluegrass banjo. He’s about the melody and drive, but does…

ANNIE STANINEC No Label AS1501 Ms. Staninec is a double-threat here as she sings and plays some mighty fine fiddle on a program of music ranging from bluegrass to Cajun with a Celtic number thrown in for good measure.  Her singing is strong and honest, her fiddling is masterful. Surrounded by an all-star cast of…

LONESOME RIVER BAND BRIDGING THE TRADITION Mountain Home MH16502 The 25-year career of the Lonesome River Band is a study in durability and adaptation in the face of repeated line-up changes. The one constant has been the steady guiding hand of founding member and master banjoist Sammy Shelor, the only original member still on board….

TIM MAY & STEVE SMITH Desert Night Music DN 848    It’s well known that mandolin and guitar duets played a lively role in homegrown entertainment and later shaped the sound of bluegrass and early country music (as witness the Monroe Brothers, the Blue Sky Boys, and others). In recent years, David Grisman has celebrated this…

HAMILTON COUNTY RAMBLERS Bygabbled Records No Number It’s a joy to discover a regional band that has the potential to breakout nationally. I’d say that’s true of the Chattanooga, Tennessee-based Hamilton County Ramblers. Their self-titled debut album is pretty much a total package. Confident, engaging lead vocals and resonate harmony singing combine with picking that’s…

MISSISSIPPI FIDDLE TUNES AND SONGS FROM THE 1930 BY HARRY BOLICK AND STEPHEN T. AUSTI Univ. Press of Miss. 9781496804075. (University of Mississippi Press, 3825 Ridgewood Rd., Jackson, MS 39211, www.upress.state.ms.us.) This huge book is full of tunes, songs, and, inspite of the title, even banjo tablature. The transcriptions run the gambit from rather rudimentary…