Reviews

MARK KUYKENDALL, BOBBY HICKS AND ASHEVILLE GRASS DOWN MEMORY LANE Rebel Records REB-CD-1855 Guitarist and lead vocalist Mark Kuykendall (sideman for Bill Monroe, Jimmy Martin, and others) debuts in partnership with fiddle legend Bobby Hicks and also with the fine assistance of bassist/vocalist Nick Dauphinais, mandolinist/vocalist Nick Chandler, and banjoist/vocalist Seth Rhinehart (collectively Asheville Bluegrass)….

DANIEL KOULACK & KARRNNEL SAWITSKY FIDDLE AND BANJO: TUNES FROM THE NORTH, SONGS FROM THE SOUTH No Label No Number Daniel Koulack is a clawhammer banjo player from Winnipeg, and Karrnnel Sawitsky is a fiddler from Saskatoon. Although they open with Pete Seeger’s “Goofing Off Theme,” they play mostly traditional tunes, but in very modern…

OLA BELLE REED AND THE SOUTHERN MOUNTAIN MUSIC ON THE MASON-DIXON LINE—BY HENRY GLASSIE, CLIFFORD R. MURPHY, AND DOUGLAS DOWLING PEACH—Dust-to-Digital DTS-40. Hardcover, 256 pp., two CDs included, $31.50. (Dust-To-Digital, PO Box 54743, Atlanta, GA 30308, www.dust-digital.com.) Ola Belle Reed was a presence to be reckoned with. Her voice was commanding, her playing sufficient and…

TROUT STEAK REVIVAL BRIGHTER EVERY DAY No Label No Number Brighter Every Day is the second album from Trout Steak Revival, a quintet from Colorado. Produced by Chris Pandolfi (Infamous Stringdusters), the recording is a clean and polished collection of ten songs and one instrumental (all originals). They seem to be striving for a sound…

STEEP RAVINE THE PEDESTRIAN No Label 8921142532 This trio’s The Pedestrian is a quick follow-up to their 2014 debut Trampin’ On. Hailing from the San Francisco Bay area, Steep Ravine brings another fresh crop of originals to the table with their collective influences of folk, jazz, pop, and funk, along with bluegrass. Jan Purat brings…

THE DAUPHINAIS BROTHERS EMPTY TEARDROPS No Label No Number    This is an instantly likeable album. There are no real holes in it; no point at which to reach for the skip button. Hearing this music immediately reminded me of the first time I heard the Gibson Brothers in the late 1990s. They too drew on…