Reviews

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…

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…

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…

TIM AND SAVANNAH FINCH WITH THE EASTMAN STRING BAND ’NEATH THE MIDNIGHT SKY No Label No Number Tim and Savannah Finch form the basis of the Eastman String Band, whose additional members include Stefan Custodi (bass) and Jon Glik (fiddle). Additional artists on this project include John Miller (guitar), Fred Travers (resonator guitar), Katie Chambers…

FLETCHER BRIGHT AND BILL EVANS, WITH SPECIAL GUESTS NORMAN & NANCY BLAKE SONGS THAT ARE MOSTLY OLDER THAN US Native & Fine Records 906-11 “Thank goodness there are only three parts,” says Fletcher Bright as he kicks off the old-time fiddle tune “Elzic’s Farewell.” I mentally responded, “How could anyone tell, Fletcher, since all fiddle…

TRADITIONAL BLUEGRASS FIDDLE SOLOS BY ANNIE STANNIC No Label, No Number. (www.anniestaninec.com) Staninec is an Oregon-based fiddler who is making quite a name for herself, appearing on recordings by Laurie Lewis and Kathy Kallick, among others. In this book, she has transcribed 46 fiddle solos from a wide range of fiddlers including Kenny Baker, Curly Ray…