Reviews

DANIEL GREESON Patuxent Music CD-254    Greeson first came to many folks’ attention with his work on the Close Kin project, Close Kin: Our Roots Run Deep. His chops are quite prevalent there, but, here, they are front and foremost. His tone is full and his intonation is spot-on. He gets all of the notes…

BUDDY MERRIAM AND BACK ROADS THE FARM Lily Pad Records #535  Buddy Merriam and Back Roads open their seventh recording with a gently-insistent, minor-key original called “New Echota.” With its descending chord pattern and droning ’60s rock-instrumental feel, it makes for a captivating introduction. Yes, it’s a little long given its repetitive form, but it…

KITTY AMARAL FIDDLE GEMS String Dreams SD-101 This young lady has been garnering attention with her fiddling over the past four years, even playing on the Grand Ole Opry about the time of this writing. Kitty moved with her family to the mountains of Southwest Virginia and came to know a fiddling neighbor, Jerry Correll….

THE CROWE BROTHERS FORTY YEARS OLD Mountain Fever Records MFR 141028 With the release of Forty Years Old, the Crowe Brothers, Josh and Wayne, do a nice job of straddling the line between country and bluegrass. Using bluegrass instrumentation (Wayne on bass, Josh on guitar, Steve Sutton on banjo and dojo, Brian Blaylock on mandolin,…

ART ROSENBAUM’S OLD-TIME BANJO BOOK BY ART ROSENBAUM Mel Bay MB30494DP. (Mel Bay, 4 Industrial Dr., Pacific, MO 63069, www.melbay.com.) This is an exciting new book and DVD from one of the modern masters of old-time banjo. Rosenbaum is retired from the University of Georgia after a long career as an art professor. He’s widely…

TURNING GROUND CELL OF MINE No Label No Number Eastern Kentucky is a place of pressure. Geologically and sociologically, the region is known for the power that comes from that pressure that makes for coal and great music. These fellows sure bring that power to their music. Racing out of the starting gate, the Arnett…