Reviews

CHRIS THILE & EDGAR MEYER BASS & MANDOLIN Nonesuch Records 544735-2 Mandolinist Chris Thile and bassist Edgar Meyer are true titans of today’s acoustic music. This latest collaboration comes on the rapid hooves of The Goat Rodeo Sessions, their Grammy award-winning project with cellist Yo-Yo Ma and fiddler Stuart Duncan. As with that outstanding album,…

EIGHT DOLLAR MOUNTAIN TIED TO THE TRACKS No Label EDM 003 Eight Dollar Mountain’s third CD might be called Tied To The Tracks, but nothing in terms of enthusiasm or musicianship is held down or back. This Oregon-based band is a talented outfit especially successfully in rolling off the well-traveled bluegrass tracks into the new…

JIMMY GAUDREAU & MOONDI KLEIN IF I HAD A BOAT Rebel Records REB-CD-1853 If you’ve ever wondered what the old brother duos would sound like were they performing today, the new recording from Gaudreau and Klein (their third together) might provide a hint. There would be, of course, music that reflects more recent stylistic developments….

FRONT COUNTRY SAKE OF THE SOUND No Label No Number One of the highlights of IBMA’s World of Bluegrass for me is time spent at the California Bluegrass Association suite, and one of the highlights of time spent there is watching and learning about bands from the West Coast that are new to the scene….

THE WILLIS CLAN CHAPTER TWO: BOOTS No Label No Number For the second chapter of this family band’s musical book, they turn to the pages of old-time country and bluegrass. Chapter Two: Boots is the sequel to the Willis Clan’s debut album, Chapter One: Roots, focusing on traditional Irish music. You may recall this Irish-American…

BILLY STRINGS AND DON JULIN FIDDLE TUNE X No Label No Number Ordinarily, recordings with this many standards elicit a general yawn. What saves it is the technical skill level of the performers—Billy Strings on guitar and lead vocals and Don Julin on the mandolin and occasional harmony. What really saves it, lifting it to…