Reviews

A short while I ago, I interviewed Jerry Douglas for BU about his induction into the IBMA Hall of Fame and in a side conversation that did not make the article, we talked about one of the things he tried to bring to the genre other than musicianship, and that was the desire to produce…

Virginia native Rebecca Frazier is a first-rate singer and flatpicker with lightning fast fingers and a sweet, sultry voice that’s utterly captivating.  On her new Compass Records release, Boarding Windows in Paradise, she really comes into her own with a clear vision as a songwriter and a renewed dedication to her vocal and flatpicking artistry. …

In the liner notes to this worthy 20-cut reissue on the Patuxent label, illustrious banjo master Alan Munde recalls buying and being bowled over with these recordings back in the early 1960s. “In these early performances Bill Emerson demonstrates all the things one looks for in a model of superb bluegrass banjo playing,” Munde writes….

A great writer, no matter what format, songs or stories will not only be able to turn a phrase in a way that catches your ear, but will use that skill to catch your heart as well. A great writer will more often than not remind you of what you already know, but do that…

As a youngster in Yucaipa, California, Sonia Shell discovered the banjo. Today, she’s a sought-after musician and in-demand instructor on the California scene.   Shell’s fine new album serves as a “how-to” of sorts. She clearly enjoys the public domain classics, uses them in her instruction and has included a fair number of them here…

Mac Martin is considered to be one of the pioneers of bluegrass music. Growing up in the Philadelphia, Pennsylvania area, he learned to play guitar and perform locally. After high school and a term in the Navy, he formed the Pike County Boys in the late 1940’s and later formed the Dixie Travelers around 1955….