Reviews

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….

As this impressive album attests, the Grascals, with 20 years of history, and members coming and going (and in the case of founding member Jamie Johnson, coming back again), are still going as strong as ever. They come blazing out of the chute with a salute to the Osborne Brothers, who’ve had an indelible influence…

Singer/songwriter Rick Lang follows up his IBMA award-winning CD, Gonna Sing, Gonna Shout with another all-star ensemble of musicians on Blue Collar Gospel (Billy Blue Records). The magical vocal pairings for the 11-cut project including Becky Buller and Nathan Woodard (“Rise Above It All”), Dave Adkins with Alecia Nugent and Jerry Salley (“Old Rugged Me”), Barry Abernathy featuring John…