DANIEL GREESON

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 he needs, and he doesn’t play the ones that don’t need played. He shows more taste than most, including some well-established fiddlers. His backup band is up to the task, including the very talented banjo player, Brennen Ernst, Taylor Baker on mandolin, Marshall Wilborn on bass, Danny Knicely on guitar, mandolin, and fiddle, and Casey Driscoll on fiddle.

This is a program of bluegrass fiddle classics drawing from all of the renowned sources including Monroe, Bob Wills, Howdy Forrester, Benny Martin, and Kenny Baker. The young man wielding the bow here is accomplished and takes on each tune with skill and ease. “The Old Brown County Barn,” one of Monroe’s numerous tunes, kicks things off. Another highlight is the high-riding Frank Malloy tune, “Magic Melody Reel.” Fine versions of “Jerusalem Ridge” and “Snowflake Reel” show off this young fiddler’s talents. Casey Driscoll joins him on second fiddle for four numbers, where they nearly get as many harmony notes as Bobby Hicks does on “Maiden’s Prayer.” Taylor Baker’s mandolin is always tasteful, as is Danny Knicely’s guitar playing. The added treat is hearing the highly-articulated banjo playing of Brennen Ernst. He captures the melody completely with an uncommon discretion. His playing is reminiscent of other underrated banjo talents such as Tommy Neal and Kyle Dean Smith, both masters of the melody, while driving the tune with authority. This is a fine recording by a promising young talent. We should certainly be hearing much more from this young man. (Patuxent Music, P.O. Box 572, Rockville, MD 20848, www.pxrec.com.)RCB