Happy Valley
It’s always exciting when an eminently talented newcomer like Ellis emerges on the scene. This East Tennessee mandolin prodigy wrote these instrumental tunes when he was just twelve years old and recorded them only a year or so later.
As a reference point, he picked up the instrument at age ten and not long afterward had already advanced enough to study under Sierra Hull, courtesy of a Tennessee Folklife apprenticeship. Along the way he’s performed with everyone from Billy Strings and Molly Tuttle to Peter Rowan and Marty Stuart.
For his debut album, recorded at the Tractor Shed studio outside Nashville and produced by Justin Moses, Ellis chose to partner with an extensive list of his mandolin “heroes.” Featured here are Hull, Marty Stuart, Dominick Leslie, Scott Napier, Alan Bibey, David McLaughlin, Mike Compton, Danny Roberts, Lauren Price Napier, Christopher Henry and David Harvey.
These mandolin greats are aptly supported by luminaries like Jason Carter (fiddle), Deannie Richardson (fiddle), Jake Workman (guitar), Cory Walker (banjo), Justin Moses (guitar and banjo), Michael Cleveland (fiddle), and Mike Bub (bass). No surprise, the picking is stellar throughout.
This twelve-song collection kicks off with a sprightly, spark-flying duet with Stuart on a tune called “Blue Smoke.” On the moody “Two Rivers Waltz,” Ellis takes a turn on fiddle using an instrument once owned by Vassar Clements as he trades licks with Carter and Richardson. It’s particularly fascinating to note the subtle variations as Ellis interacts with the unique individual styles of his varied mandolin collaborators.
Equally impressive are Ellis’s original tunes, which reflect a deep love for the natural beauty of his homeland in East Tennessee. Uplifting selections like the title cut, “Grassy Cove,” “Whites Creek,” “Wildwood,” “Sandy Gap” and “Johnson Mountain Blues” evoke and celebrate the magic of these idyllic and inspirational locales.
