Notes of Life
Eddie Lightner is a Baltimore, Maryland, native who became enamored with the mandolin after hearing and watching players like Ronnie McCoury and Chris Thile. He became good enough to spend time playing with the Baltimore Mandolin Orchestra. He also performed around the East Coast with the FolkenPhunk band.
On this project, Lightner (mandolin, vocal) is accompanied by Gina Furtado (banjo), Malia Furtado (fiddle), Matthew Zuckerman (resonator guitar), Chris Blauciak (upright bass) and Chris Henry (guitar). Six of the songs are originals from Lightner including “No Brakes,” “Watermelon Moon,” “Back to The Mountains,” “What Took You So Long,” the jazzy “Kaleidoscope of Sound” and the title cut. Then there is Mel Tillis’s “Walk On Boy” and the project closes with the old instrumental standard “Daybreak In Dixie.”
While Lightner has a pleasant voice, it is his skilled mandolin delivery that shines best. With Chris Henry overseeing the recording sessions, the arrangements are cleverly mixed, keeping with the bluegrass basics while allowing the others to fill out each selection making this a nice debut release. Lightner relocated to San Diego, California, in 2020 where he continues to perform and compose his music.
