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AL JONES & THE SPRUCE MOUNTAIN BOYS HARD CORE BLUEGRASS Patuxent Music CD-249 The name Al Jones brings to mind several albums he cut with partner Frank Necessary in the 1980s. Jones was a major influence on the traditional bluegrass scene in the Washington, D.C., area starting in the 1960s, having performed with Earl Taylor’s…

KATHY BARWICK BRAEBURN FGM Records FGM-237    On this, her second solo CD, Kathy Barwick enhances her growing reputation as a sensitive and imaginative interpreter of American and Celtic fiddle tunes. Playing guitar, resonator guitar, banjo, mandolin, Weissenborn guitar, and even bass, the former All Girl Boy from central California has assembled another stellar collection…

THE DOWNHILL BLUEGRASS BAND WONDERLAND Limestone House Music LHM024    Often it seems the voice of a singer can influence the type of song he/she writes. And so it is with the Downhill Bluegrass Band. On their fifth release, the songwriting is divided almost fifty/fifty between mandolinist Jonas Kjellgren (six) and guitarist Mikael Grund (five),…

EBBY JEWELL & THE BLUEGRASS KINSMEN RENEWAL TBK Recordings TBK-2014-001 This if the fifth album from this Virginia band. Upon Shelby Jewell’s retirement from the band, his brother Ebby and Ebby’s wife, Teresa, took over. They wrote all of the material on this release, with picking help from Darrell Webb on guitar and mandolin, Greg…

LYNDA DAWSON AND PATTIE HOPKINS TRADITIONAL DUETS No Label No Number    Their bluegrass band, Kickin’ Grass, was supposed to showcase at IBMA in 2012, but the rest of the band couldn’t make it. So Lynda Dawson and Pattie Hopkins decided to perform there as a duo. That led to a tour and now this…

VARIOUS ARTISTS THE PATUXENT BANJO PROJECT: THE BEST OF WASHINGTON, DC/BALTIMORE, MD/NORTHERN VIRGINIA/SOUTHERN PENNSYLVANIA Patuxent Music CD-250    Where to begin? Perhaps it’s best to start with an overview of what’s here. That would be forty tunes (half are originals; the rest are traditional or covers), one each from forty-two banjo players (two tracks are…