TENNESSEE JED

TENNESSEE JED
PIMPGRASS

No Label
No Number

“Tennessee Jed” Fisher has put together a project of mostly original tunes that cover the gamut of bluegrass, country, R&B, and Americana. On this fifth effort, he’s gathered an impressive ensemble of stellar musicians. There’s Scott Vestal (banjo) and Todd Parks (bass) from the Sam Bush Band, Luke Bulla (fiddle) from Ricky Skaggs & Kentucky Thunder, Josh Shilling (keyboards) from Mountain Heart, Andy Hall (resonator guitar) from the Infamous Stringdusters, Patrick McAvinue (mandolin), Bob Mummert (percussion), and Aaron McCune (vocals) from Dailey & Vincent. Fisher takes the lead vocals with Bulla, Shilling, and McCune providing the harmonies.

Fisher’s originals span from up-tempo bluegrass to ballads to country and a little R&B. His songs include “Over The Mountain,” “Can’t Get There From Here,” the gospel “Sweet Relief,” and the working-man tribute “Sunup ’Til Sundown.” Speaking of R&B, Fisher’s own funky “Cells” is included, along with the Isley Brothers’ “Shout” and Prince’s “Kiss,” which features a nice falsetto from Fisher. “Opie’s Intermezzo” is a nice instrumental that features lots of fiddle, banjo, and mandolin from Bulla, Vestal, and McAvinue respectively. The songs arrangements are very good, providing some choice backup for Fisher’s vocals. The keyboards, drums, and percussion are added only where necessary, but aren’t dominant. This is a good edgy mix of music from Tennessee Jed. (www.tnjed.net)BF