David Grisman, Sam Bush - Hold on We're Strummin

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Music reviews of Hold on We're Strummin

Music Review: Superb musicianship
Rating: 5 Stars

About the only question is the material. When players at the level of Grisman and Bush decide to make art together, the material chosen, it seems to me, becomes one of the few real variables. I've picked up more than one CD with equal promise, listened to it once or twice, then put it on the shelf-just because the material doesn't cut it for me. I'm glad to say that's not the case here.

I always listen once before I read the notes, and as I did so, what struck me was the fact that I was not recognizing the tunes-or precious few of them. Of course I recognized the tunes in the old-time medley, and I had heard Grisman play "Daniel Boone" with Jake Henry last fall in Portland, but the others were new to me. Fact is, they were new to everybody: Twelve of the tunes on this 70-plus-minute CD are brand new, and 11 of those were co-authored by Bush and Grisman. It boggles the imagination to think of how the two must have got together and explored on another's creativity for-days, weeks, longer?-to develop this superb set.

And, in spite of the fact that the album was a "sure thing," I was still surprised by the quality. Maybe I was expecting something more overtly hot, something more along the lines of a "Can You Do This?" style of superpicker collage. If so, I underestimated these two and their sense of ensemble playing. The feel of the album reminded me a little of the material that John Hartford was doing with his studio productions in the `80s. This is not hot-jam music: it's tastefully textured string band music, much of it with carefully worked out harmonies, performed at moderate tempos. Oddly enough, I mentioned the Hartford comparison to Jake Henry, who had already bought his own copy before my review copy came, and he told me that the name of the first tune is "Hartford's Real." So maybe we're talking about influence as well as a common musical heritage.

That said, let me add right away that, yes, the Latin and world music influences that color so much of Grisman's recent DGQ work is here, and these players are clearly accustomed to playing for audiences that expect six- or eight- or ten-minute jam-outs instead of our three-minute bluegrass vehicles. Also, a bluegrass afficionado like myself was stretched a little by the jazz and pop chord structures. But,overall the music is not far out in any negative sense, and none of it is hot for the sake of heat. It's not bluegrass, but it is beautiful string band music that demonstrates both traditional and contemporary influences. If you can imagine the material that Norman Blake was putting together with the many versions of the Rising Fawn
String Ensemble (before he went the "singer of old songs" route), then make the harmonizations more complex and use a little more rhythmic variation, you have some of the vibe that this CD creates.

Here's an example of one of my favorite touches. "Sea Breeze" a tune I would call light jazz, ends with the musicians quoting "Sally Goodin'" variations. They run this cut almost seamlessly-completely without spin-up time-into. the next number, which begins with Dawg frailing the banjo and continues with a medley of old-time banjo and fiddle duets. This manner of taking an old-time musical heritage and pushing it further along a different line of development is typical of the sort of innovations these artists create.

So maybe it's a little late for a review of this album. But for those of you who didn't buy it on faith last fall, let this be your reminder to put it on your list. If you like mandolin music and string band music and don't mind the fact that it doesn't sound like southern Ohio bluegrass in 1969 (that's the tough one for me), it's time to hit the road to Cartwright's and spend your allowance. (Bill Jolliff, reviewer, Nwbluegrass Yahoogroup)

Description of Hold on We're Strummin

Close friends since 1965 when Grisman put his Lloyd Loar mandolin in a teenaged Bush's hands, this most dynamic string duo has created an acoustic tour de force. This historic release features nine new Sam & David originals, showcasing the psychic interplay and stylistic fluidity that has permeated their stellar careers. Guest artists appearing include Doc Watson accompanist, Jack Lawrence, Enrique Coria and Jim Kerwin of the David Grisman Quintet and the legendary Hal Blaine on drums.

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