WAMC Performing Arts Studio
News and Reviews
| BLUEGRASS TROUPE SHOWS MASTERY By David Malachowski, Special to the Times Union (First published in the Times Union of Albany, NY: Monday, January 12, 2004) Braving biting cold weather, the Southern All-Stars, a "one-time-only" group of bluegrass giants graced the WAMC Performing Arts Studio stage Sunday afternoon for two sparkling sets, the first of which was broadcast live on WAMC's "Bluegrass Time" with Nick Barr. Tooling through New England and New York on a brief tour, these Southerners might have been wondering why they left the relative warmth of their home states to play in the finger-numbing cold. That said, they sure seemed to be enjoying themselves. Armed with a collection of wonderfully worn and faded wood instruments, Dudley Connell (Johnson Mountain Boys) on guitar, Carl Jackson (legendary producer) on banjo, Don Rigsby (J.D. Crowe, Lonesome River Band) on mandolin, Mark Schatz (Nickel Creek) on bass and Ron Stewart (J.D. Crowe) on fiddle all took the stage and quickly proved they were a musical force to be reckoned with, kicking off with a brief banjo breakdown before taking turns on lead vocal chores. Rigsby turned in a jaw-dropping rendering of Bill Monroe's "Kentucky Waltz," then Schatz came up front and played banjo claw-hammer style on his own composition, "Calgary." He later showed his dancing prowess as Stewart threw down on the fiddle. Rigsby offered a chilling hymn, "Lead Me to the Road That's Higher Than I" a cappella, evoking such spiritual force that those in the audience were surely exempt from attending church that day. Soon Jackson sang story song "In His Hands" about his heroes Chet Atkins, Mickey Mantle, Faulkner, Hemingway and Jesus, Stewart took the lead vocal duties on "The Girl I Love Don't Pay Me No Mind," while Connell brought Dave Van Ronk's "Duncan and Brady" to life. The show's highlight, hands down, was one of Jackson's own songs called "When Love is All You Want, It's All You Need," an emotional tune about love, devotion and destiny, which he performed alone with his guitar. To disperse the lingering serious mood, they all then chimed in with some one-liners; "That would bring a tear to a glass eye," and "That would make ya bring back stuff ya never stole" in a deep drawl. Jim and Jesse's "Just Wondering Why" and Jackson's gorgeous "Little Mountain Church House" were both mighty fine, "I'm Blue and Lonesome Too" had Rigsby's stratospheric voice up in the rafters and the crowd jumping and hollering, as yet another breakneck breakdown closed the night. Given the temporary nature of the ensemble, their chemistry was uncanny, the pickin' impeccable and the rich tones of the vintage instruments simply staggering. Back to News and Reviews |
| Used with permission of the Times Union of Albany, NY. Re-use rights may not be assigned to a third party without prior written permission from the Times Union. |