This record, mixing bluegrass with jazz, is a revelation. It features Norman Blake, Dave Holland, Vassar Clements and a cast of other virtuosos. The track “Sauerkraut ‘N Solar Energy” is a high energy landmark of superb musicianship -the tempo whips the musicians into a frenzy –and playing flat-out, not a note is misplaced. It’s an absolutely stunning display of artistry. Given the renewed interest in “Americana” and roots music, I’m surprised this record hasn’t been rediscovered, though it was an audiophile favorite back in the day.
The album was released on the Flying Fish label in 1975 and original copies are neither scarce nor expensive (try to find a copy with the separate page of ‘liner notes’ intact). It can also serve as an introduction to a number of other great records released on Flying Fish. The label was founded by Bruce Kaplan, a Chicago-based folklorist who was committed to releasing important folk, bluegrass and “ethnic” music that was unlikely to attract the attention of major commericial labels.
The players on this album are a sort of “supergroup” of different, overlapping genres: Norman Blake, at the vanguard of the bluegrass revival with numerous credits, having worked with Johnny Cash, Bob Dylan, and later, Alison Krauss and Robert Plant (including playing a significant role in the soundtrack of “Brother Where Are Thou?”); Vassar Clements, a virtuoso fiddler who mixed hillbilly music with “swing”; Tut Taylor, best known for his dobro playing and a Nashville fixture who died earlier this year; and Dave Holland, a UK bass player who worked with Miles Davis in the ‘60s, and a long list of big name traditional and modern jazz players and pop artists over the years. If you trace the discographies of the players, you’ll find some real riches too. (Jethro Burns was part of a comedic duo who was also a killer mandolin player).
The liner notes, written by album producer Hank Deane, give us a little more background on how this record came together. The musicians gathered in Nashville “because of our shared desire to record together. spontaneous and free.”
Some of their preceding work “approaches jazz on acoustic instruments” and:
there is a jazz bassist from london on john’s[1] new record. david holland… [whose] sense of timing is perfect. …have a recurring fantasy about wanting to hear david holland and vassar clements play together. improvise & communicate like stephane grappelly and django reinhardt…..get tired of waiting and decide to produce my own concert….day after concert we talk about phonograph records…. hey, let’s do a record in nashville with everybody….
There is a certain aspect to this album’s packaging that is a cross between a budget release and a private label pressing. In fact, it doesn’t even have a proper title! But not to worry. The vinyl itself is very high quality and the sonics are pretty straightforward, conveying the proceedings with clarity and immediacy. Few records capture master musicians in top form the way this one does. Forget genres for a minute. If the “bluegrass” or “jazz” characterizations are holding you back- it’s also swing and blues and just plain great musicianship. If you don’t know this record, you are in for a treat.
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[1] John Hartford