Reviews

OLD GROWTH QUARTET RIGHT SMACK IN THE MIDDLE OF TOWN No Label No Number Tasteful is the first word that Old Growth Quartet’s Right Smack In The Middle Of Town brings to mind. This group knows what it can do and what it shouldn’t do. That knowledge can take an ensemble a long way. For…

CZECH BLUEGRASS: NOTES FROM THE HEART OF EUROPE BY LEE BIDGOOD Univ. of Ill. Press 9780252083006. Foreword by Tony Trischka, paperback, b&w photos, 192 pp., $24.95. (Univ. of Ill. Press, 11030 S. Langley Ave., Chicago, IL 60628, press.uillinois.edu.) If you’re reading this in America, you certainly know about the great bluegrass that’s sprouted up around…

BRAD HUDSON NEXT NEW HEARTBREAK Pinecastle Records PRC 1212 Brad Hudson’s Next New Heartbreak is his first solo release, and the results here would indicate that this debut is not any too soon. Hudson sings lead and harmony on all but one vocal cut and plays resonator guitar, and he does an excellent job on…

KRISTY COX RICOCHET Mountain Fever MFR1801119 We truly may be living in a new Golden Age for bluegrass female vocalists. The reach of the music has extended clean across the world to Australia. Kristy Cox, a relative newcomer to the U.S. music scene, has made quite a splash since she hit the country. Her new…

THE WILDMANS WANDERING THOUGHTS Patuxent Music CD 302 Enter the young brother and sister duo, Eli and Aila Wildman. Their talent is without question. It shines through on their debut recording throughout a selection of eight standards in thirteen tracks. Both Eli, who plays some exceptionally clean and attacking mandolin, and Aila, who displays an…

WILSON BANJO COMPANY SPIRITS IN THE HILLS Bonfire BRC5001 This is the first release from this South Carolina band. Banjo builder Steve Wilson leads the group that includes Joey Newton on guitar and vocals and ETSU student Sarah Logan on fiddle and vocals. A visit to the their website indicates there have been numerous personnel…