Jimbo Whaley has a combo CD/DVD project set for release this weekend, An Evening With Jimbo Whaley & Friends. It was recorded (filmed) live at the Smith Family Theater in Pigeon Forge, TN in March of this year, and the new release includes both an audio CD and a concert DVD of the show.

Whaley was a founding member of Pine Mountain Railroad, and performs now with Greenbrier. His songwriting and vocals were a distinctive part of the early PMR sound, and are the feature on the new live release as well.

An Evening With Jimbo Whaley & Friends will be officially released on May 19, where he and Greenbrier will be appearing at the Bloomin’ BBQ and Bluegrass Festival in Sevierville, TN.

The Enchantment, the upcoming banjo/piano duet recording from Chick Corea and Béla Fleck, which Brance briefly described earlier this month, is due for release May 22 on Concord Records.

The making of this highly-anticipated CD is the focus of a short (6 minute) film which can be viewed now on the Chick Corea site.

The film includes music from the CD throughout, but is more focused on interviews with the performers. Both Corea and Fleck describe (separately) how they approached composing and performing in the studio, and the difficulties they encountered trying to play appropriately in each other’s idiom.

A highlight for me was Corea describing his efforts to play “bluegrass piano” on one of Béla’s tunes, written in a traditional banjo style. After mentioning how Béla taught him the basic banjo groove, Corea indicated that this tune, Mountain, was one of his favorites on the CD.

“I’m into it, man. I’m into country. I’m into bluegrass.”

Watch the video, or listen to audio samples from the CD at chickcorea.com.

Corea and Fleck will also do some limited touring in June in support of The Enchantment. The dates can be found on the Béla Fleck site.

The Steep Canyon Rangers will celebrate the imminent release of their new recording, titled Lovin’ Pretty Women, this weekend in Ashville, NC. The band will be performing at The Grey Eagle in Ashville at 9 PM on Saturday the 19th.

Joining the band for this show will be guitarist Wyatt Rice. Wyatt contributed some guitar to the new recording as well as his engineering skills. Lovin’ Pretty Women was produced by Ronnie Bowman.

Tickets for the show are $10 advance/$12 day of show, and are available for purchase online via The Grey Eagle website.

This weekend’s show is a completely unofficial release party. The Steep Canyon Rangers will be taping a radio premiere for XM Radio later this month that will air in early July.

We’ll bring you more info about the new CD as it becomes available.

Wallace Lewis, one of the founders of bluegrass Gospel’s most enduring stage show, The Lewis Family, passed away yesterday afternoon (5/16). He was 78 years old.

He performed with brother Talmadge and Esley as The Lewis Brothers in the 1940s, occasionally including their youngest brother, “Little Roy,” still a young boy, on banjo. Their repertoire included country and square dance favorites.

The Lewis Family debuted in 1951, and included brothers Talmadge, Wallace and Little Roy, along with their sisters Miggie, Janis and Polly - and the patriarch Roy “Pop” Lewis.

Funeral arrangements for Wallace Lewis are expected to be announced shortly. Check The Lewis Family web site for more information.

BluegrasCountry.org is running an interview segment this next week with Russell Moore and Steve Dilling of IIIrd Tyme Out. Bob Webster, one of the hosts of BluegrassCountry’s Bluegrass Overnight show, talks with Russell and Steve about how the band got started, and how much they enjoy getting to meet and greet with their many loyal fans.

They also talk about their upcoming concert DVD, shot in 2005 at the time they recorded their most recent CD, Round III at the MAC.

The show will also include some live audio from a festival performance this past February.

The first airing of the interview was today (5/16) at 2:00 p.m. with rebroadcasts scheduled daily through the end of the month. You can check their schedule online, and look for the time slot each day for Special Programming.

Brad Davis is featured in the second half of a recent broadcast of Michael Jonathan’s Woodsongs Old Time Radio Hour. He was supported on the show by Flatpicking Guitar Magazine editor/publisher Dan Miller on bass, and brother, champion-picker Greg Davis on banjo.

They perform a number of songs from his most recent CD, This World Ain’t No Child, which also features contributions from such stellar artists as Earl Scruggs, Bela Fleck, Sam Bush, Rob Ickes - and Billy Bob Thornton.

You can watch the video of Brad’s appearance as a Windows Media file. Rounder artist Vienna Tang also performs.

We just heard from Greg Cahill, founder and fearless leader of Special Consensus.

Greg tells us that Ashby Frank has been hired as mandolinist and vocalist with the band, taking the spot to be vacated when Ron Spears departs to join Doyle Lawson & Quicksilver. Ashby had been working with Alecia Nugent, and had previously spent time with Ronnie Bowman and Marty Rabon.

Says Greg of their most recent member:

“We are very excited about having such a superb musician and friend join our ranks!”

A specific date for the switch has not been announced, but Ashby is expected to begin touring with Special C sometime this summer.

Yesterday (5/15) was also the official release date of the newest Special Consensus CD, The Trail Of Aching Hearts on Pinecastle Records which Brance previewed in a brief interview with Cahill this March.

You can find audio samples from The Trail Of Aching Hearts on the Special C MySpace page, or on the Pinecastle site. The CD is also available (with samples) in the iTunes Music Store.

UPDATE 4:10 p.m.: Ashby just emailed to tell us that his first gig with Special C will be June 13 at Bean Blossom.

In the first case I’m aware of involving a bluegrass artist, mandolinist David Grisman has filed suit against online video sharing website, YouTube. From large media conglomerates such as Viacom to soccer leagues, many have filed similar suits since Google’s recent acquisition of YouTube.

Grisman’s lawsuit seeks an unspecified amount of cash for copyright infringement, as well as a court order forcing YouTube to comply with copyright laws in the future. Grisman and company seek to pursue the case not only for themselves, but also for other independent musicians and publishers.

YouTube’s response to such cases has historically been that they always comply with requests to remove unauthorized material when asked to do so by the copyright owners, and are therefore protected under the Digital Millennium Copyright Act.

The suit was filed May 10, 2007 in a San Francisco federal court.

Some have pointed out the irony of someone who has always encouraged fans to bootleg his live performances now suing a video sharing site, but Grisman draws a distinction between fan bootlegs and “Google distribution.” Personally I don’t see much difference myself, since the fan bootlegs invariably end up online where they are distributed worldwide in the same way that YouTube clips are. But ultimately, as a copyright owner, it’s his right to decide when and where to allow use of his copyrighted works. But, you might ask, was a lawsuit really necessary?

Here’s part of the text from the suit.

they [Google and YouTube] deliberately refuse to take meaningful steps to deter the rampant infringing activity readily apparent on YouTube which would, in turn, have a negative impact on the advertising and other reviews and other value achieved through the large volume of traffic on the YouTube Web site.

Essentially the difference, as Grisman and company seem to be drawing it, is that YouTube, and by extension Google, is making money on the site where fans trading bootlegs aren’t. At least that’s the thought process, and I can go along with that. If he’s willing to give away, so to speak, his copyright by allowing fans to tape, that is different from someone seeking to monazite his copyrights without his consent.

I understand how he can be ok with live show taping, but not ok with YouTube video sharing. Other copyright owners might be ok with it though (I know some who are). So why try to take that choice away by forcing YouTube into a business model that wouldn’t allow it? Why not just ask YouTube to remove your works and, assuming they do, leave it at that?

Next Friday, May 25, voting members of the International Bluegrass Music Association can expect to start seeing their first round ballots for the 2007 International Bluegrass Music Awards.

The winners are determined in three ballots over the course of the summer, with the awards being announced at the IBMA Awards show on October 4 at The Grand Ole Opry House in Nashville. Voting membership is limited to people who work professionally in bluegrass music, on either a full or part time basis.

The balloting breaks down as follows, as per the IBMA site:

Advance ticket sales for the Awards Show will begin on May 21, with IBMA members having access to priority seating.

This past Sunday (5/13), The Evening Sun of Gettysburg, PA ran a detailed profile of the regular Friday night jam at The Arrow Horse in Gettysburg.

The weekly jam is hosted by Hank Janney, Arrow Horse owner, and bluegrass radio DJ for WGTY. He opened the store to offer antiques and collectibles, but has seen it develop into a bluegrass store since he opened 15 years ago.

“I had some bluegrass CDs to start with,” Janney said. “Then the bluegrass CDs started to take over and the antiques left.”

Those who go to the Arrow Horse for the jam sessions and to buy some bluegrass music call Janney an expert, but he doesn’t think so.

“I’m not an expert,” he said with a laugh. “But after following it for 50 years you have to know something.”

Read the full article - with photos and profiles on the jam and its participants - on The Evening Sun site.

UPDATE 5/17: We just got a note from Eric Trimmer, online editor for Eveningsun.com. He wanted to first point out that while they do cover the Gettysburg, PA market, the paper is actually located in Hanover, PA.

He also wanted to direct our attention to the multimedia slide show that was created to accompany the article online.

Be sure to take a look at The B, our reader-submitted news page here on The Bluegrass Blog. There are a number of new posts that are worthy of your attention.

In fact, you might consider taking a look there each time you pay us a visit.

Any registered user of The Bluegrass Blog can submit news items for The B, and registration is quick and free. Posts are moderated prior to publication, but all submissions that are germane to a discussion of bluegrass or acoustic music - and are not profane or abusive - will be approved.

We invite anyone with news to share with our readers to consider submitting it for The B. Event or product announcements, concert/festival reviews, or any bluegrass-related information which isn’t likely to find its way to the main page of The Bluegrass Blog is welcome on The B.

Registered users are also entitled to post comments to any posts, whetehr on the main page of The Bluegrass Blog or on The B.

Click here to register.

Steve Kaufman’s Acoustic Kamps have been in operation for 12 years now, teaching first only guitarists, but now also banjo and mandolin players in week long workshops in Maryville, TN. The “kamps” have grown from year to year, and have thrice been selected for the Best Workshops, Seminars and Camps award from the readers of Acoustic Guitar Magazine.

If you have wanted to attend but have been prevented by the costs, you should consider applying for the Dreadnaughts Unlimited Scholarship program before the deadline for 2007 falls on Thursday, May 17.

The DU official website describes their efforts this way:

Dreadnoughts Unlimited is a non-profit entity that has been established to provide scholarships to needy and eager musicians who will benefit from a week at Steve Kaufman’s Acoustic Kamp. We have awarded several scholarships over the last six years. The scholarships are funded mainly by individual donations.

A Gallagher Doc Watson guitar will be given away during this year’s Kamp, and everyone who makes a donation to the Scholarship Fund will be entered in the drawing.

You will find the application and further details on their website.

Jeff Weaver of The Rarely Herd will surely be among the millions of TV viewers glued to their sets tomorrow night when American Idol is broadcast on Fox. Arizona, a song he wrote and which The Herd recorded in 1992 on their Midnight Loneliness project, may be included during the Homecoming segment of the May 15 broadcast.

The produers of American Idol were looking for a song about the home state of finalist Jordin Sparks, who hails from Glendale, AZ. Weaver said that the call came from out of the blue.

“AI’s producer/music director called me Friday evening with an urgent request to get the rights to use the song Arizona. They were on the hunt for songs about Jordin’s home state, and ours came up…they liked it because it was uptempo and lively. At that time, the producer also stated that (so far) it was the only song that they had complete clearance to use, but did intended to use more than one (as background) during her feature.”

At this point, Jeff isn’t 100% sure that his song will be used on tomorrow night’s show, but will be watching with high hopes. You can find the lyrics and an audio sample for Arizona on The Rarely Herd web site.

“The lyrics had no particular or personal meaning. I just pointed a finger at a map, and wrote a song about it. In many of my songs, I just let the story evolve while writing. Another song titled Arizona John (on our Return Journey CD) was written the same way.”

It would be a fine thing to hear bluegrass music on such a popular program, so let’s hope the banjos ring out tomorrow night on American Idol.

The 30th Anniversary compilation CD from The Dry Branch Fire Squad which Richard Thompson wrote about last month is due for release tomorrow (5/15).

Carrying the appropriate title of 30th Anniversary Special, the CD contains 21 tracks taken from earlier releases over the course of the band’s thirty year career, plus 4 previously unreleased tracks.

Audio samples for each track are now posted on the Rounder Records site, with online ordering enabled.

The Lewis Family have a new compilation project due for release this month on Daywind Records.

The CD is entitled Handpicked, and includes their very favorite tracks from previous releases, fourteen in all. The CD booklet also features comments about each song, and why it was selected for this compilation.

The tracks include: A Rose In A Bible, You Can’t Stop Time, He Still Looks Over Me, Walking And Talking, Angels Gathering Flowers, When Our Lord Shall Come Again, Above And Beyond, If We Ever Needed The Lord Before (We Sho Do Need Him Now).

There is no release date shown on the Daywind site, but the CD is available for ordering now from The Lewis Family site.

This post comes from our semi-regular correspondent, Richard Thompson. He writes from England, where he is also a longstanding contributor to British Bluegrass News, a quarterly print publication where he also briefly served as editor.

Recently we reported on the then forthcoming birthday party held to commemorate Wade Mainer’s landmark birthday. Subsequently, a first-hand report has appeared in in a local Michigan newspaper, The Flint Journal.

In addition a couple of the many people who attended Wade Mainer’s 100th birthday party have been good enough to share with me their recollections of the event.

Firstly, musicologist Dick Spottswood remembers the day thus:

“Wade’s party on April 21 was a memorable affair. Spring is just becoming visible in central Michigan, and Saturday’s warm sunshine was a welcome relief from recent winter excesses. Friends and family came from across the country to be there, providing an extra dimension to an already joyful occasion.

Many good regional bands showed up to pay tribute to Wade and Julia from the stage at the Fenton, Michigan Community Center, aided by out of town performers Tracy Schwarz, Ginny Hawker, and David Holt. Letters and awards poured in from the National Endowment for the Arts, Michigan governor Jennifer Granholm, and Senators Levin and Stabinow, among numerous others. Unfortunately many people were turned away for lack of space, but those who got in were privileged to see Wade, Julia with their friend and colleague Virgil Shouse supporting them on bass. The Mainers were cheerfully energized and held forth for an hour as we heard great music and watched the years temporarily fade away. Both were in terrific voice; their singing and Wade’s banjo playing provided a time machine that transported us all back through the decades. I’m glad the fire marshals were feeling lenient, because the hall couldn’t have accommodated any more standees.

Even I got into the act when people learned that I’d prepared the article Wade Mainer: The First Hundred Years for the current (April) issue of Bluegrass Unlimited and the booklet that accompanies Wade’s recent Gusto 2 CD release I’m Not Looking Backward that includes all the Mainer King material from 1946 through 1961, re-mastered from original tapes and acetate discs. Standing near the stage, I was signing autographs while the Mainers were holding forth, and it was fun to feel like a minor celebrity for a little while.

Predictably the Mainers are being besieged with offers to perform, and they have to figure out which ones they can handle. Either way they’re pleased that demand for their artistry continues and that their own good health and spirits will allow them to keep active. Stay tuned for further developments, and another hundred years!” (more…)

For those interested in the single mic technique used by some bluegrass performers, the Bluegrass Wales website has an interesting article posted about this much used technique.

The article covers the history and techniques involved in using a single mic for live bluegrass performance. The article begins with a history of the microphone and progresses through a discussion of current day uses. It covers the type of microphones currently used for the technique, along with answers to typical problems with the technique, and performance tips for bands wanting to employ the technique in their stage show.

The article is well thought out and well written. Take 10 minutes and read it at BluegrassWales.org.

Not long ago I discovered a band that caught my attention. Rabbi John is a New Timey (their term) band from the UK. The quartet describe themselves as a fusion of bluegrass, folk, and old time music all tied together with a fresh modern sound.

The band consists of Paul Bienek on clawhammer (mostly) banjo and lead vocals, Becky Dellow on fiddle, Duncan Kingson on bass, and Jason Titley on guitar.

I’m a pretty hard core bluegrass fan and not normally much for old time music. Rabbi John caught my ear though. I think it had something to do with their drive, musicianship, Bienek’s soulful vocals, and the aggressive nature of their music along with interesting arrangements. Not to mention the great tone they all pull on their respective instruments.

I was able to contact Jason Titley, he’s one fine guitar player btw, and ask him a few questions about the band.

When was Rabbi John formed?

This is our 3rd year now so 2004.

What was the catalyst that prompted the formation?

The meeting between Becky the Fiddle player and Myself, I had left the band “Daily Planet” in 2000 and had been looking for a project with more singing and met Becky at a dinner party and then roped in Paul on banjo and an old comrade from the planet Duncan on bass.

One question that is sure to pop into people’s heads is about the band name. Where did the name, Rabbi John, come from?

The name is from a tune that our banjo player wrote on discovering he was adopted with a catholic father and a jewish mother.

How would you define the band’s place in the acoustic music scene?

As I’m sure you have seen from the web site, we like to call it “New Timey” music. We play mostly festivals (bluegrass and folk) and arts centres and I would say we are one of the tighter and more exciting bands on the scene in the UK writing nearly all of our own material now.

You are UK based, yes?

Yes, based in Gloucestershire near Bristol.

Do you have any plans to tour in the US?

We all have young families and I don’t think that will happen anytime soon. I would love to come over again with this band having toured twice in the US with the Daily Planet playing such festivals as Telluride and Happy Jack and met such great musicians who are now friends as Tim O Brien, David Grier, Tony Furtado and Matt Flinner not to mention all the wonderful kind hearted people who made our stay such a memorable time.

Somebody convince these guys to come to the states so I can take in a show. Or feel free to send me there, either way’s OK with me!

Take the time to go check out their website and listen to some of their music.

Jason tells me they are working on a new CD that will be out later this year. I’ll be sure to let you all know when it’s available.

We heard recently from Michael Hedrick, who hosts a 4 hour bluegrass radio show each Saturday on WMTN in Morristown, TN. They broadcast at AM 1300, but Michael asked us to also invite bluegrass lovers all over the world to join him online every Saturday from 8:00 a.m. to noon (eastern).

The audio should stream when you load their site, but if not, they also offer a .m3u stream suitable for streaming via iTunes.

Any bluegrass radio host whose show is available online is invited to contact us so that we can pass along details to potential listeners all over the world.

Richard Harrington has a nice piece in this morning’s Washington Post on the current Alison Krauss & Union Station tour featuring the music - and the person - of Tony Rice.

“My love and admiration for Tony goes back to what made me really want to play music,” Krauss says, recalling recently that she heard his early records as a teenager, when she was immersed in classical violin. “My whole concept of music itself came alive because of Tony.

“The singing and the playing are so shockingly beautiful,” Krauss says from her Nashville home. “But for me, more than anything, it was Tony’s production of the songs that he chose to sing, and the kind of person he portrayed, and portrays, himself to be in the choices he makes musically. His records are the textbooks for me. Tony is the epitome of the kind of things that I would want to be someday — that’s my desire as a musician, to reach for that.”

Read the full article at washingtonpost.com.

Thanks to reader and friend Mark Byrum for the heads up.