Fiery flatpicker Cody Kilby has released a new solo project, Many Roads Traveled. It’s the third album under his name, but the first since he has matured into a serious professional player.

The first two CDs were produced when Cody was 13 and 16 years old, and though his picking was impressive back then, what he has done with Ricky Skaggs& Kentucky Thunder this past seven years has cemented his name on the list of top guitarists in acoustic music.

The album has an instrumental focus, and the performances are stellar throughout. Cody plays all the guitars, and banjo, with help from Andy Leftwich and Adam Steffey on mandolin, Stuart Duncan and Luke Bulla on fiddle, Barry Bales, Mark Fain and Byron House on bass and Jerry Douglas on resonator guitar. Jim Mills also adds banjo on two tracks, and Bruce Hornsby is on piano for two more.

The six instrumental workouts are all Kilby originals.

The roster of guest vocalists shows how highly regarded Cody is in the bluegrass world. Singing lead on the five vocal numbers are Luke Bulla, Sally Jones, Ricky Skaggs, Rhonda Vincent and Jamie Dailey, with harmonies supplied by Alison Krauss, Cheryl and Sharon White, Paul Brewster and Darrin Vincent.

Cody also produced this project, which he released independently. Audio samples are available on his MySpace page and the CD can be purchased from his web site.

Great stuff.