Every once in a while a CD comes along that just stuns me. Just before Thanksgiving the new CD by Jamie Dailey and Darrin Vincent landed in my mailbox. I had been anticipating this CD ever since Jamie told me they were recording. I’ll admit that Jamie has been one of my favorite singers since I first heard him with Doyle Lawson & Quicksilver.

The Dailey & Vincent CD lived up to every expectation I had, and then some. I knew I was going to like Jamie’s singing, and I expected he would choose good songs. I had no idea the band would sound this good. The band members are all great players, but the ensemble is so much stronger than any individual, these guys really understand what it means to be a band.

Jamie handles the rhythm guitar work and lead vocals on seven of the twelve tunes. The other five songs are led by Darrin Vincent who is also playing bass, and at times some guitar. As the name implies, these two guys form the core of the group, when not singing lead, each adds flawless harmony vocals. In addition, they’ve surrounded themselves with some other great players.

Jeff Parker, formerly of Lonesome River Band, is the mandolin player and also contributes harmony vocals. Those familiar with Parker will know that he is one of the best harmony singers in the business, and his ability to blend perfectly with Darrin and Jamie contributes to the outstanding quality of the vocals on this record.

Joe Dean is a young man with a bright future ahead of him. He played banjo with Bull Harman & Bull’s Eye before joining Dailey & Vincent. Though he is the youngest and least experienced member of the band, his banjo playing is mature, tasteful, and flawlessly timed. I was very impressed with this young man’s playing on this record. And as a surprise to me, he adds the bass vocal to a gospel quartet song.

Since the recording was finished, Adam Haynes has been added to the band as the fiddle player. Adam has played with such noted bluegrass acts as David Parmley and Continental Divide, and most recently, The James King Band.

Adam wasn’t a part of the band while the CD was being recorded, and so they called on the talents of (more…)

We also heard last week from Fred Carpenter, who runs The Violin Shop in Nashville. He shared some of his plans for IBMA week later this month, which will include their participation during the Grand Masters Fiddle Contest (9/28-29), and a special concert at the shop that Monday.

The show on September 25 will feature Tim O’Brien and Stuart Duncan, with support from Bryan Sutton and Dennis Crouch. There will be two shows that evening, at 7:00 and 9:00 p.m., with both shows taped for Volume II of their live Violin Shop concerts on DVD.

We posted about the first volume when it was released earlier this summer. That concert DVD features Andy Leftwich, Bruce Molsky, Aubrey Haynie, Jim Van Cleve and Bobby Hicks on fiddles, with contributions from Ronnie Bowman, Ron Stewart, Alan Bibey and several other fine pickers and singers.

Fred says that he really has no set release date for the Duncan/O’Brien concert DVD, but expects it will be in the first half of 2007. Details will surely appear on The Violin Shop site as they are clarified.

Fiddlers, and fans of fiddle music in the Nashville area, have made a point to catch the occasional concerts held at The Violin Shop on Old Hickory Boulevard. The shows are always intimate, performed with no amplification in a 60 seat music room, and dependably spontaneous and improvisational.

A collection of these concert performances have now been assembled on DVD, featuring some of bluegrass music’s finest fiddlers. Andy Leftwich, Jim VanCleve, Aubrey Haynie and Bruce Molsky are showcased on The Violin Shop Concert Series, Vol. 1. Guests and supporting players on the DVD include veteran fiddler Bobby Hicks, as well as Ronnie Bowman, Byron House, Cody Kilby, Wyatt Rice, Charlie Cushman, Alan Bibey, Kent Blanton, Adam Steffey, Clay Jones, Ron Stewart, Jason Moore, and Steve Gulley.

The Violin Shop is run by Fred Carpenter, and is both a favored repair facility for Nashville fiddlers, and their local meeting place as well. Carpenter spent several years as a member of The Tony Rice Unit while also serving a violin building apprenticeship in California. He moved to Nashville in 1987, and opened The Violin Shop while also touring with Emmy Lou Harris. His repair and restoration staff at the shop has grown over the years, and Fred now focuses on buying and selling fine violins. He remains active as a player touring with Kathy Mattea.

Carpenter said that there was never an intention to either record these live shows, or release them on DVD.

“My intention with the concerts was just to build a room where we could have some fun shows. Jeff Wyatt Wilson, a Nashville filmmaker, happened to come to the Violin Shop the day before our first show, looking for 3 seconds of fiddle playing for a documentary he was working on. We got to talking, one thing led to another, and this project just became what it is as the discussions evolved.”

The DVDs can be purchased on The Violin Shop web site.

Multi-instrumentalist Justin Moses has announced a June 13th release date for his first solo project, Dusty Roads. After leaving a group he help found in 2000, Blue Moon Rising, he spent a short time with Sierra Hull & Highway 111. He has recently rejoined Blue Moon Rising.

Keith Garrett, Steve Gulley, Bryon House, and Andy Leftwich are all guests on Justin’s self produced and arranged album.

From the press release:

In addition to playing mandolin, banjo, fiddle, guitar, Dobro and bass, Justin also composed seven tunes on the CD. He makes his lead vocal debut on two cuts, One More Hill and He”ll Be with You, both featuring Mountain Heart”s” Steve Gulley on exceptional tenor vocals. The emotional story told in Heart of Alabama is one of the two cuts featuring the phenomenal lead vocals of Keith Garrett of Blue Moon Rising. Garrett comments, “Justin is one of the best multi-instrumentalists I”ve ever known. He”s put together a great collection of tasteful tunes and it was a pleasure to be a part of this album.”

Audio clips are available on Justin’s website. He also has a myspace account.

We posted last month about what is sure to be an exciting new instrumental outfit, composed of dobro wizard Rob Ickes, mandolin/fiddle prodigy Andy Leftwich, and Nashville session bass stalwart Dave Pomeroy. The band, who describe themselves as a “jamgrass acoustic power trio,” is called Three Ring Circle, and their debut, self-titled recording will be released in just a few weeks’ time on Earwave Records.

The new CD contains everything from adventurous improvisation romps written by the three soloists, to a lovely, lyrical retelling of Stevie Wonder’s Isn’t She Lovely as a dobro feature. Audio samples from each of the ten tracks can be found on their web site.

Despite their commitments to busy touring responsibilities - Ickes with Blue Highway, Leftwich with Ricky Skaggs & Kentucky Thunder, and Pomeroy in the studio - Three Ring Circle will do some live appearances, as scheduling allows. Find more info about shows on their site as well.

The band is offering a pre-release special with orders being received before March 21 being eligible for free shipping to addresses in the US and Canada.

Three Ring Circle is the name of a new CD - and a new trio - featuring dobro wizard Rob Ickes of Blue Highway, mandolin/fiddle wunderkind Andy Leftwich of Ricky Skaggs & Kentucky Thunder, and Nashville studio stalwart Dave Pomeroy on bass. The CD will be released on Earwave Records in March 2006, and will feature original material written within the group, as well as their reworked arrangements of some classic tunes.

Rob tells us that he is very excited about getting to record and perform with Andy and Dave, and to “stretch out” a bit on some challenging and innovative original instrumental music. They spent a year and a half writing and recording for the new project, as time could be found amidst their busy schedules with their primary performance vehicles.

Look for them in some limited engagements coming up in anticipation of the CD release. They will be at The Station Inn in Nashville on February 23 and March 23, and in Chattanooga, TN on February 17 at the Barking Legs Theater. They expect to add more dates as the CD release draw near, so keep an eye on Rob’s or Dave’s sites for more info.