Ivey is a highly-regarded and successful writer and producer who has won most every award available to him in the music business. His work has covered almost every imaginable genre and any medium where recorded music might be used.

This new project has Ivey in multiple roles. In addition to producing, engineering and mixing, he also provides lead and backing vocals, and plays guitar, mandolin, dobro and various percussion. Rounding out the rhythm section are Charlie Chadwick on bass, Richard Bailey on banjo, Andy Leftwich on mandolin, Rob Ickes on resonator guitar, and Shad Cobb on fiddle.

The 30 songs included on Bluegrass Worship were taken from among the most popular worship songs as ranked by the Contemporary Christian Licensing International Chart, along with several favorite hymns and 8 originals that Ivey wrote for this album.

All are arranged in what they describe as a fusion of bluegrass and newgrass. A full track listing and audio samples can be found on the Bluegrass Worship MySpace page, along with links to where the CDs can be purchased online.

Carpenter has worked with the Tony Rice Unit and with Emmylou Harris and the Hot Band. He is a recording artist in his own right.

In Spring 2005, Carpenter built a 50-seat concert room onto the side of his shop. In the Fall of that year he began promoting a series of concerts featuring, what else, fiddle players, and top names have rosined a bow there too. All concerts have been recorded on video.

It is the product of some of these first recordings that is featured on the first of the Fiddler Masters DVDs.

Appearing on this collection are Andy Leftwich (of Ricky Skaggs and Kentucky Thunder), old-time fiddle master Bruce Molsky, Jim VanCleve (of Mountain Heart), Bobby Hicks (possibly the top single fiddler to play both the bluegrass and western swing styles) and Aubrey Haynie (a regular with The Time Jumpers, a group made up of touring and studio musicians who enjoy jamming with each other at the Station Inn).

Molsky plays five pieces solo, including Last Of Gallahan and Peg & Awl, both on the fiddle, but switches to guitar for the tune Brothers & Sisters and the song Poor Cowboy. I cannot say how it was on the night that Molsky appeared at The Violin Shop, but the guitar interludes provide an enjoyable variation within the context of the video.

The other four fiddlers appear accompanied by their own pick-up band chosen from Byron House, Cody Kilby, Wyatt Rice, Charlie Cushman, Alan Bibey, Adam Steffey, Kent Blanton, Clay Jones, Ron Stewart, Jason Moore and Steve Gulley. It would be unfair to single out any of the support musicians for praise; all shine very brightly. While the setting is a showcase for fiddlers, each person called upon to take a break shows how superb they are at their craft.

VanCleve steps into spotlight on four occasions, performing his own #6 Barn Dance, the rollicking opener, Ride The Wild Turkey, and a barn-storming version of Big Mon.

Hicks appears just twice, playing two Monroe tunes including the twin fiddle show stopper Roanoke, which is played with Haynie on the other fiddle. What a night that must have been!

Haynie features on four other occasions, playing a couple of PD tunes, Red Wing and Ragtime Annie; and Arthur Smith’s Florida Blues and the western-swing favourite Maiden’s Prayer. A lovely set that tests Haynie’s versatility and he doesn’t disappoint.

Leftwich does four tunes also, two of which he composed himself; All Things New and Faultline. Topping the bill is his showcase piece, Stephane Grapelli’s Minor Swing. Leftwich switches to demonstrate how proficient he is on mandolin by playing that instrument on Over Cincinnati and Faultline. The former is briefly presented with a split screen, used while Cody Kilby plays a guitar solo.

Ronnie Bowman gets in on the act with the only song among the 20 pieces on this DVD, singing Love For An Angel, backed by VanCleve, Steffey, Stewart, Jones, Gulley and Moore.

The setting is intimate and the lighting emphasizes that intimacy with just a single light it would appear to pick out the soloist.

The camera work is professional with eight different camera-men used in all. Carpenter himself serves as Producer and shares with Jeff Wilson the roles of Director and Editor. They all should be very pleased with their work.

This set lasts 75 minutes and investment in this DVD will bring top quality musicianship and entertainment for all of that time. I’m now going to watch Volume II.

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 Andy Leftwich and Stuart Duncan to lay down the fiddle tracks. In addition to these two outstanding fiddlers, Bryan Sutton contributes guitar parts to three of the tracks, and Cody Kilby joins the band for one number on guitar.

This CD is absolutely the best bluegrass record I’ve heard in quite some time. The band dynamics and details of arrangement are a tribute to the lessons learned by Dailey and Vincent in their former jobs working for Doyle Lawson and Ricky Skaggs respectively. These two young men learned their lessons well and together they’ve created some great music.

The CD opens with a romping tune called Sweet Carrie. While this is a new song, it’s reminiscent of many classic bluegrass songs, speaking of spike driving and southern railroad lines. Moving along at a brake neck pace, propelled relentlessly by Joe Dean’s banjo and Jamie’s rhythm guitar, this song will get your blood pumping.

The second tune of the CD is the classic Jimmy Fortune song, More Than A Name On A Wall. You can read the story of their involvement with Fortune and this song here.

River of Time is a song Jamie says he was holding for 6 years waiting for the right time to record. I’m glad he chose now to cut this track, it’s one of my favorites on the CD. It’s a beautiful song, and the ending…wow!

By The Mark is a gospel song from the pens of David Rawlings and Gillian Welch. It is performed here as a duet with just Jamie and Darrin on guitar and mandolin. Sung in two part harmony for it’s entirety, the tune takes you back to the duo performances so common during the early years of bluegrass music.

Take Me Back (And Leave Me There) is another favorite of mine. This is a great song about the good old days and wanting to go back to them. How can you ask for more out a song that mentions “Grandma’s blue ribbon pickles?”

Another duet song worth mentioning is a Ronnie Bowman, Bob Minner, David Dunkley penned tune titled Music of the Mountains. Darrin sings lead on this one with Jamie laying a tenor part in on the choruses. The sparseness of the guitar/mandolin accompaniment is perfect for this song.

Here’s a complete list of the songs on the disc.

1. Sweet Carrie
2. More Than A Name On A Wall
3. Cumberland River
4. River Of Time
5. By The Mark
6. Poor Boy Workin’ Blues
7. Take Me Back (And Leave Me There)
8. My Savior Walks With Me Today
9. Don’t You Call My Name
10. I Believe
11. Music Of The Mountains
12. Place On Calvary

As is obvious from the song list, there are a good number of gospel songs on this CD, reflecting the strong Christian faith of both Jamie and Darrin. The CD presents a good mixture of secular and gospel tunes, that makes you feel as if you are listening to life with a bluegrass soundtrack.

Rounder has set the release date for the CD as January 29, 2008. The title of the CD is simply Dailey & Vincent.

While there are a lot of great CDs out there these days, Dailey & Vincent is as close to a perfect bluegrass CD as I think I’ve ever heard. With bands like this around, the future of bluegrass music is in good hands.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.