Rounder Records has brought back a couple of classic recordings from 1978, capturing a moment when what we might call progressive bluegrass music was still in the process of defining itself. Both albums are brimming with innovative ideas, and should be of interest to all bluegrass fans, perhaps most particularly banjo players.

In 2009, Béla Fleck’s name is familiar to music lovers all over the world, both in and out of bluegrass. In 1978, however, he was a teenaged phenom, just coming to the attention of… well, anybody not following the minutia of banjomania.

For most folks, even those who had heard rumblings of this mega-talented youngster from “up north”, Tasty Licks’ self-titled debut on Rounder was their first taste of Béla’s burgeoning banjo revolution.

When this album first hit on LP, the “names’ on the album were mandolinist Jack Tottle and resonator guitarist, Stacy Phillips, both of whom had prior Rounder projects and popular instructional books on the market. Though Tottle and Phillips have gone on to make lasting contributions to our music, this reissue’s import is now focused on its glimpse of the young Béla Fleck.

Rounding out the group were Robin Kincaid on guitar and Paul Kahn on bass. This album was billed as “Northern bluegrass” when it was released in ‘78, as the band was based in Boston, MA, at a time when this was worthy of note on its own. Bobby Hicks also provides fiddle on two tracks.

Butch Robins has a hard-earned reputation as a raconteur, envelope-pusher and controversialist. He is also, of course, a banjo innovator whose impact might have rivaled that of Fleck, had his music been more widely heard. Butch spent many formative years playing with Bill Monroe, an apprenticeship that informs his approach to music, none less than Monroe’s constant admonition to “make your own sound.”

Fragments Of My Imagicnation offers a fascinating look at Butch as he is transitioning from a more traditional Scruggs-style player to the sort of inventive, groundbreaking picker that fully emerged on his later releases Forty Years Late and Grounded, Centered, Focused.

On Fragments he was joined by then New Grass Revival members Curtis Burch, John Cowan and Sam Bush, plus a second banjo cameo from Béla himself. Butch had played bass briefly when New Grass was starting up. Can you imagine where they would have gone had he been the banjo picker from the start?

Both of these reissues are being offered as digital downloads in iTunes, with audio CDs available exclusively from Amazon.com.

• Tasty Licks – iTunes Amazon.com
• Fragments Of My Imagicnation – iTunes Amazon.com

Ed Dye passed away in the early hours of yesterday (3/18), he was 72 years old.

Born in Montgomery, Alabama, he is noted as delivering newspapers to Hank Williams’ mother. Dye was a renowned master of the world’s oldest instrument, the bones. In a show biz career that he claimed to have started in 1936, he traveled far and wide, entertaining audiences with humorous songs and zany stage antics.

During the 1980s and 1990s, Dye spent some time in Nashville, Tennessee, where he mingled with the city’s bluegrass musicians. He helped to form The Blue Grass Band with Alan O’Bryant and Blaine Sprouse. Later, he led the Nashville Jug Band, a group that recorded an album for Rounder in 1987.

For a while he was a regular member of the Tuesday night gatherings of sidemen at The Station Inn. It was with that loose aggregation of musicians that Dye recorded his show stopping signature tune, Alabama Jubilee. [The Sidemen Almost Live At The Station Inn; 1994]

There is a more extensive review of Dye’s life on the Highway 61 Radio website, which also has a YouTube clip of Dye performing Statesborrough Blues.

John adds: I chanced to meet this morning with Butch Robins, who performed with Ed in The Blue Grass Band, and knew him well. Butch spoke to Ed just a short time ago, and he shared with me a number of colorful stories which I won’t go into here. Ed figures prominently in Butch’s controversial memoir, What I Know ‘Bout What I Know, and the book is the perfect place to find those road tales from the ’70s and ’80s.

Butch described Ed as something of a lost soul, who never really found a role for himself in this world. He had trained as an actor, and was actually up for the part of Napoleon Solo in the 1960s hit television show, Man From U.N.C.L.E., which ultimately went to Robert Vaughn.

After losing out on that part, Dye fell into TV production, working on The Dick Cavett Show among others, before drifting into the music business and eventually moving to Nashville. His role in The Bluegrass Band and other acts was primarily that of a comedian and front man, though he often played resonator guitar on stage.

Ed had been quite ill this past few months, suffering from a cancer that moved from his lungs to his spine.

I had a chance last week to hear some rough mixes from a new project Butch Robins is recording. The music and the arrangements are interesting and exceptionally well-played, and as per usual, Butch is breaking new ground.

A great many bluegrass followers remember Butch for his time as banjo player with Bill Monroe, for his seminal albums 40 Years Late and Grounded, Centered, Focused, or for his recent (2003) book, What I Know ‘Bout What I Know. Butch has never been one to shy away from doing things his way, and his strong, heartfelt opinions have won him both serious fans and detractors throughout the bluegrass world.

This upcoming, as-yet-untitled project has been several years in the making, with a great variety of musical styles from one track to the next. I heard an incendiary banjo/fiddle duet with Michael Cleveland on Lee Highway Blues, and a lovely pop-inflected Christmas song Butch recently wrote. The fiddle tune could not have been more traditionally played, though with an unconventional structure – running through three different versions at increasing speeds, complete with a spoken dialog between the two musicians. The Christmas song featured multiple orchestrated banjo parts behind a vocal with a lighthearted, upbeat vibe.

I heard the rhythm tracks for several other songs, again built with layered banjo parts. These weren’t typical “harmony banjo” parts, but multiple banjo voicings in the accompaniment, used to great effect. Butch’s banjo tone is lovely, and his playing is flawless.

With Butch Robins, you never know what to expect – except that it will challenge preconceptions. Fans of his fine banjo playing will want to be looking out for this release, as will anyone who is interested in new ways of using a banjo.

No firm release date has been set, as additional tracking and mixing is still in the works.

March 1, 2007 is the last date to take advantage of the early registration discount for the 2007 Smoky Mountain Banjo Academy. The event, held each spring near Gatlinburg, TN (hosted by Jack Hatfield), is scheduled this year from April 20-22. A $50 discount is offered for early registration.

Over the course of 3 days, more than 16 banjo instructors will conduct dozens of small classes and demonstrations, arranged by skill level, and offered for both old time and bluegrass banjo styles. There is also a faculty concert, a student banjo competition and plenty of organized and free-form jamming.

The faculty for SMBA ‘07 is rich with well known players and teachers: Eddie Adcock, Jason Bales, Dave Ball, Gary Davis, Janet Davis, Jack Hatfield, Bill Keith, Andy King, John Lawless, Randal Morton, James McKinney, Tom Nechville, Ken Perlman, Butch Robins, Rick Sampson and Snuffy Smith.

The name is apt, as everything takes place at the Wa-Floy Retreat, in the heart of The Smokies.

Find all the pertinent faculty, schedule and registration details on the SMBA web site.