It was around this time last year that we were telling you about a new CD by renowned jazz bassist Charlie Haden. Rambling Boy marked Haden’s return to his bluegrass/country roots.

Soon after, Haden was performing on the Grand Ole Opry. On November 17, 2009 he’s going to be putting on a very special concert at the Walt Disney Concert Hall in L.A. Presented by the LA Philharmonic, Haden will be performing with his family, including son-in-law funny man Jack Black, and some powerhouse bluegrass guests.

Dan Tyminski, Sam Bush, and Jerry Douglas will be joining the Haden clan for this show. It sound like a fun show.

Visit the LA Phil website for more information and ticketing info.

Charlie Daniels has worn a good many hats over his 50 years in the music business.

His first big hit came in 1973 with Uneasy Rider, a countryfied talking blues, years before the rap craze began. The hilarious song, following on the recent success of the Dennis Hopper film, Easy Rider, told the tale of a stranded, long-haired motorist who stumbles into the wrong bar looking for a phone in the deep South. It was a hit primarily in the rock music world, with a story that appealed to the “hippie” culture more than the country music world of the day, where Merle Haggard’s Okie From Muskogee had been a 1969 hit.

In 1978, Daniels’ Devil Went Down To Georgia was an even bigger hit, mixing a rock beat with an old time fiddle in a timeless story of dueling with the devil. Charlie worked the southern rock scene for many years, but always as a fiercely independent artist who went his own way. As pop and country formats moved away from his signature sound, he formed his own label, Blue Hat Records, and has released new projects annually, without regard for radio play.

In 2005, Charlie released his first bluegrass CD, Songs From The Longleaf Pines, featuring Earl Scruggs, The Del McCoury Band, Mac Wiseman, Doc Watson, Ricky Skaggs and Chris Thile. Since then, two other releases have featured substantial bluegrass content, while it is also included in his live show.

For the end of 2009, Daniels has a new CD/DVD project with a bluegrass Christmass theme. Joy To The World – A Bluegrass Christmas has an audio CD with 12 new studio tracks and a DVD with 10 live performances of the songs from the CD. The Grascals join Charlie for Christmas Time’s A Comin’, Dan Tyminski is on hand for The Christmas Song, and Kathy Mattea for O Come All Ye Faithful – on both discs.

Other guests include Aaron Tippin, Jewel, and Suzanne and Evelyn Cox.

Audio samples can be heard in iTunes, and the CD/DVD set is available from the Charlie Daniels web site and wherever recorded music is sold online.

C.F. Martin introduced their latest custom, artist signature guitar this past weekend at the Summer NAMM show in Nashville.

It’s the D-28 Dan Tyminski Custom Edition, made to resemble his classic 1946 herringbone, the one he has used on the road for years with Alison Krauss, and fronting his own band. It is made with an Adirondack spruce top, Indian rosewood back and sides, and a mahogany neck with ebony fingerboard and bridge

Dan is also featured in the July ‘09 edition of Martin’s Sounding Board Newsletter, which includes a more detailed description of the guitar.

Back and sides of East Indian rosewood combine with a top of Adirondack spruce for warm, ringing tone, impressive projection and extraordinary headroom. A comfortable genuine mahogany 1 11/16″ (at the nut) “modified V” neck with long diamond volute contributes to player comfort, while the black ebony fingerboard and belly bridge add classic beauty and longevity.

Tyminski makes his namesake Custom Edition his own with distinctive details sure to appeal to flatpickers. Scalloped 5/16″ Adirondack spruce top braces cross in the non-forward “rear-shifted” position to provide uncommon balance and clarity. Special 2 1/4″ string spacing at the bridge and hand polished “bull nose” (i.e., rounded) fret ends speed both strums and runs.

The appointments are equally distinctive: bold pattern herringbone around the top, a headstock featuring Martin’s Golden Era¬Æ decal logo on a polished East Indian rosewood headplate, Martin’s historic pressure stamp on the back and nickel Waverly‚Ñ¢ tuners with oval buttons. Long/Wide Pattern “Diamond & Squares” abalone pearl fingerboard position markers run from the 3rd fret to the 17th fret, with a unique, oversized “wide diamond” at the 9th fret.

The Tyminski D-28 carries a retail price of $5149.00, with a Geib-style case. Complete product specs can be found on the Martin site.

Bluegrass music has had no shortage of funny men down through the years. From Stringbean to Wichita Rutherford, bluegrass fans have been able to enjoy a good laugh along with the music.

Jack Black is a funny man for sure. He’s been through the School of Rock. Now he’s taken up an interest in bluegrass music.

Black’s father-in-law is jazz bass legend Charlie Haden. In September of 2008 Haden released a CD by the title Rambling Boy. The CD includes Haden’s family & friends, and is accordingly subtitled. The CD takes Haden back to his roots of bluegrass, folk, and old time country music. Featuring songs such as Single Girl, Married Girl, Wildwood Flower, A Tramp On The Street, and Shenandoah, the CD features all four of Haden’s children.

The original plan had not included any performance by son-in-law Black, but when he heard the mixes, he took an interest in the instrumental version of Old Joe Clark, asking if there were any lyrics to it. Soon enough, Black had laid down a vocal track to the tune that became part of the finished production.

I wasn’t sure what to expect because I haven’t recorded or really sung any old songs like that before, bluegrass style, but it came very naturally and I cranked it out in two takes.

There was something in the music that I think struck a chord in my DNA. I think I’ve got some hillbilly in my roots. … I’m already practising my square dancing if we play the Grand Ole Opry.

The “friends” part of the CD includes performances by Vince Gill, Dan Tyminski, Sam Bush, Jerry Douglas, and Ricky Skaggs.

In fact, the iTunes version of the disc includes an exclusive bonus track of Hold What Ya Got, recorded with Ricky Skaggs and his family, The Whites.

The mini-site for the project, hadenfamilyandfriends.com features audio samples and a video introduction to the project, including footage of Sam Bush, Jerry Douglas, Stuart Duncan, Bryan Sutton, and of course Skaggs himself.

You can read more about Jack Black’s involvement at this link.

HT: The Australian Bluegrass Blog