The perspective of the book focuses on the time when a new generation of musicians were taking bluegrass in new directions while many of the early pioneers were still active – and performing on the same festivals.

Phil has kindly agreed to allow us to display several images from the book.

    

Bluegrass Time includes a foreword by Rhonda Vincent, an introduction by bluegrass historian Fred Bartenstein, and extensive captions about the performers featured in the book. It is available in softcover for $25 from Phil’s web site, where you can also see several more images from the book.

The publication of the book coincides with the opening of a year-long exhibition of full size original prints at the International Bluegrass Music Museum in Owensboro, KY. There are 52 prints in this solo exhibition, all of which Mr. Zimmerman has donated to the museum’s permanent collection.

Also profiled in this issue is resonator guitarist Jerry Douglas, and a lengthy interview with noted guitar builder Jean Larrivee is included as well.

We have spoken highly of this glossy, full color quarterly in the past for its use of heavy, archival-quality paper and for the excellence of the writing and photography.

Subscription and single issue order information can be found on The Fretboard Journal web site.

Acoustic Disc is the label owned by David Grisman, and tracks from his many fine releases will be among the mandocentric offerings provide as free downloads. These files are in the MP3 format and a new one will be posted around 2:00 a.m. (EST) each day.

HT: Mandolin Cafe

This is by no means a bluegrass recording (obligatory disclaimer), but fans of the music of these two genre-defining acoustic artists are sure to be satisfied with the result. My own bias towards this project comes from the twin facts that I was a huge Lovin’ Spoonful fan as a young boy in the 60’s, and the impact that Grisman’s first Quintet album had on me as a young student of bluegrass and acoustic music in 1977.

The Spoonful was a pop sensation at the time, with Sebastian front and center, the group’s name having come from a Mississippi John Hurt song, Coffee Blues, which is included here. Grisman, of course, charted new territory with his Dawg music, but has always betrayed the heart and soul of bluegrass in everything he has done.

One of the great treats upon opening the CD case was finding photos of both Sebastian and Grisman from their “early days” not long after they met as students at New York University in the early 1960s. Grisman was deep into a study of bluegrass at the time while Sebastian was immersed in Delta blues, but the two became friends and even performed together as members of The Even Dozen Jug Band.

Though their careers went in different directions after college, they found themselves performing an impromptu duo set at a concert in 2005, an event that led directly to this new collaboration.

The tracks were cut a la Grisman’s Acoustic Disc formula – meaning everything was recorded live in the studio, sans overdubs. There is a very raw, and ultimately satisfying appeal to this CD, and this may be a big part of it.

Look for Satisfied to be released on November 6, though it does seem to be available for download sale (MP3 and FLAC) at livedownloads.com.

Over the years Jon has recorded with a number of other bluegrass legends including David Grisman, Frank Wakefield, Peter Rowan, the Forbes Family, Dave Evans, Paul Adkins, Walter Hensley, Bob and Danny Paisley, and more.

Sadly, Jon is now in the hospital due to liver failure. This makes the third time this year he has been hospitalized. Like many other musicians, Jon does not health insurance and is faced with rising medial bills. In the midst of this, he is in need of a liver transplant if he is to survive.

The bluegrass community is coming together in an effort to assist this beloved fiddle player. A fund has been started to raise money for the transplant and to help offset his medical expenses.

Several things are being done to raise money for the fund.

A benefit concert is being held on Friday, October 19, from 7:00-11:00 PM. The concert takes place at The Arcadia Fire Hall, in Arcadia, MD. Admission is $35 at the door. Performers include The Del McCoury Band, David Grisman, David Grier, and The Forbes Family.

Eastman Strings has kindly donated a beautiful 904 D Mandolin to be raffled off at the concert, with all proceeds going directly to Jon’s medical fund.

James Reams, Walter Hensley & The Barons of Bluegrass are donating all proceeds (during the month of October) from the sale of the CD Wild Card, featuring Jon Glik on fiddle, to Jon’s medical fund. To order the CD, they ask that you mail a check for $15, made out to Jon Glik Medical Fund, to Mountain Redbird Music, 565 9th Street, Brooklyn, NY 11215. They ask that you also include $1 in cash or postage stamps to cover shipping costs.

You may also contribute directly to the fund by sending a check to Jon’s sister, Barbara Glik. Again, the check should be made out to Jon Glik Medical Fund, and mailed to:

Barbara Glik
P.O. Box 4005
Annapolis, MD 21403

Let’s all pull together and help one of our own in his time of need.

A great example will be on display at next weekend’s Hardly Strictly Bluegrass festival in San Francisco, CA. When The David Grisman Experience performs on this free, 3 day festival on October 7 in Golden Gate Park, David will welcome Curly Seckler to join him on stage.

Curly had a hand in shaping the way bluegrass tenor is sung, and is widely regarded as being as influential in the earliest days as Bill Monroe or Ralph Stanley. Not only did he record more than 100 tracks with Flatt & Scruggs during his 12 years with the band, he also wrote several of their most memorable songs, like No Mother Or Dad and That Old Book of Mine.

Curly performed as a member of Lester Flatt and The Nashville Grass from 1973 until Lester’s passing in ‘79, and then fronted the band himself up to his retirement in 1994. He didn’t retire completely, however, and marked the year 2004 – his 70th in bluegrass music – by recording a total of 28 tracks, released as two CDs on the Copper Creek label (hear audio samples in iTunes).

Later that same year, he was inducted into the IBMA Hall of Honor, and gave a memorable performance at the 2004 awards show.

You can find more details about the Hardly Strictly Bluegrass festival on their web site. Austin City Limits will be filming at the festival, and we sure hope that Curly will make the cut and appear when the footage is aired.

Three cheers for Curly Seckler – and for David Grisman as well!

What’s more, he’s extended the suit to include eight online download services which have distributed the music provided to them by Universal and Warner. The eight include Apple’s iTunes, AOL Music Now, Buy.com, Microsoft’s MSN.com, Napster, RealNetworks’ Rhapsody, WalMart.com, and Yahoo Music. He finds them guilty by association. That’s going to be a hard sell in my opinion because these services always pay to the label, who then distributes royalties to the artist. It seems to me his complaint should be with the two labels he signed contracts with to distribute his music.

The filing claims that “irreparable injury” has been done to Dawg Music by this situation and Grisman is seeking $150,000 for every work whose copyright was violated. Taken as a whole and spread across all the defendants, this would equal millions of dollars.

It seems Grisman has a contract with Universal and Warner, but his complaint is that they took on themselves authority that wasn’t granted to them by the contract. I’ve seen some pretty vague wording in some record contracts offered to artists by the labels that would give the label the right to “all future media” or some such. This could be one of the cases. I think Grisman needs to focus on his contract with the labels in question. I really don’t think he has any case against the online retail outlets.

Grisman’s lawsuit seeks an unspecified amount of cash for copyright infringement, as well as a court order forcing YouTube to comply with copyright laws in the future. Grisman and company seek to pursue the case not only for themselves, but also for other independent musicians and publishers.

YouTube’s response to such cases has historically been that they always comply with requests to remove unauthorized material when asked to do so by the copyright owners, and are therefore protected under the Digital Millennium Copyright Act.

The suit was filed May 10, 2007 in a San Francisco federal court.

Some have pointed out the irony of someone who has always encouraged fans to bootleg his live performances now suing a video sharing site, but Grisman draws a distinction between fan bootlegs and “Google distribution.” Personally I don’t see much difference myself, since the fan bootlegs invariably end up online where they are distributed worldwide in the same way that YouTube clips are. But ultimately, as a copyright owner, it’s his right to decide when and where to allow use of his copyrighted works. But, you might ask, was a lawsuit really necessary?

Here’s part of the text from the suit.

they [Google and YouTube] deliberately refuse to take meaningful steps to deter the rampant infringing activity readily apparent on YouTube which would, in turn, have a negative impact on the advertising and other reviews and other value achieved through the large volume of traffic on the YouTube Web site.

Essentially the difference, as Grisman and company seem to be drawing it, is that YouTube, and by extension Google, is making money on the site where fans trading bootlegs aren’t. At least that’s the thought process, and I can go along with that. If he’s willing to give away, so to speak, his copyright by allowing fans to tape, that is different from someone seeking to monazite his copyrights without his consent.

I understand how he can be ok with live show taping, but not ok with YouTube video sharing. Other copyright owners might be ok with it though (I know some who are). So why try to take that choice away by forcing YouTube into a business model that wouldn’t allow it? Why not just ask YouTube to remove your works and, assuming they do, leave it at that?

Frank has been working as a professional musician since he was in his teens, doing clubs and sessions in and around his native New York City. He recorded and toured with a number of big selling artists, but drew attention to himself when he launched a Hot Club Of France tribute band in 1988, a group which has been credited as sparking the resurgence of interest in the music of Django Reinhardt in the United States.

He started a recording career with Concord Jazz in 1993, and released several projects there and on other labels, but captured the attention of acoustic music fans as a member of Mark O’Connor’s Hot Swing group. He has a CD with Casey Dreissen and Matt Flinner called Gyspy Grass which mixes bluegrass and Django-inspired influences.

Vignola has also produced a number of instructional projects for Mel Bay, including books, CDs, DVDs and downloadable video lessons. Frank’s newest CD, Vignola Plays Gershwin, is on the Mel Bay label.

Samples of Frank Vignola’s music can be found in the iTunes Music Store, and on his web site.

The tour schedule for The David Grisman Quinet can be found on their site.

The first auction was for an autographed Martin DXM guitar. The second auction was an autographed Tony Rice model Santa Cruz guitar. Friday evening the third, and final, instrument went up for auction on ebay.

This time it’s a mandolin. An “F Style” Liddy Mandolin featuring a fern peghead inlay and tobacco sunburst finish. The instrument is sporting autographs by Ricky Skaggs, Sam Bush, Ronnie McCoury, Doyle Lawson, David Grisman, Marty Stuart and more.

Once again this instrument and the accompanying case have been provided by Smoky Mountain Guitars in Pigeon Forge, TN.

The bidding began Friday evening February 16th, and will continue through the auction’s closing date of Sunday February 25th, at 6PM EST.

More photos of the instrument are available on the ebay auction page.

If you are a Rhapsody subscriber, you can find it here. If you aren’t a subscriber, you can still download the Rhapsody software for free, and listen to up to 20 songs each month at no charge.

It’s a great way to ring in the New Year in a rip-roaring bluegrass style.

On behalf of both Brance and myself, The Bluegrass Blog wishes our readers all over the world a happy, healthy and prosperous new year! We hope that 2007 is kind to you all, and that one year hence, you will find yourself well and in good spirits.

Read the full interview at jambands.com.

The IMAs recognizes excellence in Music, Music Promotion, Packaging and Merch Design. The program’s year-long marketing campaigns, partnerships and distribution alliances put IMA Winners and Finalists in front of millions of music fans and industry decision makers around the world.

Some of the benefits awarded to winners are:

• Featured in the 2007 edition of The Musician’s Atlas
• Artists info will be posted on the IMA online jukeboxes. The jukeboxes also include clickable links to artist websites.
• More than 9 million Borders Books and Music customers, music fans and industry pros will be directed to the IMA jukeboxes via targeted promotions throughout the year.
• Promoted in print, broadcast and online media campaigns.
• Their CDs will be available for sale at BordersStores.com.
• 10,000 copies of the IMA Winners CD will be distributed to music fans and industry movers and shakers at music conferences, festivals and other events throughout the year.
• The IMA CD compilation will be promoted to college radio stations throughout North America

Like Thile, Grisman was drawn to bluegrass music – and the mandolin – a very young age. Similarly, he developed a new sub-genre of more experimental string music that managed to draw in new fans, while also repelling others.

I well recall my first hearing of the debut recording from The David Grisman Quintet when it was released thirty years ago. It was a bit like my hearing JD Crowe’s “Old Home Place” Album (Rounder 0044) around the same time. I knew that the music I was new, powerful, and likely to have a far-reaching impact.

And so it has proven to be.

Grisman has chosen to celebrate this 30 year anniversary of the introduction of Dawg Music, as his early fans dubbed his new jazz-inflected string band style in the mid-1970s, with two new releases. Both will be released on his own label, Acoustic Disc, on October 3, and together they showcase his appreciation and passion for both traditional bluegrass and more adventurous acoustic string music.

We made a brief mention of DGBX, the CD from The David Grisman Bluegrass Experience, back in July. At the time, Brance simply saw a notice about the CD online, and neither of us had heard it. The group has served as Grisman’s outlet for bluegrass, and has performed sporadically over the past few years in the Bay Area of California, where the various members reside.

The group is composed of Grisman on mandolin, Keith Little on banjo, Jim Nunally on guitar, Chad Manning on fiddle, and Samson Grisman (David’s son) on bass. Folks who know Grisman’s music primarily from his jazzy work with his Quintet may be surprised by the sparse, very traditional, and sometimes almost pre-bluegrass sound of this recording.

The song choices include some bluegrass standards straight from Lester & Earl (Reuben, Down The Road), The Stanleys (Are You Afraid To Die, Dream Of The Miner’s Child), plus several that pre-date what most consider bluegrass. The Carter Family’s Engine 143 and Charlie Poole’s Baltimore Fire, plus a version of The Monroe Brothers’ I’m Rollin On, might all fall into that category.

Grisman also re-cut two of his signature songs, the jam-grass classic Old and In The Way, plus Dawgy Mountain Breakdown, familiar as the opening theme of the popular radio program, Car Talk.

Throughout, the music is performed in an understated manner, and the serious, studied appreciation these players have for the many musical forms that contributed to Monroe’s fusion of them into what became known as bluegrass music is clearly evident.

Pre-orders can be made from the Acoustic Disc site, and digital downloads are available now from livedownloads.com.

Also set for a 10/3 release is Dawg’s Groove, from the current iteration of the David Grsiman Quintet. Members include Jim Kerwin on bass, George Marsh on drums, Enrique Coria on guitar, Matt Eakle on flute and Grisman on mandolin.

The material is, as it usually is from DGQ, primarily composed by the members of the group. There is a fairly wide range of moods and styles on this CD, incorporating strong Celtic, jazz, bop, latin, swing and blues influences.

In keeping with Acoustic Disc’s reputation for audiophile recordings, Dawg’s Groove was recorded live, using an analog 2 track tape machine.

Like DGBX, Dawg’s Groove can be pre-ordered from Acoustic Disc, or downloaded now from livedownloads.com.

I just discovered a new release from David Grisman. It’s The David Grisman Bluegrass Experience. I don’t have much information about the recording other than the list of musicians who are featured on it.

• David Grisman: mandolin, vocals
• Keith Little: banjo, guitar, vocals
• Jim Nunally: guitar, vocals
• Chad Manning: fiddle
• Samson Grisman: bass

The CD is only available at a live performance of the David Grisman Bluegrass Experience, or via download from livedownloads.com

The Acoustic Disc downloads are being served by Livedownloads.com, a web site that is dedicated to connecting touring bands with their fan base, and fosters the direct sale of live show recordings via downloads. The site is operated by nugs.net, whose owner Brad Serling is often described as the “Johnny Appleseed of live concert downloads,” and a prominent figure in emerging video on demand technology. Livedownloads.com is supported by a number of popular “jam bands,” such as Yonder Mountain String Band, String Cheese Incident and Widespread Panic.

Fretboard Journal is published and edited by folks with many years of experience in music, magazines and acoustic instruments. They describe themselves and the new publication thusly:

The Fretboard Journal is an archival-quality, quarterly publication celebrating the culture of fretted musical instruments. We chronicle the most innovative instruments (mandolins, banjos, ukuleles and”?of course”?guitars) and instrument makers of the last 150 or so years; the best players; and the most interesting tales from the world of music. In addition, each issue boasts stories from the working musician”s perspective and never-before-seen photography. Basically, we”re the nerds in the guitar store who love sharing a yarn with fellow players and this is our outlet.

Subscription information is available on their web site.

Bluegrass fans “of a certain age” will recall the time in the 1970s when Jerry Garcia, guitarist with the then-underground rock band, The Grateful Dead, was making the rounds performing bluegrass as banjoist with a band called Old & In The Way. The group also included current and future legends David Grisman on mandolin and Vassar Clements on fiddle, plus former Bluegrass Boy and an emerging vocalist in his own right, Peter Rowan..

Long before the San Francisco acid rock scene that spawned The Dead, Garcia had been a serious student of bluegrass banjo and had known and performed with Grisman when they were younger. Dedicated deadheads know that Jerry was missing part of one finger of his right hand, and had developed a unique approach to banjo picking as a result.

Even now, many years after the band was last active, and Jerry Garcia’s death in 1995, Old & In The Way, and the one CD they recorded 30 years ago, is still credited with bringing new fans to bluegrass music.

We say all that in order to say this: Alan Dalton, a Florida banjo picker and instructor, has released a banjo songbook companion to the Old & In The Way CD from 1975, which includes lead sheets for each song, with guitar and banjo chords, plus banjo tab for most of Garcia’s breaks. Alan also includes a CD with the book, with him playing each of the banjo tabs, presumably at a slower speed.

Statman was a product of the folk and acoustic music flowering in the 1960s, coming of age in the active cultural environment of the Greenwich Village musical scene. He was raised in a family of professional musicians and cantors, and became fascinated in his teens with the sounds of bluegrass music – and the mandolin. A chance meeting with David Grisman turned into a opportunity for intense instruction on the instrument, and Grisman quickly recognized that he had a true prodigy on his hands.

Andy made a number of recordings with progressive New York area acoustic groups in the 1970s, including jaw dropping solos on projects for Tony Trischka and Russ Barrenburg which brought him to the attention of critics and fellow mandolinists alike. In recent years, Statman has dedicated more and more of his professional life to his other musical love, traditional klezmer music, which he performs brilliantly on the clarinet. Most of his recordings and performances have had that focus of late, and it is terrific news that he is offering his mandolin music again after so many years.

You can preview a few audio snippets from the new CD on Andy’s web site.