John Cowan has always been something of a maverick in, and on the fringes of the bluegrass music world.

His first introduction to bluegrass fans came when he joined New Grass Revival in 1974, where he held forth as bass player and lead vocalist until the group disbanded in 1990. Championed by legions of remaining fans, NGR pushed their share of boundaries, and John’s rock and blues-inflected vocals shaped much of their distinctive sound.

Since then, he has worked with Sam Bush, The Doobie Brothers and others while continuing to release solo projects, eventually forming his own group, The John Cowan Band, whose recording career began in 2002. Cowan’s band and his current sound owe much to the “newgrass style” he helped pioneer, and his road show reflects that vibe as well.

His latest release, Comfort & Joy, was released October 13 on Koch Records, and it may come as a surprise to a lot of his fans. It’s a Christmas CD that pairs John’s soaring vocals with some familiar and beloved favorites, arranged for acoustic stringed instruments.

John shared some thoughts with us about the CD, starting with what led him to this theme.

“It was an idea that had been floating around since I sang Please Come Home for Christmas by Charles Brown for a Christmas record produced by Chuck Rhodes last year for Koch records. I had been very familiar with Charles’ original version, though most people nowadays may associate that song with The Eagles. I really enjoyed it, and it sort of set me to thinking about a Christmas CD.”

I wondered if it struck him as odd to be recording Christmas music “out of season.”

“Perhaps, but music is everything to me, it’s mostly what I think about 24/7. Other than it being early July, it was just part of the creative process for all of us.”

Speaking of “all of us,” I asked who recorded with John for Comfort & Joy.

“Our band, primarily: Jeff Autry on acoustic guitar and vocals, John Frazier on mandolin and vocals, Shad Cobb on fiddle and vocals, and our wonderful drummer Bryon Larrance. We had quite a few guests: Charlie Chadwick on upright bass, John Mock on gut-string guitar and pennywhistle, Jim Hoke on autoharp, Kenny Malone on percussion, Tom Britt on acoustic finger-picked guitar/slide. (more…)

Here’s a surprising change of pace…

John Cowan, known for decades for his blues and rock-inflected take on newgrass and Americana music, had recorded a Christmas CD for Koch Records. The project is titled Comfort & Joy, and it is due for release on October 13.

The tracks include an interesting mix of older and newer songs:

• Christmas Everyday
• What Child Is This?
• The Christmas Song
• Little Match Girl
• O Holy Night
• Good News
• Silent Night
• God Rest Ye Merry Gentlemen
• I’ll Be Home For Christmas
• Let’s Make A Baby King
• Ave Maria
• Go Tell It On The Mountain

I have admired Cowan’s voice since I first caught him with Newgrass Revival in the ’70s, and am eager to hear his his take on Ave Maria and O Holy Night, both very demanding pieces for a vocalist.

John is now accepting dates during the holiday season for a special family Christmas show. Contact Keith Case & Associates for details.

Multiple updates after the jump…

It seems that the very promising series of projects announced last fall to commemorate The Bluegrass Hotel in Louisville, KY is falling victim to poor communication and inattention to detail.

After discussions with Bill Millet, one of the chief coordinators of the concert and other related projects, we posted at length about them on The Bluegrass Blog. There is to be a benefit concert in Louisville, with proceeds going to support the American Cancer Society, plus an audio CD, a coffee table book and a concert DVD.

In that report, we indicated (per Bill Millet) that Sam Bush was to be a co-producer of the audio CD, which would include new music recorded by him, Tony Rice, Dan Crary, JD Crowe, Curtis Burch and John Cowan, all scheduled to perform on the 3/20 concert.

We posted yesterday that Sam Bush would not, in fact, be involved, and that a statement from his attorney would be forthcoming. It is reproduced below.

Sam Bush announced last week that he will not be participating in the Bluegrass Hotel Project and will not be performing at the festival in Louisville, KY on March 20, 2009.  There has been considerable misinformation and falsehoods disseminated regarding Sam’s decision, and it is time to set the record straight.

First, Sam will not be performing at the festival.  For many weeks, the Producer of the Project has used Sam’s name and likeness without his permission.  Despite being advised of Sam’s decision on March  5th, the Bluegrass Hotel website continues to list Sam as one of the featured performers.  The website’s information is not correct.

Further, Sam’s decision not to perform had absolutely nothing to do with money.  Contrary to statements posted on the internet by the Project’s Producer, Sam has never requested to be paid anything, including what is being fraudulently reported as requiring a $10,000.00 fee as an executive producer.  Any statements to the contrary are false.

For several weeks, now months, Sam had been unsuccessful in his attempts to obtain information relating to the Project’s financial and legal structure and unable to substantiate that all necessary agreements, clearances, and approvals had been obtained for completion of the Project.  Accordingly, after extensive consultation with legal council, Sam reluctantly decided he could not go forth in such a manner of chaos and liability.

The statement from the Bluegrass Hotel referenced above begins with a ominous lead, and proceeds to the charge denied above.

Sam Bush is a cancer survivor and his father recently passed away from the diseases. New Grass Revival founder Courtney Johnson also died from cancer.

The Bluegrass Hotel has been attempting to negotiate an agreement with Sam Bush since Jan. 2008, but paying him a fee to perform at a benefit concert for the American Cancer Society was not included in the terms. Therefore it came as a surprise to receive notification from Sam Bush’s manager at the 11th hour informing The Bluegrass Hotel Project that unless Sam was paid a $10,000 fee to perform at the benefit concert for the American Cancer Society on March 20 at the Galt House, Sam would be pulled from the concert. (more…)

The John Cowan Band has announced the addition of a new member, Bryon Larrance on drums.

Bryon grew up in Tennessee, but shipped off to the northeastern US to study at The New England Conservatory and the Manhattan School Of Music before settling down in Nashville.

Larrance joins Cowan on bass and vocals, with John Frazier on mandolin, Shadd Cobb on fiddle, Jeff Autry on guitar. He first auditioned with John during the summer of ‘08, and dd his first show with the band in November.

“It has been several years since John has used a drummer. Before me, Noam Pikelny played banjo in the band.

I had never been in a bluegrass band, although this group’s repertoire is much wider than bluegrass. We do some fiddle tunes, but we also do some Stevie Wonder and Charlie Parker covers. My background is more in jazz, so dynamically that is where I’m pulling from.”

I asked Bryon if this sort of ensemble had caused him to experiment with the approach to percussion he has taken prior to joining up with Cowan.

“As far a experimenting that is a big YES. We spend lots of time rehearsing which is all about experimenting and trying different stuff.  I’m using 4 different kinds of brushes, an upright Cuban cajon and a traditional jazz set up. It’s a blast!!!”

You can follow The John Cowan Band’s tour schedule online.