You may not know the name Bryan Sutton, but you’ve almost certainly heard his work. A former member of Ricky Skaggs’ Kentucky Thunder, Sutton, just 27, has quickly established himself as one of Nashville’s most sought-after session guitarists, appearing on everything from the Dixie Chicks’ Fly to Hayseed’s Melic. And he’s a key member of the all-star band backing Dolly Parton on her recent bluegrass disc The Grass Is Blue.
Though his roots are in bluegrass, Sutton, a lightning-fast picker in the Tony Rice mode, can play just about anything on acoustic guitar and mandolin. Ready To Go, his debut recording on the Sugar Hill label, covers a lot of stylistic ground, from old-timey mountain music to a bluegrass take on U2 (with singer Jeff White playing the role of a down-home Bono on “When Love Comes To Town”, weighted more toward blues than grass). Sutton even proves his jazz chops on a couple of swing-era classics, “Lady Be Good” and “Minor Swing”, with young fiddle star Aubrey Haynie playing Stephane Grappelli to Sutton’s Django Reinhardt.
Dolly’s on hand, too, for a stirring guest vocal spot on her “Smoky Mountain Memories.” Other guests include Ricky Skaggs, the Nashville Bluegrass Band’s Pat Enright, gospel singers Becky and Sonya Isaacs, and Sutton’s father Jerry, who joins him on rhythm guitar on “Chief’s Medley”, a trio of mountain tunes learned from his grandfather. An impressive performance from one of the heirs apparent to the Nashville guitar throne.
