Grammy Award Winner Alison Brown’s First LP in Six Years Features All-Star Cast

Listeners unfamiliar or distant from banjo music of any kind should introduce themselves to the music of this instrument and particular to this artist – who is a superlative professional. Alison Brown is a Grammy Award winning musician-composer-producer and on this 12-track album “The Song of the Banjo” — her first new LP in six years Alison is supported by a star-studded cast who roll out riveting music and performances:

Featured artists include The Indigo Girls, Keb’Mo’, Men at Work’s former lead singer Colin Hay, award-winning ukulele virtuoso Jake Shimabukuro, legendary studio drummer Steve Gadd (Steely Dan, Joe Cocker, Paul Simon, James Taylor, Eric Clapton, Chick Corea & countless other major-name artists), fiddler Stuart Duncan (Mark Knophler-Emmylou Harris, Dolly Parton, George Strait, Reba McIntire, Barbra Streisand, Robert Plant-Alison Krauss & Diana Krall to name a few). Dobro player – the award-winning Rob Ickes (Merle Haggard, Earl Scruggs, Tony Rice, Alison Krauss, Mary Chapin-Carpenter etc..), upright bassist / Grammy Award winner Todd Phillips (David Grisman, Stephane Grappelli & Tony Rice) and on guitar and bouzouki: the phenomenal Irish musician John Doyle (former member of Solas, Linda Thompson, Kate Rusby & Eileen Ivers.)

So, Alison is in good company on these freshly minted original songs and covers. There are instrumentals and plenty of guest vocals. All performed with plenty of room for multiple showcases by these proficient musicians. It’s also impeccably recorded by Sean Sullivan and mixed by Gordon Hammond in Nashville, TN.

I listened to this effort several times and there are many stand-outs. Track three features assertive vocals by The Indigo Girls (Amy Ray & Emily Saliers). It’s the Michael Murphy song “Carolina in the Pines,”  and the vibrant, clear as cold, rushing stream water banjo of Alison races with beauty from note upon note picked with clarity. Stuart Duncan’s fiddle is quite complimentary here and the entire performance is riveting and relaxing at the same time. The Indigo Girls should do more material like this – as good as they are with their own material and LP’s their vocals shine on this kind of presentation. (Preview below)

The instrumental original of Alison’s “A Long Way Gone,” starts with beautiful notes that spill from Stuart Duncan’s fiddle and the song sounds as if it were an age-old Appalachian reel. Then the lullaby type melody melts into piano. Steve Gadd’s gentle cymbal ringing elevates the tune. Some listeners today don’t appreciate instrumentals but a well-thought out non-vocal with its instruments “talking” to each other in that musical manner can sound mesmerizing. This tune is chillingly beautiful in its arrangement and how the musicians stitch each seam of their ability respective of their instruments and weave together a classic instrumental that is nothing more than exuberant.

The cover of Cyndi Lauper’s and The Hooters’ Robert Hyman’s “Time After Time,”  blossoms like an entirely new song under the translation of Alison’s banjo and the band’s endearing interpretation. There’s nothing special here, it doesn’t rock, it isn’t any more poignant than the original, but… Alison manages to maintain the song’s original haunting sound and the tune has a magical feel with its piano, gentle beat, and the sadness of the original song.

While the song still has that sad strain it — it also has a jubilance with this new spirit. It’s hard for a banjo not to smile.

The picking nimbly and simply trips along and it reconnects your ear to the many times you heard the original on the radio or jukebox. Yet, this almost becomes an Alison Brown original in her proficient hands. There is so much going on yet nothing is cluttered. The intricacies are benevolent and it’s all crafted with a real affection for the original song. Cyndi and Rob would be proud.

Colin Hay of the great Australian Men at Work has maintained a wonderful solo career for decades. Here, Scottish-Australian Colin tackles the old Burt Bacharach-Hal David hit that Dionne Warwick recorded so many years ago. While not a song that is his forte, Colin nevertheless sounds sincere and also provides the guitar while Will Barrow plays piano and Alison adds her custom-built wood-bodied banjola tinkles. “I’ll Never Fall in Love Again,”  — becomes an interesting addition to this collection. Former 70’s pop song with a bluegrass interpretation that features an Australian vocalist. I’m sold.

An original tune written by Alison and John Doyle – “Airish,”  has a Celtic thread that runs rippling through it. It sounds more like a bridge between the songs on the album. It has fiery moments of fiddle, and Byron Larrence cymbal swooshes. Every instrumental has been recorded in a manner to stand out alone clearly in your speakers. The segue into Chuck Mangione’s 70’s hit tune “Feel So Good,”  works equally well here. Jake Shimabukuro’s tenor ukulele interprets what Mangione’s flugelhorn once did and it’s miraculous. Who would have thought? Along with that, is some precise John Doyle guitar, tightly supported Steve Gadd drums, and Byron Larrence percussion. The song maintains its melodic beauty and a few flinty piano flourishes that makes the entire listen quite fluent. It almost makes you believe that in the hands of these musicians almost any song could be convincing with banjo, guitar, piano and ukulele. How about “Jailhouse Rock?” – there’s a challenge. But, I think I would lose. These musicians obviously have good instincts.

One of the challenges in this set is the duet between Joe Davidian’s piano and Alison’s banjo on the near-classic melody of Alison’s original – “Musette for the Last Fret.” My only criticism? This should have been the final piece on the album. There’s just something about this melody that pushes the envelope. Alison is a banjo picker sans pareil — always riveting, clear, concise and mindful of all the musicianship displayed on her album. This was quite good.

Keb’Mo’ steps up to the microphone on the final tune – Marvin Gaye’s classic “What Goes On,”  co-written with Al Cleveland and Renaldo Benson. While Marvin’s version was exuberant and a little restrained in his vocal – the style I’m sure he wanted for that song originally and it worked. Keb’Mo’ sings it more with a deeper resonant voice and the banjo turns an old soul song into an effective Americana-Roots song. As Keb’Mo’ plays finger-style guitar, Stuart Duncan adds fiddle, a nice jazzy piano by John Davidian provides lots of character and renewed respectability to the song and Alison plays a low banjo. In the hands of these musicians any song – rock, soul, jazz can be turned into a deliciously creative Americana interpretation. Any old chicken can become a delicacy cooked by these chefs. Any piece of hamburger can become fillet mignon in their musical kitchen.

This was quite the journey. For some reason, many good banjo players play Americana, folk and bluegrass. But, Alison Brown seems to play banjo and what comes out of her instrument is emotive beyond musical classification. Her veins obviously run down her arms, exit her wrists and when she holds her banjo those veins run up the long neck like strings and tie up at the tuners and her soul is what’s plucked.

There’s much to admire here. Her presentation has cohesion, zeal and no fear of taking uncharacteristic banjo music to a level it never went before. That’s pretty daring, brave and dare I say it: entertaining. But then, Italians put tomato sauce on Chinese noodles and the world got spaghetti.

This entire album is one to feast on…it will taste good in your ears for years. Seconds anyone?

The album was produced by Garry West and Alison Brown.

The Keb’Mo’ track “What’s Going On,”  is available on the deluxe edition as a bonus track.

Website:  http://alisonbrown.com/

Record Company Site: http://compassrecords.com/alison-brown

FaceBook:  https://www.facebook.com/AlisonBrownMusic/

John Apice / No Depression / March 2016