Today's Bluegrass Playlist

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QUARTET
Peter Rowan - lead vocals, guitar
Tony Rice - lead guitar
Bryn Davies - bass, vocals
Sharon Gilchrist - mandolin, vocals

Rounder
 
I love many, many genres of music, but at the top of my list is Bluegrass. It may have something to do with the fact that I was born in KY and live in NC. Anyway, regardless of whatever else I listen to on any given day some Bluegrass will certainly find its way into the mix! Now, I know that I am not the only bluegrass fan out there. So, what are you listening to?

Honestly, I do not really care for "Country" music in general, but I truly like Bluegrass. I'm a serious Jazz aficionado, and to me, Bluegrass is a kind of "Country Jazz". Each musician is totally jamming out with their instrument like Jazz musicians do. And the Banjo in Bluegrass? Good grief. Those technical Banjo rolls blow me away. And like Jazz, Bluegrass is truly "American" music from the ground up.

I realized I liked Bluegrass about 25 years ago listening to "Prairie Home Companion" because Garrison Keillor had many Bluegrass bands and artists on the show as guest musical artists. Been a fan ever since. I still remember the first time I heard Allison Krauss on his show. She was just a young teen at the time. Her voice blew me away.
 
Honestly, I do not really care for "Country" music in general, but I truly like Bluegrass. I'm a serious Jazz aficionado, and to me, Bluegrass is a kind of "Country Jazz". Each musician is totally jamming out with their instrument like Jazz musicians do. And the Banjo in Bluegrass? Good grief. Those technical Banjo rolls blow me away. And like Jazz, Bluegrass is truly "American" music from the ground up.

I realized I liked Bluegrass about 25 years ago listening to "Prairie Home Companion" because Garrison Keillor had many Bluegrass bands and artists on the show as guest musical artists. Been a fan ever since. I still remember the first time I heard Allison Krauss on his show. She was just a young teen at the time. Her voice blew me away.
This is a great take on bluegrass and I agree with your bluegrass/jazz link. I came at this from the opposite direction. I was initially a bluegrass fan and have become a fan of jazz. I believe I am most impressed with the excellent musicianship and free flowing nature of both genres. Great stuff!
 
This is a great take on bluegrass and I agree with your bluegrass/jazz link. I came at this from the opposite direction. I was initially a bluegrass fan and have become a fan of jazz. I believe I am most impressed with the excellent musicianship and free flowing nature of both genres. Great stuff!

Great point. Thanks. I've been into Jazz big time for decades and it consumes 95 percent of my listening. But I do love Bluegrass very much and my resolution this year is to play it more and more. Amazon Prime Music Unlimited and Slacker Radio Plus (I subscribe to both) have excellent Bluegrass channels, and they are both a bit different so I have two distinct radio stations to listen to for a diverse Bluegrass music input. And I've got about 100 Bluegrass albums in my personal collection that I can draw from as well.

I mentioned Bluegrass Banjo rolls blowing me away, and they do. But so do the Fiddle Jams. Some of the Bluegrass Fiddle players just blow me away. Again, like Sonny Rollins on the Sax or Lee Morgan on the Trumpet in Jazz, these banjo and fiddle players just sometimes amaze me to the point of being mystified by the music. It's just a Full-Blown-Jam-Out session on so many of the Bluegrass tunes, and I love it. Both genres of music showcase the true TALENT of the artists. That's why I love both.... trying to psyco-analyze it.
 
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