Andy Hall - “Sound of the Slide Guitar” (Sugar Hill)

Andy Hall’s “Sound of the Slide Guitar,” released on Sugar Hill January 22, showcases Hall’s considerable talents, be it as the composer and songwriter, the musician or the producer and engineer on this release.

Hall wrote 8 of the 11 cuts on the album all of which present Hall as a very capable composer. From a producer’s perspective Andy hall selected some of the great players in the business including David Grier, Rob Ickes, Tim Stafford and fellow band-mates from The Infamous Stringdusters to add their personal touches to the project.

The opening track, “Resurrection Day” feels like a tip of the hat to the resonator guitar’s biggest star, Jerry Douglas, in it’s arrangement. Featuring a Douglas-esque structure, The tune starts off at a lilting and haunting pace and midway through switches to a double time tempo.

“Deep Elem Blues” feature an arrangement that’s Bluegrass meets Delta Blues. The mandolin solo over the breakdown takes the arrangement to un-expected places to great effect and Hall pours on the Robert Johnson - Mississippi Roadhouse Blues on his solo on this one.

On “Circle The Sun,”a reflective instrumental, Hall and Rob Ickes’ interplay throughout the song is a definite highlight of the album. The song starts with two trading lead and rhythm lines. As the intensity builds they join in together playing harmony lines and finally finish it off with an answer and call session.

While “Sound of the Slide Guitar” features ample helpings of great acoustic slide and resonator guitar work, Hall spreads the instrumental breaks around judiciously, shining the light equally on the fine batch of musicians on the CD. Overall the project feels more like a group effort instead of merely a platform to showcase Hall’s stellar guitar work. “Sound of the Slide Guitar” is a solid musical statement featuring some great music from one of Bluegrass’ rising talents.

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The Time Jumpers - “Jumpin’ Time” DVD

It’s been eight years or better since The Time Jumpers started making music once a week at The Station Inn, the Nashville, Tenn., club that’s become a haven for live bluegrass music. For those who have seen the large group (yeah, 11 members strong is large), or heard one of the Time Jumpers recordings, eight years is a long time to wait to see a taped version of their show. With the recent release of the DVD, “Jumpin’ Time,” the wait has proven worthwhile.

Terry Choate, the DVD’s executive producer, and his very capable staff have truly captured the crowded and intimate setting of a Time Jumpers’ evening at The Station Inn. That needs to be said at the outset, because Choate and his team assembled a first-class product in a nifty package that Jumpers fans, as well as those who relish Western swing and country music the way it used to be are going to love — and I’d bet it gets watched time and time again by those who purchase this.

Those who’ve been inside the tiny venue especially will marvel at the quality of this DVD. Often times, there’s barely room for the crowd to move; somehow Choate managed to employ the services of seven video camera operators to capture this performance.

With that said, let’s turn to the band itself, the nine instrumentalists/vocalists and two female singers who deliver a nearly two-hour testament on the DVD that music is truly a joyous thing. These are seasoned veterans of the Nashville music industry — playing music IS their day job. But it doesn’t take too many minutes into this recording to realize these folks are having the times of their lives.

And the fun on stage is infectious. It’s difficult to wipe the smile off your face while watching “Jumpin’ Time.”

The taped show was performed “on a Monday night in May,” according to the cover. And, it’s pretty typical of the set lists the group performs on any given Monday night at The Station Inn. It’s extremely laden with Western swing of the Bob Wills variety, complete with a fiddle trio of Kenny Sears, Aubrey Hanie and Joe Spivey, who can emulate that Wills fiddle ensemble sound to a T. All three also have plenty of opportunities to shine on solos. And yes, they do shine.

The fun on stage is infectious. It’s difficult to wipe the smile off your face while watching “Jumpin’ Time.”

Other members of the Jumpers are Dennis Crouch on bass, Ranger Doug Green on rhythm guitar, Andy Reiss on lead guitar, Jeff Taylor on accordion, drummer Rick Vanaugh, John Hughey on pedal steel guitar and vocalists Carolyn Martin and Dawn Sears.

I confess to being not much of an accordion fan, but Taylor could convince me otherwise. This guy plays an accordion like no other and is such a good fit with the band. Andy Reiss is Tennessee-whiskey smooth with his jazzy guitar and the Greene/Vanaugh/Crouch rhythm section is as rock-solid as it gets.

And John Hughey on steel? Well, a foot-note is in order here. Hughey, Vince Gill’s steel player for more than a decade, died in November 2007. So, this DVD is a fitting tribute to this wonderful musician who just shines throughout this 26-song performance.

Yes, I said 26 songs — 26 complete songs. This DVD, laced only a tiny bit with some interview footage with band members and Nashville celebs, (including Vince Gill,) is all about the music. With the exception of one instrumental written by Jeff Taylor, the songs are all standards and will be no strangers to anyone who has been a fan of Western swing and classic country music.

As strong as the song selection is, as tight as the musicianship is, nothing shines through quite like the fun these folks had making music on this particular Monday night in May.

Editor’s Note: We’ve posted some video clips from this “Jumpin’ Time” here.

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