John Reischman, Sharon Gilchrist, and I have released our new recording: The Harmonic Tone Revealers. You can order downloads and CDs at CDBaby.com and downloads at Bandcamp, and it’s also available, on iTunes, Amazon, Spotify, etc. This was a blast to make and I hope people enjoy our take on some of the gems of the traditional old-time and bluegrass canon. Here’s what I said about it in the liner notes, along with a tune list.
In our past recordings together, including each of our debut recordings, John and I have tended to focus on our own instrumental compositions, but with this trio recording with Sharon, we’ve chosen traditional and “sounds like traditional” tunes that sound at home on our instruments and under our fingers. That they also come from or are associated with many of our greatest musical heroes—Bill Monroe, Clarence and Roland White, Kenny Baker, Doc Watson, and a bevy of great fiddlers—is probably not accidental. We didn’t set out to record a tribute to all these fine folks, but it looks like we have, most likely because it’s impossible for us to escape their influence. The focus of this recording became clearer when we ventured into the wondrous Sage Arts studio in Arlington, Washington, thanks to the generosity of Ed Littlefield, Erick Jaskowiak, and Fred Forssell. The sound of us sitting in a circle around a small forest of mics and simply playing tunes in this wonderful sounding room, shepherded by Erick’s engineering genius, inspired us to keep it simple, an aural document of a fortuitous meeting: a couple of days in November 2015 and a couple more in April 2016. —Scott Nygaard
Half Past Four Traditional, from Ed Haley
Cousin Sally Brown Traditional, from Marcus Martin
Midnight on the Water Luke Thomasson
My Father’s Footsteps Bill Monroe
I Am a Pilgrim Traditional, with a nod to Clarence and Roland White
The Girl Who Broke My Heart Traditional Irish, from Kevin Burke
Little Sadie Traditional, thanks to Doc Watson
The Road to Malvern Jim Childress
Queen of the Earth, Child of the Stars Traditional, from Edden Hammonds
Sail Away Ladies Traditional, from Kenny Baker
Little Liza Jane Traditional, from JP Fraley
My True Love Away Traditional, from Eliza Carthy and Kate Rusby
Scott Nygaard 