Search - Various Artists :: Bluegrass 1999

Once a year banjo picker Scott Vestal takes a break from the more-polished concerns of Continental Divide to let his hair down and kick out the fiery instrumental jams. This is the fifth installment of that series, and it is full of intriguing and challenging hot licks that impress with thought and taste as well as pure speed. Vestal is joined by Blue Highway's Dobro talent Rob Ickes (who put out his own stellar solo project Slide City earlier in 1999), fiddler Rickie Simpkins, mandolinist Wayne Benson (of IIIrd Tyme Out), guitarist Jeff Autry, and bassist Mike Anglin. The sextet covers Bill Monroe and Flatt & Scruggs along with traditional folk songs and a few clever originals that range from jazz to funk to old-time. In their capable hands, even tired horses such as "Amazing Grace" sound fresh and invigorating. --Marc Greilsamer