BLUEGRASS

Positive things have happened for fiddler Jason Barie since his self-released debut recording in 1999. He has gained some much deserved national recognition, first as a member of Carolina Road and now with Larry Stephenson, and that has led him to his first solo recording for a label.Where his 1999 recording revealed his already considerable skills as a fiddler, this current project benefits from better recording quality and from eight years honing his skills. It is a far more confident recording, more insistent and personal. His earlier effort relied heavily on covers, including several standards. Here the ration is much in favor of his own creations. The only standard is an instrumental version of 'How Great Thou Art.' Among the best of his four other covers are Bill Monroe's threequarter-time and bluesy 'Come Back To Me In My Dreams' and the walking bass country style of Merle Haggard's 'If I Had Left It Up To You.'The remaining ten are Barie originals. Eight of those are instrumentals. 'Custom Coach,' 'Epsalom's Revenge,' and 'Big Brother' have 'A' sections built on short and repeated melodic figures, followed by more flowing 'B' sections. All three have that classic instantly familiar quality, and all three, with their simple melodic structure give Barie the chance to create broad contrasts in his variations without losing the tune's thread. 'Monroe's Old Homestead' sounds like classic Monroe, twin fiddles and all. 'Stella And The Blacksmith' is of the fiddle and banjo (played by Steve Dilling) duet style, while 'Sarah Lynn's Waltz' starts with high notes and climbs higher as it moves through the chord progression. On the latter, Barie works some nice variations using arpeggios and figures that repeat in relation to the chord being played.

Track Listing

• Custom Coach
• Come Back To Me In My Dreams
• How Great Thou Art
• Mama Sues Blues
• If I Had Left It Up To You
• Epsalon's Revenge
• Sarah Lynn Waltz
• That's How Long I Can Count On You
• Monroe's Old Homestead
• The Owner Of My Soul
• Stella And The Blacksmith
• The Voice Of My Savior
• Big Brother
• Our Story
• Easter Morning

Additional Details

Label: Pinecastle Records

Genre: Bluegrass

Release Date: 01/27/07

UPC: 755757651226