In this return engagement, James Reams (“The Kentucky Songbird”) and Walter Hensley (“The Banjo Baron of Baltimore”) offer up, with the able collaboration of Jon (“Baltimore Jonny”) Glik, Mark Farrell and Carl Hayano (gotta get those last two boys some nicknames), a strong hand of songs and tunes, some originals, some traditional, some under-recorded gems and some drawn from unexpected places. Cut in one wild weekend, with all the musicians in the same studio at the same time and not a Pro-Tool in sight. Presented to you with all the edges intact and all the excitement raw.
The band’s self-titled first album, released in 2003, was nominated by the International Bluegrass Music Association as one of only seven nominees for its Recorded Event of the Year award. Here’s what Richard D. Smith wrote in Bluegrass Unlimited about that earlier album: “If you’re tiring of the slick stuff and yearn for something straight-ahead, there’s not a false bend or blend here.“
And if you’re hungry for bluegrass music with more grit and less glitz, here’s another heaping helping.
James Reams guitar, lead vocals
Walter Hensley banjo, 2nd guitar
Mark Farrell mandolin, fiddle, baritone vocals
Carl Hayano upright bass, tenor vocals
Jon Glik fiddle, mandolin
Mountain Redbird Music CD+ limited-edition bonus double-feature
DVD: Rollin’ On and preview of Pioneers of BluegrassMusic Purchase
online at CDBaby.com Purchase
online from County Sales Purchase
by check from James
Reams.
The CD includes three original songs, two original banjo tunes, and some under-recorded gems that the band has taken off the shelf and made their own.
James Reams guitar, lead vocals
Mark Farrell mandolin, fiddle, baritone vocals
Carl Hayano upright bass, tenor vocals
Mickey Maguire banjo
Kenny Kosek fiddle
Barry Mitterhoff mandolin
Packaged
with the CD is a two-feature DVD:
Rollin’ On
Take a ride on the Redbird Express with James Reams & The
Barnstormers – from NYC’s Lincoln Center to a festival
in a small town, to a square dance in Brooklyn to a church on
Sunday morning, to a live radio show.
(Directed by Joe Coppa and James Reams)
Pioneers
of Bluegrass
Preview version of a longer documentary, currently in production,
in which members of the “first generation” of bluegrass
talk frankly about the early days of the music and life on the
road, in interviews conducted at the opening of the International
Bluegrass Music Museum, backstage at festivals and on the buses
of these pioneers.
(Preview directed by Joe Coppa, David Fasano and James Reams;
full-length documentary, in production,
directed by D.Fasano and J.Reams)
"There
is true folk magic in every note Walt plays," said Alan Lomax
of the great banjo player Walter Hensley.
If
there was a roster of influential and innovative banjo players,
Walter Hensley would be on it, but as Bill Monroe biographer Richard
D. Smith writes, "Walter remains one of the underrated greats
of the 5-string." Walter — known as the Banjo Baron
of Baltimore — played with Earl Taylor & the Stoney Mountain
Boys and later fronted his own band, the Dukes of Bluegrass.
This
is his first recording in 25 years. It was nominated by the International
Bluegrass Music Association as a Recorded Event of the Year.
The
punch, drive and inventiveness of Walter’s banjo playing
is joined on this album by the hard-charging rhythm guitar and
soulful singing of James Reams, whose vocals were described by Banjo Newsletter as sounding "as smoky as his heroes:
Lester, Carter and Red."
Thirteen
cuts of great traditional bluegrass music by great traditional
bluegrass musicians.
James
Reams guitar, lead vocals Walter
Hensley banjo Mark
Farrell fiddle, mandolin, baritone vocals Carl
Hayano stand-up bass, tenor vocals Bob
Mastro fiddle Barry
Mitterhoff mandolin
"One
of the top 12 bluegrass CDs."
- WKCR-FM, NY (2001)
The
band’s debut CD contains 15 traditional and original bluegrass
songs and tunes.
John
Lupton in Country Standard Time: “This isn’t citified,
ersatz bluegrass, it’s the real stuff…. reminiscent
of the sophisticated stylings of fellow Kentuckian Bill Monroe
mixed with the old time, deep-hollow sound of the Stanley Brothers...This
is hard-core bluegrass from down home… The originals, like
‘Buffalo Creek Flood’ and ‘The Cincinnati Southern,’ are story-telling songs in the classic country mold.”
Stephanie
P. Ledgin in Sing Out: “Reams’ commanding voice takes
the listener all the way back to Kentucky, with an unaffected
Monroe-style quality that bends to capture the mood of each selection…The
authentic nature of both words and melody nail the style.”
Jim
Lee in Dirty Linen: “Sure to delight any bluegrass fan looking
for something out of the mainstream.” Order
Online
James Reams guitar, lead vocals
Mark Farrell mandolin, fiddle, baritone vocals
Carl Hayano upright bass, tenor vocals
Mickey Maguire banjo
Kenny Kosek fiddle
Scott Risner mandolin
"…Here are three great musicians, with nothing to prove. They just lay into thirteen tunes -- not even terribly obscure ones -- and indulge in some great grooves and pristine empathy… Each member is a seasoned vet, with Tom Paley (the banjo player and a founding member of the immeasurably influential New Lost City Ramblers) being the most recognizable name. His clean clawhammer and three-finger playing is definitely an asset, and his treatment of the chestnut "I'll Fly Away" is particularly dignified. Guitarist James Reams is a rock, the perfect foundation for this bass-less aggregation. Bill Christophersen's fiddle sails on top of it all with a great balance of grit and elegance…" — Brad San Martin Country Standard Time magazine
James Reams guitar, lead vocals
Tom Paley banjo, vocals
Bill Christophersen fiddle, vocals
James's second solo CD includes many of the same musicians who joined James on his earlier CD, Kentucky Songbird. "An enticing collection of old-time country music…an engaging representation of musical Americana." - Bluegrass Unlimited. “A fine old-timey flavored project full of interesting material, excellent singing, straight-ahead flatpicking and just oozing with Appalachia." - Dave Higgs, DJ at WPLN-FM's Bluegrass Breakdown show in Nashville
James Reams guitar, lead vocals
Guests: David Hamburger, John Herald, Tom Paley, Bill Christophersen, Kenny Kosek, Danny Kalb, Orrin Star, David Roche, Bev Grant
Folk Roots magazine: "powerful, emotional music that needs to be heard." John Herald, of the legendary bluegrass band The Greenbriar Boys, and Tom Paley, founding member of the seminal old-time band The New Lost City Ramblers, are among the many distinguished and talented guest artists on this CD. The Old-Time Herald calls James "an excellent singer with a warm and smooth voice that moves easily across registers." Dirty Linen: "Reams's engaging voice and distinctive flat-picking take you to his roots, rural eastern Kentucky...a powerful project."
James Reams guitar, lead vocals
Guests: David Hamburger, John Herald, Tom Paley, Bill Christophersen, Danny Kalb
