Sam Bush - Late As Usual (1984)

Tracklist

01. Big Mon
02. Last Letter Home
03. Norman And Nancy
04. Russian Rag
05. Leather Britches
06. Diadem
07. Sailin' Shoes
08. Crooked Smile
09. Broadway
10. Samanda Lynn
11. Funk 55

Like many of the modern bluegrass masters who came of age in the 1960s and 1970s, Sam Bush is a multi-instrumentalist who excels no matter which style he is playing. These 1984 sessions feature the leader in a variety of contexts. He plays fiddle in a traditional duet of Bill Monroe's "Big Mon" with banjo picker Courtney Johnson, then switches to mandolin and singing lead in "Last Letter Home," backed by guitarist Norman Blake and cellist Nancy Blake with bassist John Cowan's harmony vocal and Dobro player Curtis Burch. Perhaps the most fun track is his interpretation of the unjustly overlooked mandolinist Dave Apollon's "Russian Rag"; Bush overdubs himself on mandolins, mandolas, and bass, accompanied by Mike Marshall's multiple mandolins, mandocellos, and guitar. His mandolin duet of the standard "Broadway" with Jethro Burns (a brilliant instrumentalist best known for his work as a part of the country music comedy duo Homer & Jethro) is a meeting between two masters of the instrument. Bush also includes a few originals, with banjo star Béla Fleck added for his progressive "Crooked Smile."

DOWNLOAD ALBUM [flac]