Bluegrass guitar is a fairly wide-open field. While fiddle, banjo and even mandolin have a specific style and playing technique that is a bluegrass trademark, the bluegrass guitar style is less defined. Of course, there have been a number of outstanding players, going back to Lester Flatt, on to virtuosos like Doc Watson and Tony Rice. Recently, we spotlighted an album by an emerging guitarist Jordan Tice. This time, we have a new recording by a veteran bluegrass picker who has gone rather eclectic on his new instrumental recording. It's David Grier, whose new CD is called Evocative.

Bluegrass comes naturally to David Grier. It's virtually a family business. His father, Lamar Grier, played banjo in Bill Monroe's Bluegrass Boys in the 1960s. David Grier released his first album Freewheeling in the early 1990s, and over the years, has picked up a number of honors, including being voted several times best guitar player of the year by the International Bluegrass Music Association. But he also been part of the eclectic, stylistically diverse New Acoustic Scene, playing with the group Psychograss, along with New Acoustic luminaries Darol Anger, Tony Trischka, Mike Marshall and Todd Phillips. He was also a third of the trio Phillips, Grier and Flinner, with Todd Phillips and Matt Flinner whose CD we featured in this album review series back in 2002, and Grier has been a busy sideman in Nashville, playing on close to 100 albums over the years.

For his new recording, he goes beyond bluegrass, and even beyond New Acoustic music. He plugs in classic early 1950s Les Paul and Fender guitars, in addition to his acoustic instruments. He is also heard on a baritone guitar, which provides an interesting sound on one track. The recording also deviates from bluegrass in that virtually all the tracks feature drums, and there is some twangy steel guitar here and there.

The result is an interesting, and nicely diverse recording that is in keeping with Grier's reputation for understated playing, not really getting off on a lot of flashy picking, but does feature a lot of very nice guitar work with classy guests. He is joined by electric bassist Victor Wooten of Béla Fleck's Flecktones, along with Nashville Bluegrass Band founder and ubiquitous fiddler Stuart Duncan. Other players include Jeff Taylor on keyboards, including some accordion, John Gardner on drums, banjo players Noam Pikelni and Scott Vestal, plus some fiddle from Andrea Zonn. Another Nashville first-call player is Paul Franklin who adds the twang with his pedal steel guitar,

The all-original music spans genres, but never really launches into standard bluegrass per se. The playing is first-rate and the tunes, which are not particularly strong on memorable melodies, are nevertheless engaging and highlight the considerable musicianship of the gathered participants.

Leading off is a piece that sums up the eclecticism of this CD. Meditate features a mixture of acoustic and electric guitars, and a bluesy electric piano part played by Jeff Taylor. Grier gets out his vintage electric guitars while lurking in the background is the steel guitar that can sound quite spacey. <<>>

A bit more laid-back and bluegrassy is a piece called As It Rolls to the Sea. The track highlights Grier's tasteful acoustic guitar picking. <<>>

There's a hint of Celtic influence on the piece called Two Turns Home. It's a more introspective piece that features Taylor on accordion and a couple of fiddles played by Stuart Duncan. <<>>

One of two guitar solos on the CD is called As Easy as Falling Off a Log. It's a short, bluesy track played on Grier's slightly amplified baritone guitar. <<>>

One of my favorite pieces on the CD for its clever mixture of ingredients is Road to Hope. It's sometimes jazzy, sometimes bluesy, and then goes off on an accordion solo that evokes a kind of French or Gypsy sound. It's also the track with the strongest melody. <<>>

On the other hand, a piece called Teela slips into a mixture of New Age guitar and Nashville clichés, with the steel guitar. <<>>

Also in the bluegrass-New-Acoustic mold is Four Dogs Jogging which features some fine playing by Grier, and a more energetic backing with rock-style drums. Another bluegrass instrumental luminary, banjo man Scott Vestal appears along with fiddler Stuart Duncan. <<>>

The CD ends with its other solo guitar solo, The End of a Good Day, a laid-back piece that hints of New Age guitar, but has more musical substance than typical for that genre. <<>>

David Grier's new CD Evocative is a fine instrumental guitar album by a much-respected player known mainly for his work in bluegrass. But this CD goes in a lot of other directions, and he plays electric as well as acoustic guitars, and the band has drums. Grier is one of those guitarists whose work does not hit you over the head at first with lots of flash, but the more you listen, the more you come to hear what a fine player he is, not only in his technique but in his ability to say a lot without a lot of notes. He is joined by a classy Nashville band with somewhat diverse instrumentation: the accordion is an unexpected touch, but I might have been a little happier with less steel guitar. There is an air of experimentation at times, but for the most part it works out well.

We'll give this CD one of our few "A" for sound quality. The acoustic instruments, especially Grier's guitar are very well-recorded, and in a considerable rarity these days, the recording has a good dynamic range, with very little volume compression.

Perhaps the only problem with David Grier's new CD is how to categorize it. It's hardly bluegrass, and it's definitely not new age, conventional jazz or rock guitar. But it's a mixture of them all that make for satisfying listening, whether or not you are a guitar fanatic.

(c) Copyright 2009 George D. Graham. All rights reseved.
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