JOACHIM COODER
On his Nonesuch debut, Over That Road I’m Bound, Joachim Cooder uses the plain-spoken songs of country-music progenitor Uncle Dave Macon as the jumping-off point for an album that feels more like a compellingly soulful reverie than a scholarly excavation. Family is at the heart of the project—as an impetus and as a theme. Cooder enlists family members to join him as he explores and expands upon tunes that his father, Ry [Cooder], had played for him and that Cooder now sings to his young children. He tinkers with lyrics and reworks banjo melodies for his own chosen instrument, an electric mbira, a variation on the African thumb piano. Culling material from a vast catalog, Cooder locates a gentleness and a plaintive quality in these songs; the novel arrangements he fashions often owe more to ambient or world music than to country. It’s an unexpected —and utterly original—take on the music Macon had performed.
Embarking on this album project was initially about the sound Cooder envisioned for these songs; he would learn more and more about Macon’s legacy along the way. In many respects, the two artists couldn’t be more different. Macon was apparently a rambunctious performer, a natural comedian and constant showman, regaling audiences with jokes and banjo tricks as well as songs. He was an enthusiastic amateur until he turned 50 and only then began to perform professionally. Cooder, on the other hand, took up the drums as a child and has been performing professionally since his teens. He first learned of the mbira as a boy and the true inspiration came when he found a VHS tape sent to his dad of an mbira player named Juju Doxy: “I would go to my parents’ room and put in the VHS tape. I watched it all the time, I showed it to everybody. Those things stuck with me growing up.”
The soft-spoken artist has been a sought-after percussionist for two decades now. He performed on the now-legendary sessions in Havana that produced Buena Vista Social Club and has worked with many of its players on their subsequent solo discs. He’s recorded with a wide range of other performers, including Mavis Staples, Jon Hassell, Dr. John, and Ali Farka Touré, who further fueled his passion for the mbira. He’s produced albums for fellow artists including Commagere and singer-songwriter Carly Ritter; composed for film; and collaborated with choreographer Daniel Ezralow on music for dance. On his own, he’s released two albums, Love on a Real Train (2015) and Fuchsia Machu Picchu (2018), and an EP of haunting instrumentals, We Can Talk from Different Waters (2020).
RAYNA GELLERT
“She’s a prodigious talent, equally adept on fiddle and guitar as well as a superb singer to boot.” – Elmore Magazine
Rayna was a member of the acclaimed stringband Uncle Earl, with whom she released two albums on Rounder Records and toured like mad. She has also toured extensively with songwriter Scott Miller, as well as her Uncle Earl bandmate Abigail Washburn.
JOHN GREYHOUND MAXWELL
“John is the finest bottleneck slide player I’ve heard in a long time.” - David Lindley
John “Greyhound” Maxwell brings his singular approach to slide guitar and mandolin, paying homage to the craft and tradition of the masters, while infusing the music with fresh energy. Maxwell is a master of his craft, garnering the admiration of his contemporaries. His recording, Blues for Evangeline, made the top five in the Best Self-Produced CD competition at the 2016 Memphis International Blues Challenge. In 2017, he had a song placed in a film at the Sundance Festival, and he taught at the prestigious Port Townsend Acoustic Blues Festival in Washington state, where he now resides.
The Washington Blues Society recently nominated John “Greyhound” Maxwell for best solo artist in 2023. He previously was the 2018 award recipient for Best Acoustic Blues Guitar. His second self produced CD, “Even Good Dogs Get the Blues”, represented the WBS at the 2018 International Blues Challenge.
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