Search - Alison Brown :: Best Of The Vanguard Years

Alison Brown may have grown up playing bluegrass, but she's never believed she had to limit her banjo picking to the style pioneered by Earl Scruggs. Brown's Best of the Vanguard Years draws 17 original compositions from the four albums she recorded for the label between 1990 and 1996. The tune selection is quite varied and showcases Brown's virtuoso technique, eclectic style, and gift for melody. On the Celtic romp "Cara's Way (The Little People)," for example, she trades licks with uilleann piper and tin whistle player Seamus Egan, while on "G Bop" she shows she is equally at home playing modern jazz. Brown has not totally forsaken her roots, though, and on tracks like "Wolf Moon" and "Waltzing with Tula," she shares the stage with Alison Krauss and David Grisman for some dazzling progressive bluegrass. Brown is a superb musician, and her playing here always glows with intelligence, emotion, and subtlety. --Michael Simmons