Search - David Grisman :: Dawg 90

The best album by the King of acoustic instrumentals

purplo | Santa Cruz, California | 12/16/2002

(5 out of 5 stars)

"I am a huge fan of David Grisman's "Dawg" music and I consider Dawg '90 to be his finest album. Grisman's purely instrumental acoustic music is his own creation, but blends elements of jazz, bluegrass, swing, latin music, gypsy music, and Jewish music, among others. His compositions are meticulously composed but are delivered so beautifully by his quintet that they seem to be effortlessly created. Bassist Jim Kerwin, flutist Matt Eakle, and multi-instrumentalist and percussion Joe Craven are joined by swing guitar specialist Rick Montgomery slightly prior to his being replaced in the DGQ by the virtuoso Argentinian guitarist Enrique Coria. I saw this quartet play the songs from this album at an amazing concert in Santa Barbara in 1990. In concert the final track "Sativa" becomes a monumental masterpiece, but the studio version still shows the evidence of Grisman's genius. If you're interested in an introduction to Dawg music, this is the album I would recommend to begin with."

Fiery Dawg Music!

purplo | 04/06/1999

(5 out of 5 stars)

"A fantastic album from the pioneer of Dawg music! Ranging from jazz to latin to Irish traditional influences, the David Grisman Quintet is one of the most dazzling attempts at fusion of different elements. Lil Samba is a favorite, featuring the sensitive flute-playing of Matt Eakle. Joe Craven, who plays percussion, vocal percussion, and violin is unbelievable! Grisman himself...its hard to describe the intensity and control of his playing. Of course, the album's highlight is the 12-minute closing track Sativa. Somewhere in between acoustic funk, spacey jamming, and bluegrass-meets-jazz, this epic tune certainly is a good representation of its namesake!"