Search - David Grisman, Denny Zeitlin :: New River

Although many people think of mandolinist David Grisman as a bluegrass musician, most of his recorded output has actually contained more jazz than any other style. On New River, a collection of duets with pianist Denny Zeitlin, Grisman forgoes even a hint of the high lonesome sound in favor of a series of original compositions that blend elements of Latin music, cool West Coast jazz, and blues into an intriguing, impressionistic mix. In many of his other groupings Grisman tends to play at a very brisk tempo, but on tracks such as "New River" Zeitlin's sustained chords and meditative rhythms cause him to slow down and leave more space between his notes than he has in the past. Even on livelier tracks such as "Dawg Funk" and "On the March" the focus from both musicians is on taste and tone, rather than instrumental pyrotechnics. Here, Grisman shows that even after decades of experimentation he is not finished taking the mandolin into unexpected musical territories. And on this particular journey, he has chosen a worthy companion in Zeitlin. --Michael Simmons