Search - Wayfaring Strangers :: Shifting Sands of Time

These days, everyone wants to be eclectic and the mastermind of some hyphenated style, but very few fusioneers are as fearless as this new all-star acoustic ensemble led by violinist Matt Glaser and featuring Andy Statman (clarinet, mandolin), John McGann (guitar, mandolin), Tony Trischka (banjo), Bruce Barth (piano), Jim Whitney (bass), and Jennifer Kimball (vocals). The recording also includes cameos from Lucy Kaplansky, Tim O'Brien, and others. Hang onto your Stetson as "Man of Constant Sorrow," kicked off by Trischka's banjo and the craggy voice of Ralph Stanley himself, wanders into interludes of rolling jazz piano. Elsewhere, klezmer clarinet melodies rise out of the Appalachian mist, Emily Dickinson poetry soars to late-night jazz, and bluegrass classics are boldly yet gently reharmonized--a series of transformations and explorations with strong spiritual overtones. The Strangers are definitely on a quest, and listeners who suspend their expectations will be rewarded with music that's beautifully played and uniquely transporting. --Jeffrey Pepper Rodgers