CD Reviews
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Compass Records is owned by Alison Brown and her husband, who are both members of the Alison Brown Quartet. See www.compassrecords.com. It is owned and run by musicians for musicians, and has some of the most interesting music being recorded today. They have a large collection of Celtic CDs they have produced, as well as bluegrass and newgrass, and just plain interesting and beautiful music. Check out the following new issues: Russ Barenberg; Solas Reunion; Kate Rusby; Martin Hayes and Dennis Cahill.
Adam Hurt – Deemed a “banjo virtuoso” by the Washington Post, Adam Hurt draws on diverse musical influences from the North Carolina piedmont, the mountains of central West Virginia, the Ohio River Valley, and beyond to create his own elegantly innovative clawhammer banjo playing. At age 25, Adam has already placed in or won most of the major old-time banjo competitions including Clifftop, Mount Airy, and Galax, and won the state banjo championships of Virginia, West Virginia, and Ohio, as well as the state fiddle championships of Virginia and Maryland. A gifted and respected teacher, Adam has conducted banjo workshops at the Swannanoa Gathering, the Augusta Heritage Center, and Appalshop, among other venues around the country. In 2006, Adam released his second CD, “Insight,” on the Ubiquitone label. This recording highlights Adam’s innovative banjo playing both in solo settings and with accompaniment by Cathy Fink (guitar, banjo, bouzouki), Beth Hartness (guitar), Marcy Marxer (guitar, mandolin, uke), and Jarred Nutter (fiddle). The selections found on this CD represent a surprising diversity of traditional Appalachian music, running the gamut from Round Peak stalwarts to stringband rags, from a Bill Monroe original to three Ed Haley tunes recorded on clawhammer banjo for the first time.