I’m not sure why the dobro has never caught on in jazz circles. It’s a hip sounding instrument, with a lot of opportunities for expression and making your own voice. Here, you’ve got three of the most famous masters in Mike Auldridge, Jerry Douglas and Bob Ickes, and they get together for a steel summit meeting that is as gorgeous as it is inspiring.
You get some clean, clear and uncluttered interplay on material that sounds like it’s late night at the campfire on “Silver Threads Among the Gold” and the folksy “The Perils of Private M ulvaney.” The strings undulate like petals opening in the morning sunshine on “For Buddy” and yo feel like you’re riding int the sunset of a John Ford movie on the rich themed “Dobro Heaven.” The trio can sound like a calipe on the swing era classic “Sunrise Serenade” and they can milk a harmony lilke an Italian opera on “Till There Was You/Moon River.” Les Paul meets Bob Wills on “Panhandle Rag” while classic American glistens on the golden “I’m Using My Bible For A Roadmap.” American music at its apotheosis.
Rounder Records