Bryan Sutton Assembles Bluegrass Friends on Almost Live
In the last decade, Bryan Sutton has emerged as one of the most sought-after guitarists in Nashville. Originally from Asheville, N.C., Sutton has toured with the Dixie Chicks and Ricky Skaggs, but for the most part he makes a living as a session player. After all, his picking is fast and clear, and he's well-versed in country and bluegrass music. And like a lot of professional musicians, he spends his free time on ... music. Indeed, some of the most talented musicians in the city -- heck, the world -- can be found just hanging out at house parties, picking away with their friends. These gatherings are rarely captured for posterity so it's a real treat to listen to Sutton's new album, Almost Live, recorded with his pals in an effort to catch the atmosphere of a hot jam session.
If you're a big fan of acoustic music, you'll recognize nearly all of his partners in crime -- Russ Barenberg, Sam Bush, Jerry Douglas, Stuart Duncan, Bela Fleck, Aubrey Haynie, Tim O'Brien, the Punch Brothers, Mark Schatz, Pete Wernick and many more. During a brief break from the instrumentals, Sutton tackles lead vocals on "Church Street Blues." It's no coincidence that one of Sutton's heroes, Tony Rice, also has a fantastic version of this Norman Blake tune. Sutton also wrote many of the songs although he chose to close the project with a cover of the Delmore Brothers' "Gonna Lay Down My Old Guitar," with tight harmony and mandolin support from Chris Thile. Let's hope Sutton never takes the message of that song to heart.
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Redmaz says:
The first time I heard Bryan Sutton play live(with Bela Fleck no less)….they had to scrape my jaw off the floor. Now in my opinion, the people listed in this blog are the most upper level musicians there are, and should be common knowledge to every music lover. If you don’t know who these people are, you don’t know much about music.
solongsowrong says:
An artist, like most listed on this blog, that some have probably heard play, but have no idea who it is, because they don’t get the “star” billing that Mainstream thrives on to survive.
I hear a musician I like on an album, I look at liner notes to see who it is, then check them out. Much better reward for my time spent, getting to enjoy more of these artists music, then listening to commercial radio, and complaining because I hear the same 6 artists over and over all day long.
Bryan Sutton gets the thumbs up award for being in a class with guitar players, such as Tony Rice and Cody Kilby. His talents are jaw dropping, just as Red describes.
I’ve listened to them, and any present Mainstream act pales in comparison.
SuttonFan says:
Actually, that’s Tim O’Brien singing Church Street Blues. The only song Bryan sings is Gonna Lay Down My Old Guitar.
solongsowrong says:
This album can currently be listened to on CMT’s Hear Music Now, at Bryan’s CMT artist page.