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Alison Brown with Joe Craven
Evergreen
(Compass)
First Appeared in The Music Box, December 2008, Volume 15, #12
Written by John Metzger
Wed December 17, 2008, 06:30 AM CST
There aren’t very many banjo pickers these days who, of their own accord, are
able to maintain a sizeable following. Although Bela Fleck undeniably has
achieved the greatest name recognition, Compass Records’ founder Alison Brown
likely runs a close second. For a time, she provided support to both Alison
Krauss and Michelle Shocked. Since embarking upon a solo career, however, she
has followed Fleck’s progressive-minded trajectory quite closely. Not only does
she have a penchant for bending rock songs by the likes of Elvis Costello and
Jimi Hendrix to suit her needs, but she also envelopes her bluegrass-based
material in an assortment of loose, jazz-oriented textures.
For whatever reason, it has been several years since Brown has issued an
album of new material. Her latest set Evergreen is meant, perhaps, to
serve as a reintroduction to her fleet-footed style. With the help of
multi-instrumentalist Joe Craven, a longtime associate of David Grisman, Brown
runs through an assortment of holiday classics, some old and some new. To keep
them fresh, she smashes tunes together — Carol of the Bells and We
Three Kings, for example, become Carol and the Kings, while Two
Santas was braided from Here Comes Santa Claus and Santa Claus Is
Coming to Town — and the shape-shifting beauty of the works that result from
her efforts functions on multiple levels.
On occasion, the silken piano accompaniments of John R. Burr climb
majestically out from the churning fray of the acoustic instrumentation.
Overall, however, Evergreen largely is a showcase for Brown and Craven,
and they make their casual conversation count. Throughout the set, they
playfully toss melodies back and forth, and with each iteration, they mutate
them enough to keep Evergreen entertaining for those who wish to follow
the intricacies of their interplay closely. At the same time, their easy-going
approach also allows the collection to slip gently into the background without
requiring much thought.
In fact, there are only two places where Brown errs on Evergreen: when
vocalists from the University School of Nashville augment Christmas Time Is
Here and play the role of Whoville Whos on Welcome Christmas. In both
cases, the vocal arrangements mimic the original renditions too closely, and
they undermine the improvisational flair that the rest of the endeavor embraces.
Aside from these missteps, Evergreen is a warm and imaginative musical
adventure that burns with the quiet intensity of a candlelit Christmas Eve.  ˝
Of Further Interest...
Vince Guaraldi - A Charlie Brown Christmas
Yo-Yo Ma & Friends - Songs of Joy & Peace
Abigail Washburn & the Sparrow Quartet - Abigail Washburn & the Sparrow Quartet / self-titled
Evergreen is available from Amazon.
To order, Click Here!
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Ratings
1 Star: Pitiful
2 Stars: Listenable
3 Stars: Respectable
4 Stars: Excellent
5 Stars: Can't Live Without It!!
Copyright © 2008 The Music Box
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