Like many of the modern bluegrass masters who came of age in the 1960s and 1970s,
Sam Bush is a multi-instrumentalist who excels no matter which style he is playing. These 1984 sessions feature the leader in a variety of contexts. He plays fiddle in a traditional duet of
Bill Monroe's "Big Mon" with banjo picker
Courtney Johnson, then switches to mandolin and singing lead in "Last Letter Home," backed by guitarist
Norman Blake and cellist
Nancy Blake with bassist
John Cowan's harmony vocal and Dobro player
Curtis Burch. Perhaps the most fun track is his interpretation of the unjustly overlooked mandolinist
Dave Apollon's "Russian Rag";
Bush overdubs himself on mandolins, mandolas, and bass, accompanied by
Mike Marshall's multiple mandolins, mandocellos, and guitar. His mandolin duet of the standard "Broadway" with
Jethro Burns (a brilliant instrumentalist best known for his work as a part of the country music comedy duo
Homer & Jethro) is a meeting between two masters of the instrument.
Bush also includes a few originals, with banjo star
Béla Fleck added for his progressive "Crooked Smile." ~ Ken Dryden