Tony Ellis - Sounds Like Bluegrass To Me

(Rounder 11661-0484-2) 2001

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This 16 track CD, by renowned banjo player & former Blue Grass Boy Tony Ellis, has a playing time 46:29 and is a kind of homage to the early Bluegrass era.

Accompanying him on the album is former CMB Lester Woodie, who Tony first saw play in the mid-50s on local TV with Bill & Mary Reid; Dudley Connell who played on the Masters of the Banjo tour along with Tony; and Dudley's band-mate at the time from the Seldom Scene - Tom Gray. In deference to Bill Monroe, who'd passed away about 1½ years prior to the recording, the album doesn't feature any mandolin - Tony: "During my time with Bill Monroe, I had the great pleasure of experiencing the magic that he alone could produce with the mandolin. I considered having a mandolin on this project, but in remembering Bill, I knew I would feel his absence. I feel that those who worked for him will really understand what I mean here...".

The album is quite listenable, with the better tracks being the less well-worn songs like Bill Monroe's chilling The Old Cross Road, a laid-back rendition of Red Rocking Chair and There's A Man Going Around Taking Names.

Lester's fiddle work is present throughout the album with breaks on all tracks, but is most prominent on the instrumentals: Turkey In The Straw; Shortenin' Bread; and the DDAD tuned Cruel Willy which he learned from Howdy Forrester. There's also a decent version of I Am A Man Of Constant Sorrow which Lester originally recorded with the Stanley Brothers in Nov. 1950, where he gets to re-create his iconic kick-off, with Dudley Connell singing lead with some gusto.

The CD comes with a 20-page booklet with detailed liner notes by Stephen Wade, and an extensive informative history of the origin of each of the featured songs.

For more information on Tony Ellis, check out the interview by Steve Martin from the Banjo Newsletter.

• Tony Ellis: banjo, vocals
• Dudley Connell: guitar, vocals
• Lester Woodie: fiddle, vocals
• Tom Gray: bass, vocals

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