Jerusalem Ridge

[papa willie]

Can anyone please tell me who is playing mandolin with Tony Rice on the Church Street Blues album? Thanks.

[Ivan Kelsall]

I have the Tony Rice compilation CD - "The Bluegrass Guitar Collection". All the tracks are taken from other recordings that TR has done. "Jerusalem Ridge" is on it, & i believe that the Mandolin player is Jimmy Gaudreau on that one.I think that track came from the CD "Unit of Measure" The "Church Street Blues" recording has TR on Guitar along with his Brother Wyatt also on Guitar, on 4 tracks,there's no mention of a Mandolin player in the notes to the CD. Jimmy Gaudreau's playing on 'Jerusalem Ridge' is certainly enough to make any picker sit up & take notice,a terrific version by any standard,
Ivan

[papa willie]

Thanks for the reply Ivan. I suspected that it was Mr. Gaudreau; but wasn't 100% sure.

[Scotti Adams]

Jimmy G. is so under rated..dont understand why. Hes certainly one of my favorites and would be a great candidate for "Ask---??" here on the Cafe. I wonder if he remembers teaching me how to tie my shoes when I was 4?

[Scotti Adams]

Just got a new puter yesterday and Im learning the ropes

[Ivan Kelsall]

PW - My pleasure sir. Scotti . - I don't think i'd say that Jimmi Gaudreau is 'under rated',more under-exposed,but i understand your remark. Anybody who's heard / seen JG will certainly realise that he's up there with the very best of them. He doesn't appear to have a regular band with whom to play. His latest touring gigs are with Robin & Linda Williams or Moondi Klein (according to his own website). He did have a band several years back, Jimmy Gaudreau's "Bluegrass Unit". Their "Live in Holland" recording is well worth having & contains lots of good old Bluegrass standards,played impeccably,
Ivan

[mandolirius]

Jimmy G. is so under rated..dont understand why. Hes certainly one of my favorites and would be a great candidate for "Ask---??" here on the Cafe. I wonder if he remembers teaching me how to tie my shoes when I was 4?

It is funny how some great players manage to fly under the radar. In addition to Mr. Gaudreau, I'd say Emory Lester and Bobby Clark fall into that category.

[grassrootphilosopher]

To clear up some misunderstandings. The album "Church Street Blues" was recorded around 1982 or so. It did not have any mandolin on it. The couple of instrumentals had Wyatt Rice on rythm guitar. I consider this one of the best Tony Rice albums. It´s interesting to read about some of these albums in the "Still Inside" (auto-) biography.

[Ivan Kelsall]

I think that apart from his own 'solo' recordings,Emory Lester is getting more exposure that he's had for a while,playing with 'Wayne Taylor & Appaloosa'. His solo CD " Cruisin' the 8" is a terrific insight as to how well Emory really can play (on most of the instruments as well ). I don't know much re.Bobby Clark,but what i have heard of him on I'net radio has been as good as it gets for me.
For a lot of players of all instruments,it's very often not just how well you play,but who you're playing with & the exposure that you get to bring yourself to people's attention,but thank goodness,we know of them,(mostly ),
Ivan

[mandolirius]

I think that apart from his own 'solo' recordings,Emory Lester is getting more exposure that he's had for a while,playing with 'Wayne Taylor & Appaloosa'. His solo CD " Cruisin' the 8" is a terrific insight as to how well Emory really can play (on most of the instruments as well ). I don't know much re.Bobby Clark,but what i have heard of him on I'net radio has been as good as it gets for me.
For a lot of players of all instruments,it's very often not just how well you play,but who you're playing with & the exposure that you get to bring yourself to people's attention,but thank goodness,we know of them,(mostly ),
Ivan

Emory's not exactly unknown but he's not exactly well-known either. You don't see his name often on the lists of great players that are continually being made on this site, for example. He's played with Bill Emerson and other big names but he's also made one of the all-time great mandolin instrumental recordings that is rarely mentioned. Pale Rider, btw. The title cut is top ten material for me and the rest of the album is fantastic too. He doesn't seem to get nominated for any of the big awards, a fate which also befalls John Reischman. Can't understand it. These guys are two of the best players going.

For Bobby Clark, the thing to do is get Top Dog. It also makes my list for ten best mandolin recordings of all time. Reischman's Up In The Woods is there, too.

[AlanN]

Church Street Blues was an event when it was released. It displayed TR at his absolute prime of singing and picking. Streets Of London was masterfully done. There is a Homespun clip on youtube of him singing one of the songs on that LP, it has gotten something like 400,000 views - just a marvelous performance by T at his peak. As Dawg said "He was good, man, he was good. He was too good to be somebody's guitar player."

Bobby Clark is a terrific player. Has written some great mandolin numbers that are *hard* to play. And Emory Lester plays in the upper fret regions like nobody's business...I hate that guy :mandosmiley:

Another good one is David Harvey. His band Wild & Blue was terrific, with several recordings to their credit. Their very first recording on Vetco was called Too Blue To Cry, and his playing on that was clean, deft and extremely musical. He re-did his and Dad original tune Cruisin' Timber (first recorded on a Larry Sparks record); on the W&B recording, it has a killer intro and outro that have baffled me for years.