Mandolin duets with other instruments

[mad dawg]

Tracy Grammer and Jim Henry were in San Jose last night, and stopped off at KKUP radio for a live drive-time in-studio performance. They only brought a mandolin and guitar with them, trading the instruments and vocals between each other during the set.

I was taken by how much the mandolin stood out in this setting, and wanted to ask for recommendations of CDs that feature mandolins in similarly sparse settings. I like most any genre of music, but the Grammer/Henry set has me leaning towards stuff with some roots (e.g., folk, BG, old-time, roots, country, etc.).

[pickles]

I guess Grateful Dawg is an obvious one.

A couple of Danny Carnahan's albums are nice duets, octave mando with Robin Petrie's hammered dulcimer. Here he is: http://www.dannycarnahan.com/music/recordings.html

[Jim M.]

The simpler the better, IMHO. That's one of my favorite things to listen to, a good duo on acoustic instruments. Dawg and Garcia did several that are mostly mando and guitar - "Not for kids only" is old time, "So What" is great jazz (Miles Davis tunes on mando/guitar instead of horns, great concept). Grisman also has at least one album with Doc Watson. Speaking of Doc, there's a great live CD from, I think, the Ash Grove in L.A., that has Doc and Bill Monroe. Great stuff, too. The recent duet albums with Thile/Marshall and Grisman/Bush are lots of mando/mando of course, but also have tracks that include mando with guitar, banjo, fiddle, and mandocello. Butch Baldassari has a great classical duet album called "Cantabile". (Sorry, I can't remember the guitarist right now). Also, there are at least 3 Tone Poem albums - Grisman/Tony Rice, Grisman/Martin Taylor, and Grisman with Bob Brozman on resonator instruments. Hmmm, what else? Oh yeah, "Full Sail" by Ale Moller/Aly Bain, great fiddle/mandola duets. #"The Duo Live: At Home and on the range", Mike Marshall and Darol Anger -- just amazing duet stuff from guys who have played together for 20+ years. I'll probably think of more, but that's a start.

[mrbook]

One duet album I really like is Marshall Wilborn's ROOT 5 - his bass with a variety of banjo players. It would be intriguing to see a mandolin/bass duo, or mandolin with various instruments. I'll have to think of who should do it.

[mandocrucian]

Appalachian dulcimer and mandolin....

INTO THE FEVER RAIN - Jerry Rockwell & Niles Hokkanen
Niles Hokkanen (mandolin, mandolectra) joins forces with progressive Appalachian dulcimer player Jerry Rockwell on a 56-minute excursion through the traditional ("Soldier's Joy", "Nonesuch", "Cripple Creek", "Bonaparte Crossing the Rhine") into the progressive ("Soldier's Joy #2 -reggae", "Blues In D") and the experimental (3 free improvisational tracks).

"A striking new recording of mandolin and dulcimer duets that, once heard, will not immediately be believed. ....Unique , adventuresome and beautifully recorded." - Dirty Linen


Niles' catalog. (http://www.btinternet.com/~john.baldry/mando/hokkanen.html)

Into The Fever Rain (Elderly) (http://www.elderly.com/recordings/items/MANDOCRUCIAN-CD02.htm)

[tiltman]

I was listening to "Kitchen Tapes" - Red Allen and Frank Wakefield - on the way to work this a.m.
A must - have for Bluegrass Mando fans IMHO.
Kirk

[mrmando]

Radim Zenkl's "Strings and Wings" is a collection of improvised duets with mando and just about every other acoustic stringed instrument you can think of.

[250sc]

I like Tone Poems with Tony Rice and David Grisman. It made me pick up my guitar again. (My mando never gets lonely)

[Gotterdamerung]

Duo with Peter Ostroushko (fiddle and mandolin) and Dean Magraw (guitar) features some amazing work from all instruments--in a variety of styles.

[J. Mark Lane]

There's many, many good examples. One that I like a lot is Butch Baldassari's "A Day in the Country."