Patuxent Music


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CD-360 Eddie Ray Buzzini Eddie Ray info order CD $13.50 download $9.99		“I plan to carry this music forward to the twenty-second century.” Eddie Ray Buzzini’s bold declaration is not so far-fetched, as he was born in 2007 and may well still be picking in 2101. A second of Eddie Ray’s aspirations is to convince his contemporaries that bluegrass and particularly banjo music is cool, up-to-date, and should be considered legit. Confirming his commitment to both intentions, the music on Eddie Ray’s solo debut album covers well over a century of compositions. Ranging from “When You and I Were Young, Maggie,” composed in 1864, to several new songs written by Eddie Ray, the disc offers a wide array of American music in the bluegrass style. Eddie Ray, whose given name is Ettore, lives in a multi-lingual household in Mooresville, North Carolina where his Swiss-Italian father and East-Tennessee born mother offer him a vibrant mix of European and Appalachian culture. He plays his grandfather’s banjo and listens to Flatt & Scruggs and Reno & Smiley as well as many of the contemporary bands that are playing today. Eddie Ray’s musical tastes are not limited to bluegrass. Country classics, Latin Jazz, and the guitar of Eddie Van Halen are all on his listening and playing agenda. ...more

CD-361 Shane McGeehan Your Love for Me is Gold info order CD $13.50 download $9.99		Shane has heard his father's banjo playing since birth. He spent his summers running around bluegrass festivals and dropping in on jams since before he was big enough to hold a guitar. For Shane McGeehan, life as a bluegrass musician was an inescapable fate. In the summer of 2015 he met his bandmates in Serene Green. Since then they've recorded two albums , played countless shows, and developed a fan-base all over the east coast. On this debut solo album he showcases the sound he has honed during his formative years. Comprised mostly of original songs and a few choice covers, the album demonstrates Shane's knack for honest and insightful songwriting, his technical command of the upright bass and the guitar, and his singing which is at the same time strong and full of warmth. In addition, he has put together a powerhouse band. You can hear the excitement and admiration the musicians have for one another. The band sounds relaxed and spontaneous, eagerly pushing each other to greater musical heights. It's like listening to a good jam among old friends. His respect for the first generation pioneers of bluegrass music is clearly evident, but he is certainly not bound by convention or tradition. No doubt, after listening to this album we will all look forward to whatever the future holds for Shane and his musical endeavors.

CD-358 Leon Morris The Best of Leon Morris info order $13.50 download $9.99		Canada was a hotbed of country music in the 1930s and 40s, as Leon Morris was growing up in Simcoe, Ontario. The music of Canadian country super-stars Hank Snow and Wilf Carter, also known as Montana Slim, and their emulators was ubiquitous on radio throughout the country. Fans could also tune in mainstream country stars from the United States on WLS (Chicago), WWVA (Wheeling), and sometimes on a clear night, WSM in Nashville. At home in Ontario, Leon's family performed locally with his mother on piano, brother on guitar, two fiddles and an accordion. When Leon was old enough to start playing, his older brother showed him how to play the G, C, and D chords on the guitar. He practiced his playing and singing diligently and by the age of 13, he was ready to show his talent. The event was a local amateur talent contest for kids near his hometown. Leon took first place by yodeling a couple of Wilf Carter songs. more.......

CD-022 reissue Franklin, Harpe & Usilton Hokum Blues info order $13.50 download $9.99 remastered		A real treasure from 1993, originally released on cassette, now revived for your merrymaking pleasure! The unbridled Washington, D.C. area ensemble Franklin, Harpe & Usilton set the acoustic blues and ragtime ablaze with their fun and exciting Hokum Blues. The Hokum blues are sly, drenched in mischief and sexual innuendo, good-time music with a strong dose of tongue-in-cheek street wit. Listen carefully to the words. It’s music with a story, just a little but funny, sometimes a little sad and even a little scary, but always deep. The fiery trio of Franklin, Harpe and Usilton swings like mad on this reissue packed with Piedmont and ragtime classics – old time acoustic blues of the 1930s. The revivalists trio made the classic old blues cool again – rough-hewn, edgy and raucous, focused on the exuberance of the song. Don’t let the clever songs distract you from the superb instrumentation. Both Rick Franklin and Neil Harpe are excellent alternating bass fingerpicking guitarists with the prowess to honor the best players of the golden era, covered here with virtuosic perfection. All that while keeping it loose and joyful. more.....

CD-348 Mark Schatz & Bryan McDowell Grit & Polish info order $13.50 download $9.99		Mark Schatz- Mark Schatz was born April 23, 1955 into a musical family. He began his formal musical training with cello at age ten and later switched over to string bass. His first performance was in 1971 on electric bass in a high school rock band. Inspired by a love for folk and traditional music, he took up the guitar, mandolin, and clawhammer banjo. He received his Degree in Music Theory and Composition from Haverford College, and studied for a year at Berklee College of Music. Bryan McDowell is a person predictable only in his consistent excellence. Fiddler, vocalist, and master of stringed instruments, his reputation is solidifying as a musician of great interest on the acoustic scene. more....

CD-355 John Colianni Trio Ahead of the Crowd info order $13.50 download $9.99		If you have John Colianni’s previous albums on Patuxent, you know from my liner notes that we go way back. In the notes to After Hours I relate how I first heard John perform in the final round of the first Thelonious Monk Piano Competition in 1987. What I didn’t mention was the earlier connection where my “day gig” intersected with my jazz life. Until I retired in 2013, I was a union representative with the American Federation of Government Employees working with locals at various federal agencies, one of which was the State Department. I don’t remember if it was during an administrative hearing or negotiations but during a break I got into a conversation with Carl Sosebee, the attorney representing the agency. I somehow steered the topic to my favorite subject, jazz. I told him that I did a radio show and taught jazz history at Georgetown and American universities, probably implying that I would rather devote my time to those activities than the somewhat contentious labor-management issue we were confronting. Carl sure brightened up and told me his brother-in-law was a jazz pianist and would be in a competition at the Smithsonian that was coming up. Carl is still with the government, currently senior counsel at the Peace Corp. He gets his musical satisfaction through his guitar. more....

CD-351 The Larry McPeak Tribute Band Larry's Songbook info order $13.50 download $9.99		I was thrilled to learn that someone had decided to do a tribute project to the late Larry McPeak. I was even more excited to learn that Johnny Williams and Mike McPeak were the ones behind the idea. I knew it would be first class. When I listened to the project, I wasn't disappointed. Larry McPeak was a great songwriter, but more than that, he was also a great person. I consider it an honor to have called Larry my friend. Johnny and Mike have dug deep into Larry's vast catalog of songs and found some real diamonds. These songs, though maybe not as well-known as some of Larry's, are classic Larry McPeak. Well-written stories of life that we can all relate to. And having the McPeak family involved in the project truly gives the project the "McPeak sound". I tried to pick out a few songs that I thought I could talk about. But in the end, I couldn't. I love them all. The songs are great. The musicians are fantastic, and the entire project is exceptional. So, play start to finish. I know that somewhere Larry is looking down and smiling that smile.......Hey Johnny...Mike, how about a Volume 2? I love sequels. Tim Frye WPAQ , Mt Airy NC & WBRF, Galax, VA

CD-353 Michael Kelly Kingfisher info order $13.50 download $9.99		Michael Kelly is a songwriter, a singer and a multi-instrumentalist. He got his start in D.C., first by frequenting the now infamous Gallagher's Pub open mics Uptown where Mary Chapin was a bartender and later opening for national acts such as NRBQ. He took a brief hiatus to spend more time with family, re-emerged and currently performs regularly throughout the Mid-Atlantic region. Drawing from both traditional and modern bluegrass, folk, blues and jazz, his music will draw you in and get your foot tapping. He has won numerous songwriting awards, placed in the Deer Creek Fiddler's Convention vocal competition and has recently released his third recording, Kingfisher, on the Patuxent Music label.

CD-346 Five Mile Mountain Road Swingbilly Swagger info order $13.50 download $9.99		For fiddler and founder of Five Mile Mountain Road Billy Hurt, Jr., Swingbilly Swagger is about more than just the band’s latest release. The title bears its own bravado representing an admixture of styles that rural musicians— including himself, his bandmates, and their mentors—have long absorbed and transmitted. In Billy’s home of Franklin County, Virginia, a profusion of musical influences thrive and inspire traditional musicians. And his word for this synthesis is swingbilly. The term refers to Billy’s regional musical history. Older players that Billy met in his youth—figures that included Clark Kessinger, Burke Barbour, Jim Eanes, Clinton Gregory, Willie Gregory, Raymond Neighbors, and Bob Riley, as well the earlier presence on recordings of the Blue Ridge Highballers led by Charley La Prade, and above all, the legendary Charlie Poole—drew from a rich American songbook. They brought their music to the new media of radio broadcasts, phonograph records, and live public performances. more....

CD-352 Shannon Bielski & Moonlight Drive Tennessee Heart info order $13.50 download $9.99		Shannon Bielski began her musical journey at age seven with piano, soon progressing to violin. In her teens she took lessons in bluegrass fiddle from the phenomenal Rickie Simpkins, performed and recorded with the Zekiah Swamp Cats, and won a Public Performance Scholarship to attend the world-famous Bluegrass, Country, and Old-Time Music program at East Tennessee State University where she expanded her skills and talent with the help of teachers like Hunter Berry and Jason Leek. Her dreams of having her own band floated in the clouds over the moonlit mountains of Virginia on her drives north from Tennessee. Led by Shannon’s powerful and clear vocals, Moonlight Drive features hard driving instrumentals and heart-felt originals, with Kyle Windbeck on guitar, Rob Benzing on banjo, and Greg Mulley on bass. The ensemble won first place in the 2018 DCBU Mid-Atlantic Bluegrass Band Competition. Shannon has also been recognized for her song-writing talents, taking first place in the 2018 Deer Creek Fiddler’s Convention Songwriting Contest. more....

CD-347 Willie Marschner info order $13.50 download $9.99		Popular music is a hard road to travel, I believe. When it is marshalled in a glitzkrieg aimed just at making money, it loses musical and moral value - and easily becomes detrimental to the culture. When it is cut off from change and ossified in the concert hall or the Smithsonian archive, it loses its vitality and relevance to the culture. But there is a middle way. It is a way that respects musical tradition and form enough to breathe life into it and keep it fresh and vibrant. It is a way that remembers the intimate connection between music and dance, between music and the spirit, between body and soul. The flame of true American traditional – and yet popular – music does still burn. It lives in the square dances of the Shenandoah Valley, Oktoberfests in the historically German villages of Texas, bals acadiens around Lafayette, LA, and in Irish sessions in Baltimore and Philadelphia. It is out there, doing its thing the way it has since the earliest settlers shared their songs and their dance steps around a fire with Native Americans – though you won’t immediately find it on Spotify. more....

CD-340 Donna & Roni Stoneman The Legend Continues info order $13.50 download $9.99		It will soon be a century since Ernest Van Stoneman first entered a studio to cut some of the first commercial country music ever recorded for release on phonograph discs. In doing so, he not only launched a music career for himself, but also started a family tradition that persists to this day. By 1926, his wife, brother-in-law, sister-in-law, and soon a pair of cousins were assisting him in making recorded music. In 1934, his oldest son was there, too. From then onward future Stoneman children were picking and singing in studios, on stages, before television cameras, and even in motion pictures. While “Pop,” as he came to be called for obvious reasons, passed on in 1968, for his children, now reduced to two, the picking and singing of bluegrass music persists. Patuxent Records has come out with a third compact disc with brand new recordings documenting the music of this remarkable family. more....

CD-345 Jay Armsworthy & Eastern Tradition My Best Friend info order $13.50 download $9.99		Jay Armsworthy became an acquaintance over 30 years ago, and now, I've called him a friend for many years. We have much in common because my home base in southwestern Ohio has a rich bluegrass heritage similar to the neighborhood where Jay Armsworthy and Eastern Tradition reside. The bluegrass music produced in the Baltimore and Washington DC region, and bluegrass cultivated in the Cincinnati and Dayton area are foundational to the genre. Presently, many of today's artists draw inspiration from the legendary musicians who inspired thousands from the smoky barrooms, fire halls and festivals in Maryland and Ohio. It's a sound certainly in the DNA of Jay Armsworthy and the guys in Eastern Tradition. more...

CD-339 Randy Barrett Shake, Rattle & Roar info order $13.50 download $9.99		There are a small handful of banjo players who are adept at bluegrass three-finger picking and clawhammer’s rhythmic downstroke. Randy Barrett is one of those few and he alternates styles beautifully. On Shake, Rattle & Roar, you can hear the color of sound in the varying dynamics and harmonic structures. Randy is a tunesmith and arranger extraordinaire. Influenced by Earl Scruggs, Eric Weissberg and every old time tune he ever heard, Randy’s tone and timing ring true to the possibilities of the five-string banjo. His liquid fingerpicking on “Midnight on the Water” reminds us of the emotion a well-played banjo can evoke. He takes you square dancing on “Tiber Creek.” The depth of the recording comes full circle in the exquisite version of “Walkin’ Boss," which came to the folk world through Clarence Tom Ashley. Randy builds a bluegrass arrangement of this song, adding verses to expand the story line with his rich voice. more.....

CD-333 Stephen Wade A Storyteller's Story Sources of Banjo Dancing Includes 44 page booklet info order $19.50 download $14.99		“Stephen Wade is arguably the best non-grass five-string banjo player around. His loyal following includes people who saw Banjo Dancing, his one-man stage show created from folksongs, stories, banjo tunes, and his own personal insights.” —BLUEGRASS UNLIMITED In May 1979 a young musician named Stephen Wade opened a one-man show at a small yet adventurous off-Loop theater in Chicago. Called Banjo Dancing, or the 48th Annual Squitters Mountain Song, Dance, Folklore Convention & Banjo Contest and How I Lost, it consisted of songs, tunes, and stories sourced in American folklore and literature, accompanied by his five-string banjo and percussive dance steps. more.....

CD-338 South Carolina Broadcasters Home to Stay info order $13.50 download $9.99		Dear Listener: Here for you is an offering of hillbilly music as presented by a group deeply rooted in the Appalachian musical tradition. Unadorned instruments and three voices singing the songs of their homeland as only those who know and feel it can. David Sheppard picked up the guitar at a young age, drawn to the sounds of acoustic instruments. His earliest memory is of being surrounded by grown-ups towering over him belting out old hymns in his grandfather's Methodist church. He never holds back in his singing, and has a great sense of how to write a compelling song. “Home To Stay” is a recollection of his first visit to the farm where Ivy grew up. Discovering early on that he had a penchant for stringed instrument repair and restoration, he's now sought out by vintage instrument enthusiasts worldwide and also builds Radio King guitars. Jackson Cunningham comes at the music naturally. Inspired by his father and the Stanley Brothers, and drawn to the mountains of southwest Virginia, he embodies that high lonesome sound. A multi-instrumentalist and soulful singer, he hearkens back to an earlier day when the music was simpler and came straight from the heart. His exquisitely tasteful mandolin playing reminds one immediately of an old Rich-R-Tone record. He's also a world-renowned builder of acoustic archtop and flattop Cunningham guitars. more.....


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