
Bluegrass music originated with Bill Monroe and builds on traditional string-band music, usually featuring guitar, banjo, mandolin, bass, fiddle and/or dobro (a form of slide guitar), but adds a driving bluesy rhythm, jazzlike displays of virtuosity, and gospel-inspired high vocal harmonies. A remarkable number of early bluegrass musicians passed through Monroe's Blue Grass Boys, among them Lester Flatt, Earl Scruggs, Jimmy Marlin, Carter Stanley (of the Stanley Brothers), and Sonny Osborne (of the Osborne Brothers). College audiences picked up on bluegrass during the 1960s folk revival (Monroe played at the 1963 Newport Folk Festival) and it's often heard today in strangely suburban settings. Bluegrass also lends itself to festivals: one of the biggest is Monroe's own, in Bean Blossom, Indiana. Our selection comes from the marvelous instrumental "Wildwood Mandolin" by Jack Tottle and available on Rounder Records' Rounder Bluegrass.
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