J. D. Crowe & The New South "Live in Japan" (1982)

J. D. Crowe & The New South "My home ain't in the hall of fame" (1978)

J. D. Crowe & The New South

Banjoist J.D. Crowe was one of the most influential progressive bluegrass musicians of the '70s. Initially influenced by Earl Scruggs, as well as rock & roll and the blues, Crowe worked his way through several bands during the '60s, developing a distinctive instrumental style that melded country, bluegrass, rock, and blues. Crowe didn't receive national exposure until the early '70s when he formed the New South, but after the release of the band's eponymous debut in 1972 he became a fixture on the bluegrass scene for the next 20 years.
Born and raised in Lexington, KY, Crowe picked up the banjo when he was 13 years old, inspired by one of Flatt & Scruggs' performances on the Kentucky Barn Dance. After that show, he regularly attended the duo's performances, sitting down in the front row to study Scruggs' revolutionary picking. Soon, Crowe was playing with various groups in Kentucky, including an outfit that also featured Curley Parker and Pee Wee Lambert. The young banjo player frequently played on local radio stations, and that is where he got his first major break in 1956. Jimmy Martin was driving through Lexington when he heard Crowe on the radio station, and was so impressed with what he heard that he drove to the station and asked him to join his band, the Sunny Mountain Boys. Crowe immediately accepted and began touring with Martin. While he was in the Sunny Mountain Boys, Crowe didn't stick to a strict bluegrass set list -- he often added rock & roll songs to his repertoire.
After spending six years with Martin, Crowe left the Sunny Mountain Boys in 1962 to pursue a solo career. For a while, he played Lexington bars and hotels, developing a new, progressive direction for bluegrass which incorporated stronger elements of folk, blues, and rock. In the mid-'60s, he formed the Kentucky Mountain Boys with Red Allen and Doyle Lawson; they released their first album, Bluegrass Holiday, in 1968 on Lemco Records. The Kentucky Mountain Boys had a varied repertoire, but played solely acoustic instruments. Two other records followed -- Ramblin' Boy and The Model Church -- before the group broke up in the early '70s.
Following the disbandment of the Kentucky Mountain Boys, Crowe formed the New South, which was the most revolutionary bluegrass outfit of its time. Originally, the band consisted of guitarist Tony Rice, mandolinist Ricky Skaggs, dobroist Jerry Douglas, and fiddler/bassist Bobby Sloan, and they played a wildly eclectic brand of bluegrass on electric instruments. When they released their debut, J.D. Crowe & the New South in 1975 on Rounder Records, it caused an instant sensation -- it marked a genuine turning point in the sound of the genre. All of the musicians in the original lineup of the New South were acclaimed and would later go on to popular solo careers -- in fact, most of them had left within a few years of the debut. By the end of the decade, the band featured guitarist/vocalist Keith Whitley, mandolinist Jimmy Gaudreau, fiddler Bobby Slone, and bassist Steve Bryant.
During the '80s, the New South featured an ever-revolving lineup, as former members came back for guest appearances and Crowe discovered fresh, developing talents -- the group became known as a source for new musicians who would later go on to individual success. In 1980, Crowe formed the Bluegrass Album Band with Tony Rice, Bobby Hicks, Doyle Lawson, and Todd Phillips. The Bluegrass Album Band toured and recorded sporadically throughout the course of the decade, always to great critical and popular acclaim. J.D. Crowe continued with the New South until 1988, when he decided to retire from the road. Following his decision, he appeared at special, one-shot concerts -- including a tour with Tony Rice -- but concentrated on studio work, particularly producing records for developing bands.
Retirement from the road proved somewhat of an selective decision for Crowe, however, and he continued to head the New South's ever-varying linups, both live and in the studio. Flashback appeared in 1994 from Rounder Records, followed by Come on Down to My World in 1999 and Lefty's Old Guitar in 2006, both also on Rounder.

Source: All Music.

Hindugrass (1998)

Hindugrass

The sound of Hindugrass is a fresh new voice for Indian fusion, a surprising and engaging festival for the ears in an age where everything has “already been done.” Alternately haunting and soaring sarod melodies intermingle with the sweet twang and bite of instruments from the Smoky Mountains and a driving bed of percussion instruments from around the world, all delivered with delightful virtuosity. Hindugrass was founded in Los Angeles in 1998 by John Heitzenrater and friends as an acoustic vehicle to explore the commonalities between the classical and folk music of Northern India and the folk and bluegrass styles of Appalachia. Mr. Heitzenrater’s mastery of the sarod and intricate compositions are the core thread of this exciting collective of diverse and talented musicians.

John Heitzenrater is a multi-instrumentalist, whose performance career spans more than two decades and multiple genres. The instrument on which he is featured in Hindugrass is sarod, but he has also appeared performing and in recordings on tabla, bassoon, guitars, bass, ghatam, keyboards, and voice. On sarod, Mr. Heitzenrater is a product of the celebrated Maihar-Allaudin Gharana, which traces its lineage to Mian Tansen, court musician of Akbar the Great and the principle progenitor of modern Hindustani classical music. He studied sarod with Pandit Rajeev Taranath, distinguished disciple of Maestro Ali Akbar Khan and one of the world's leading exponents of the sarod. He studied tabla with Lucknow Gharana Maestro Swapan Chaudhuri. He is also versed in the folk music traditions of Macedonia and Bulgaria, in Western classical music, and in various American popular traditions including rock, folk, jazz, and bluegrass. In his diverse performance career, he has shared the stage with an array of talented musicians from around the globe. He performed at the Dalai Lama's World Festival of Sacred Music with master South Indian drummer Poovalur Srinivasan, at the Skirball Cultural Center in Los Angeles with chitravina virtuoso N. Ravikiran and master drummers Glen Velez and John Bergamo, and he accompanied tabla master Pandit Anindo Chatterjee on harmonium. Mr. Heitzenrater earned his Master of Fine Arts degree in Composition and Performance (on sarod, guitar, and bassoon) and his Bachelor of Fine Arts in Multi-Focus Guitar performance from California Institute of the Arts. In addition to his performance career, John recently finished scoring the short film “A Soaring Life” by Lucas Ridley and the feature film “20 Years After,” the latter with Chris Johnson.

Chris Johnson is a multi-talented musician/ audio engineer/ sound designer/ composer and producer with over 15 years experience covering a diverse range of projects from live performances and workshops to studio recordings. As a multi-instrumentalist, Chris has spent the last 10 years expanding his knowledge and performance skills on instruments from around the globe. Included among these are many percussion instruments from India such as dholak, kanjira, moorsing, and pakawaj with an in-depth study of the Delhi and Lucknow style of tabla in the tradition of Taranath Rao and Swapan Chaudhuri. Chris has also been a maker and teacher of the Australian aboriginal instrument, the didgeridoo, for 13 years and has performed with many different artists in both live and studio situations. Recent projects include regularly performing tabla alongside distinguished  North Indian classical musicians such as Pandit Debi Prasad Chatterjee (sitar), John Heitzenrater (sarod), Viswas Chitnis (sitar), and Jay Manley (Saraswati guitar). Chris performed with and designed soundscapes for the Paperhand Puppet Intervention band in the "I Am Insect" and "Hungry Ghost" productions in 2008. Chris also co-produced the score for the independent feature film "20 Years After" with composer John Heitzenrater.

Jay Manley is a guitarist, producer, composer, and music instructor in Chapel Hill, NC.  Manley received his first guitar at eighteen months old and has devoted his life to the instrument. Classical, Hindustani, rock, blues, country, and jazz all live happily side by side and emerge in his playing style.  Manley was an A.J. Fletcher Scholar and received a B.A. in music from the University of North Carolina Wilmington. He studied classical guitar under Robert Nathanson, jazz with Frank Bongiorno, and composition with Dr. Steven Errante.  For three years, Jay studied the Hindustani or North Indian classical musical tradition under vocalist Madhu Mita Sen Saha.  This has led to tremendous musical involvement in the Indian community of Raleigh, Apex, and Morrisville, NC. He is often spotted accompanying Bengali groups and performing Hindustani influenced music on a custom built 21-string “Saraswati” guitar.  He is currently studying with sarodist John Heitzenrater of the Maihar Gharana.

Branavan Ganesan is a tabla player and percussionist from the Chapel Hill area.  He started his percussion studies on the mridangam, in the South Indian (Carnatic) tradition.  He switched to tabla in his teens, first studying with tabla maestro Ustad Zakir Hussain and then Pandit Anindo Chatterjee.  Branavan is also a standing member of the acoustic group Jaffna, based in Philadelphia.  He plays percussion instruments from many traditions, primarily Hindustani classical, flamenco, and Middle Eastern music. 

Source: Reverbnation.

Blue note plays The Beatles (2004)

Stanley Turrentine

Lee Morgan

Buddy Rich

Tony Williams

Dianne Reeves

Cassandra Wilson

Stanley Jordan