Sill Light of the Evening

Like straight-ahead jazz, bluegrass often functions as a repertory music these days. Some bluegrass traditionalists insist on playing nothing but the same old bluegrass standards the same old way, much like a bebop saxophonist who insists on providing yet another predictable version of "Night in Tunisia" because he/she is too lazy to interpret some of Dizzy Gillespie's lesser-known gems. Not every artist who comes along has to be an innovator, but the more interesting traditionalists will offer some surprises and give themselves a variety of material to choose from. On Still Light of the Evening, Tony Williamson demonstrates that he is one of bluegrass' more interesting traditionalists. While he isn't an innovator à la David Grisman, Williamson does take his share of chances — and he is willing to look in a lot of different places when it comes to choosing traditional public domain material. This CD finds the mandolin virtuoso/singer embracing everything from the haunting "Rovin' Gambler" to the country gospel "City on the Hill" and "Jacob's Vision" to a time-honored Irish-Celtic song, "Temperance Reel." Williamson's performance of "Temperance Reel" is an inspired acknowledgment of bluegrass' Celtic roots; the jigs, reels, and airs that Irish and Scottish immigrants brought with them to the U.S. paved the way for bluegrass and country. Not every song that Williamson embraces on this 2001 session is in the public domain — he wrote several of the songs himself, including the joyous "Mountain Girl" and the exuberant instrumental "White Angels in the Clouds" (which contains hints of pre-bebop jazz). Anyone who is seeking a traditional bluegrass release that isn't overly predictable is advised to check out Still Light of the Evening.