Fine Times at Fletcher’s House – Fletcher Bright and Bill Evans

Fine Times at Fletcher’s House - Fletcher Bright and Bill Evans Subtitled Fiddle and Banjo from Lookout Mountain, Tennessee, Fine Times at Fletcher’s House, featuring the fiddle of Fletcher Bright and the banjos of Bill Evans, was released earlier this month (June 18).

Recorded at 81 year old Fletcher Bright’s Tennessee mountain home December 11-14, 2012, the CD features 16 tunes or medleys performed simply but with much obvious enjoyment on fiddle and banjo. While the emphasis is on fiddle tunes the duo are evidently soul-mates.

Bright’s repertoire is wide-ranging with two tunes, Whitehorse Breakdown and Northern White Clouds, from Bill Monroe; a couple more, Two O’clock and Fiddler’s Dream, with Benny Williams imprint; two, Blackjack Grove and Liverpool Hornpipe, with links to John Hartford; some obscure numbers including Scott # 2 and Going Back to Israel; Blaine Sprouse’s Blue Ridge Reel and Tom Anderson’s Da Slokit Light (literally translated as The Light Gone Out); and several traditional tunes including Yellow Barber, Daley’s Reel and Greasy Coat; a two-in-one non-standard variations of Polly Put the Kettle On; and two medleys Abe’s Retreat/Fine Times at Our House and St. Anne’s Reel / Angeline the Baker / Soldier’s Joy.

Each tune is a fine selection and the playing always shows great taste matched by exceptional tone and timing.

While Fine Times at Fletcher’s House is a product of a meeting at a music camp, the impromptu nature of the first get together is present during these sessions, but none lack for careful preparation.

Full track listing  ..

Yellow Barber / Two O’clock / Polly Put the Kettle On / Scott # 2 / Blackjack Grove / Whitehorse Breakdown / Da Slokit Light  / Daley’s Reel / Northern White Clouds / Blue Ridge Reel / Greasy Coat / Fiddler’s Dream / Abe’s RetreatFine Times at Our House / Liverpool Hornpipe / Going Back to Israel / St Anne’s ReelAngeline the BakerSoldier’s Joy  (Native and Fine Records 906-10)

The album is available directly from the Bill Evans web store. There are several samples available at the web store as well.

In addition, the entire project is streaming on-line via AirplayDirect.

A full review will be forthcoming.

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About the Author

Richard Thompson

Richard F. Thompson is a long-standing free-lance writer specialising in bluegrass music topics. A two-time Editor of British Bluegrass News, he has been seriously interested in bluegrass music since about 1970. As well as contributing to that magazine, he has, in the past 30 plus years, had articles published by Country Music World, International Country Music News, Country Music People, Bluegrass Unlimited, MoonShiner (the Japanese bluegrass music journal) and Bluegrass Europe. He wrote the annotated series I'm On My Way Back To Old Kentucky, a daily memorial to Bill Monroe that culminated with an acknowledgement of what would have been his 100th birthday, on September 13, 2011.