When fiddler George Jackson met banjoist Brad Kolodner ten years ago in a late night jam session at the Appalachian String Band Music Festival in Clifftop, West Virginia, it was the beginning of a deep and lasting musical bond. After embarking on a tour of Jackson’s native New Zealand in the spring of 2024, the two immediately decided to record an album of old time fiddle and banjo duets. This release, Shady Lane, is what ultimately resulted.
The thirteen tunes vary between traditional sources and pieces written by contemporary artists. The opening track, Grigsby’s Hornpipe, comes from the repertoire of Eck Robertson and provides a shining example of the musical chemistry that Jackson and Kolodner have with each other.
The title track, Shady Lane, comes from fiddler Darley Fulks of Wolfe County, Kentucky. While George and Brad stay fairly true to Fulks’ arrangement, they each add their own flourishes to this unique piece.
Two Rivers by Larry Unger slows things down a bit with its peaceful melody. Listeners will be particularly transfixed by Kolodner’s banjo work here as it sets the tone for the gentleness with which this tune is played. The following track, Bitter Creek, is by contrast very fun and lively. With their performance inspired by Red Williams, this tune is overall a brilliant example of George Jackson’s fiddling.
Listeners will most likely be familiar with Norman and Nancy as it was written by Sam Bush, who first recorded the tune on his album, Late as Usual, in 1984. With the arrangement sticking fairly close to Bush, George and Brad do an excellent job interpreting this piece.
Wandering Boy is one of a couple of tunes where Kolodner utilizes the gourd banjo, one of the earliest forms of the five stringed variants of the instrument. With its deep, hollow sound this banjo adds a great deal of character to this piece, which the duo learned from Frank Jenkins.
Woodcarver’s Reel, written by Jackson, is another piece that while gentle, has a captivating melody. It’s the only tune on this recording written by either of the duo, and it’s a strong example of Jackson’s ability in composing a brand new piece using the template of old time music.
Shady Lane is an enthralling listen from start to finish. All thirteen of these pieces are played with great vibrancy. The bond that George Jackson and Brad Kolodner have maintained comes through distinctly on this effort.
