The new combined project by Nora Brown and Stephanie Coleman on Jalopy Records represents a super session of sorts shared by two artists with impeccable credentials. A vocalist, banjo player, and guitarist, Brown is a “lifer” as far as her musical commitment is concerned. She began engaging with music at the age of six and now focuses on a traditional template, especially centered on Southern Appalachian melodies featuring banjo and guitar. She’s performed at numerous festivals throughout the US and Europe, been a featured guest on several national radio programs, reaped remarkable sales for her three previous albums, and garnered extensive praise from any number of prestigious pundits, all in addition to winning a number of major middle competitions along the way.
Brown’s collaboration with fiddler and singer Stephanie Coleman brings an added distinction. Like Brown, Coleman began playing at an early age — eight to be precise — and later started performing in the local traditional music scene, specifically Chicago’s legendary Old Town School of Folk Music. At age 12, she began playing professionally and by the time she turned 13, she had already released her debut album. During her teens, she became an in-demand square dance musician for the Chicago Barn Dance Company, and a regular winner at various fiddle competitions. She later joined the acclaimed female string band, Uncle Earl, with whom she toured the world playing festivals and other iconic venues. She’s also performed alongside Rhiannon Giddens, Aoife O’Donovan, Béla Fleck, and Watchhouse’s Andrew Marlin.
The duo’s new combined effort, Lady of the Lake, spotlights the talents of both artists, given that they are the only two players responsible for the four songs that make up their exceptional EP.
The title track finds the two working in sync, sharing an instrumental that provides the impression it was drawn from old country confines. Gone So Long is an uptempo offering that also sounds as if it was spun from Appalachian environs, as underscored by its heartfelt sentiment. Meanwhile, the simple pluck and strum that illuminates Twin Sisters allows for more delicate designs. Nevertheless, it’s the final song of the set, Copper Kettle, that conveys the most tender trappings, a lovely ballad shared with supple heartfelt harmonies and quiet contentment.
Ultimately, Lady of the Lake emerges as an example of genuine emotion spawned from archival origins. As such, it resonates with both feeling and finesse.
