Poor Claire Lynch. She’s had to go through the Summer without her bass player, Mark Schatz, who has been out touring with Nickel Creek. He’s due back in the middle of September, but now comes news that guitarist Matt Wingate is leaving the group.
Jim Hurst will be filling in this next few weeks, returning to a spot with Claire that he held for many years. That will run through Labor Day, and then Matt will return through the IBMA World of Bluegrass in late September, after which a new guitarist will be announced.
Though all of the artists involved are top professionals, Claire admits that she will be glad to get all the shuffling out of the way and settle back to a regular touring group. But she is delighted to work with Jim again, starting this weekend.
“It will be a really fine reunion (albeit temporary) with the great Jim Hurst. I’m looking forward to it.”
Claire also mentioned that she is nearly finished with her upcoming Christmas album, which will be called Holiday. She made the point that it’s not wholly a Christmas project, as she includes one Hanukkah song as well in honor of her dear friend and soon-to-be-returning bassist Mark Schatz.
A number of new songs will be included, though Claire said the bulk of the material is drawn from “the sort of songs you want to hear putting up Christmas decorations.”
Hopefully she will have copies for sale by World of Bluegrass.
This one is self-produced, created outside of her arrangement with Compass Records, to whom she will return for the next album after Holiday.
A lot of fine pickers are nominated for IBMA awards every year, and a chosen few get to cross the stage and pick up a statue. But with five or six nominees in a category, that still leaves plenty of talent unrecognized by their peers.
As I tweeted the winners at this year’s ceremony, it occurred to me that you could assemble a top-notch band with musicians who weren’t nominated. That was the genesis of my first annual Bluegrass Today All-Star Band, which is announced here.
My choices are based on the calendar year rather than the split-year format IBMA uses. So some members of the All-Stars may not have been eligible for IBMA voting this year (but will be in 2012). Those among the final nominees for the 2011 IBMA awards are not eligible, and I’m limiting my picks to one player per band. Otherwise, the band would pretty much be the Gibson Brothers (with Eric doing all the singing since Leigh won male vocalist of the year).
So here goes:
GUITAR: When Jim Hurst left the Claire Lynch Band, he left some mighty big shoes to fill. Matt Wingate filled them admirably and is my choice for this critical slot in the band. His leads are fresh and energetic and his rhythm is impeccable. Plus, he can double on mandolin and is a solid harmony singer.
MANDOLIN: Jesse Brock is a past winner of the IBMA award but wasn’t nominated this year in what might be the most competitive category.
This guy is a human metronome and – dirty little secret – he’s a strong singer and arranger, too.
FIDDLE: Michael Cleveland owns this category in the IBMA voting. But I had a real eye-opening experience at a CD release party for Frank Wakefield a couple of months back. Michael was, as always, phenomenal. But when Nate Leath joined him for twin fiddles, the result was even better. I’ve heard him as the only fiddle in a band, too. He’s the real deal.
BANJO: Mike Munford is a monster picker. He’s a vital cog in Frank Solivan and Dirty Kitchen, but with his five-string prowess, he would be a key part of any band.
DOBRO: It might be years before anybody not named Rob Ickes or Jerry Douglas wins this award. But with Mike Auldridge retiring from the road, a spot as a nominee will open up down the road. Until he fills that slot, we’ll gladly take Andy Hall of the Infamous String Dusters in our All-Star unit.
BASS: With that classic gut-string thump, spot-on timing and just-right embellishments to the traditional root-fifth bass line, Mike Barber of the Gibson Brothers is the perfect choice to hold down the low end. He’s also a terrific producer.
MALE VOCALIST: Keith Garrett of the Boxcars. Nothing against the five IBMA nominees this year – Jamie Dailey, Leigh Gibson, Dan Tyminski, Josh Williams and winner Russell Moore — but this guy deserved to be there. His power, range and emotion make him the best singer in a band filled with singers.
FEMALE VOCALIST: Kati Penn of Newtown. If you haven’t heard her, you should. And if you haven’t heard of her, you will. My only fear is that she won’t be in the All-Star Band long because she’ll crack the top five before long.
This post is a contribution from David Morris, one of our 2010 IBMA correspondents. See his profile here. Photos for this post are from Roy Swann.
Anyone giving a close listen to Claire Lynch’s latest album, Whatcha Gonna Do, is sure to notice the fine guitar picking and masterful harmonies from Jim Hurst, and might venture a guess that his departure from the Claire Lynch Band would leave hard-to-fill gaps in live performances. No offense to Hurst and his outsized talents, but replacement Matt Wingate has provided a seamless transition. From his backing vocals on the first chorus of Great Day in the Morning, which opened the band’s showcase set at the World of Bluegrass conference Tuesday night in Nashville, to trading hard-driving mandolin licks with fiddle responses from Jason Thomas on the final song, Hummingbird, Wingate was stellar.
Indeed, with Wingate, Thomas and bassist Mark Schatz on stage, Lynch just might have the best backing lineup of her career. That’s no small accomplishment, given Hurst’s abilities and the fact that Schatz’s predecessor on the low-end was seven-time IBMA bass player of the year Missy Raines. In addition to being a top-flight bass player, Schatz can pick the banjo, as he did on one tune Tuesday night, and dance a credible tap routine, as he did accompanied by Thomas on the fiddle on another. There was no time in the abbreviated set for two other Schatz performances that are standard parts of Claire Lynch Band shows – a bring-down-the-house hambone routine and a performance of one of the many songs he has written.
None of this is meant to shortchange the band leader, who is up for three IBMA awards Thursday, including female vocalist of the year. Indeed, by surrounding herself with fine players, she is positioning herself for continued success, whether she signs another deal when her contract with Rounder Records expires or whether she follows many others down the path of forming her own label.
Claire Lynch has announced that Matt Wingate is her new guitar player. He steps into the void left when Claire’s long-time guitar man Jim Hurst stepped aside, leaving young Mr. Wingate with some extra large shoes to fill.
But based on his resume, and the fact that Lynch chose him after an exhaustive round of auditions, it would seem that he is more than up to the task. Matt won the Merlefest guitar championship in 1997 when he was 15 years old, and has spent time on the road with The Lovell Sisters, Valerie Smith, and The Greencards. He learned to play as a teen in his family’s band, and released his debut solo CD, A Good Dream, in 2008.
Wingate graced the cover of Flatpicking Guitar Magazine in the Spring of 2009, and the accompanying profile praised his high level of musicianship and his considerable skills on a variety of stringed instruments. Matt is also a fine singer, and will contribute as a vocalist in the Claire Lynch Band as well.
Claire has come up with a clever way to welcome Matt into the band. She is inviting all her fans and friends to submit a welcome message online. By passing along your message, you’ll also be entered into a drawing to win a copy of A Good Dream.
If you are not familiar with this talented young musician, here’s a video of him twinning with Brian Stephens on Salt Creek. Matt is on the left.
The Claire Lynch Band is Jason Thomas on fiddle and mandolin, Mark Schatz on bass and banjo, Wingate on guitar, mandolin and resonator guitar, and of course, Claire Lynch on guitar and lead vocals. You can find their tour schedule online.
