Good news for fans of mandolinist Jesse Brock!
The long-awaited transcription book by Nick DiSebastian, The Mandolin Style of Jesse Brock is now available. Transcriptions were taken from several prominent bluegrass recordings on which Jesse is featured, including his critically-acclaimed solo project, Kickin’ Grass, from 2002, plus selections from Flame Keeper, Fired Up, and Leavin’ Town with Michael Cleveland & Flamekeeper, Hard Country with Audie Blaylock and Redline, and a number of live YouTube videos.
Nick provides each solo in both tablature and standard notation, neatly typeset for legibility, along with brief performance notes from both he and Jesse. Chord indications are also included, along with time notation relative to the recordings to make multiple solos easy to locate. A total of 15 tunes are presented.
Jesse shared a few words about seeing this project come to life…
“It had never occurred to me that people would want to learn how I play, note for note. When Nick came to me with this project I was excited! With the age group of mandolinists always broadening, it doesn’t surprise me that people are in search of a wealth of knowledge for different mandolin styles.
Hmm, my style? Well, the melody is very important to me. My big influences are Nate Bray, Dempsey Young, Doyle Lawson, Jimmy Geadreau, David McGlaughlin. I often ask myself ‘If I wasn’t playing, how would I sing it?’ I have fun with it. When the mandolin is in my hand I open up and feel like I can express myself. I take on a whole new personality.
I’ve played with quite a few bands over the years. My current job is with the Gibson Brothers. I started with them in 2013 and really love it! Along with playing, I’ve taught at several camps. I’m excited to be able to contribute my playing, through this book, to the world of mandolinists!”
Nick and Jesse produced this video to introduce the book:
DiSebastian has worked in and around bluegrass on mandolin, guitar, and bass for many years. He is also an in-demand instructor and an experienced transcriptionist. An earlier book of his contains mandolin transcriptions from Adam Steffey’s New Tradition project.
He tells us how this book for Jesse came to be.
“Jesse has been one of my favorite mandolinists since I first started listening to bluegrass as a teenager. We met a few years ago at a festival and have stayed in touch ever since. Most of the transcribing I do involves one time jobs for various customers but I also like to work on bigger projects, like this one. With Jesse winning the IBMA mandolin player of the year award for the second time this year I thought it would be great to take a deep look into his playing and be able to offer it to other mandolinists.
Working with Jesse on this has been an absolute pleasure. We got together for a day of recording which was just a blast! He and I are both psyched about bringing this book to fans and mandolinists everywhere.”
The Mandolin Style of Jesse Brock is offered in either a soft cover format for $30, or a digital (PDF) version for $25. It is available from Nick’s web site and from Jesse at any of his shows with The Gibson Brothers.
