Mike Barnett – + 1
Compass Records – 10 September 2020
This album of song and tune duets (hence the enigmatic title) features phenomenal fiddler Mike Barnett in a series of impressive collaborations with some of the finest contemporary American roots musicians around, including Molly Tuttle, Sarah Jarosz, Stash Wyslouch and Maeve Gilchrist.
Tennessee-born Mike Barnett may not be that familiar a name in UK folk circles, but his talents are well-known to anyone with more than a passing interest in bluegrass and acoustic Americana. A member of cutting edge newgrass outfit The Deadly Gentlemen, more recently he’s filled the fiddler’s seat in the popular bluegrass band Ricky Skaggs & Kentucky Thunder. But Barnett’s musical interests and fiddle skills aren’t confined to bluegrass, but range broadly from Celtic folk to jazz, as demonstrated on his new album +1. It follows his Grammy-nominated 2018 release Portraits in Fiddles, and once again showcases Barnett’s exceptional talents in fiddle performance, songwriting and collaborative creativity.
The album kicks off in emphatic style with original tune Fire in the Hole, pairing Barnett’s blistering fiddling with Stash Wyslouch’s intense guitar picking. A long time musical partner of Barnett’s, Wyslouch was a fellow member of the Deadly Gentlemen and like Barnett and many others featured here, a graduate of Boston’s prestigious Berklee College of Music. These days, Stash alternates between his avant-garde folk/metal/punk solo work and his more conventionally traditional guitar playing with Molsky’s Mountain Drifters. Higher Ground is a quirky, soulful song featuring New Orleans artist Ric Robertson on guitar and vocals. Then we’re back to another virtuosic instrumental, Bucharest, which veers between sunny and sinister in feel. It marries Barnett’s fiddle with the superlative mandolin playing of Dominick Leslie. Another former Deadly Gentleman, the Colorado-born acoustic maestro has been part of the much-admired acoustic quartet Hawktail since 2017.
Righteous Bell is one of the standout tracks for me, a Barnett original featuring the commanding vocal and driving clawhammer banjo of Sarah Jarosz. This hugely gifted multi-instrumentalist doubtless has many fans among FRUK readers, both of her solo music and her work as a member of I’m With Her. Clocking in at a brisk and perfectly formed 2 minutes 25 seconds, this powerful song was written just before the 2016 election. Here’s hoping that the lyric will prove more prophetic this time:
On with your lying
Don’t you hold your tongue
Your words will defy you
When the righteous bell is rung
The subtle tones of Maeve Gilchrist’s harp prove the ideal foil for Barnett’s mellower fiddle stylings on Just Married. Starting out delicate and moving through a more exuberant middle section to a relaxed conclusion, the tune artfully conveys the emotions surrounding Mike’s October 2019 marriage to his wife Annalise – what Mike refers to in his notes as “a small portal, or glimpse, into a magical time of life.” It’s all the more poignant when you reflect on this young couple’s recent travails. Bluegrass standard Born to Be With You is given a rollicking treatment, with Molly Tuttle’s sizzling flatpicking guitar complemented by Barnett’s fiery fiddle licks. Mike and Molly show that they’re two of the finest bluegrass musicians around, and their instrumental prowess is matched by fine harmony singing. Next up, the evocative but up-tempo instrumental Somewhere In the Middle features cellist Nathaniel (Nat) Smith, yet another exceptional musician who toured as part of the Sarah Jarosz trio for several years, and who has also worked with Natalie McMaster and alt-country superstar Kacey Musgraves.
Anna Marie finds Barnett’s fiddle and Sierra Hull’s mandolin intertwining delicately and seamlessly, in an exquisite tribute to a friend’s loss. The few vocals showcase beautifully matched harmonies from Barnett and Hull, but the instruments carry most of the song’s emotional charge. Another dramatic change of pace comes next with Dexterity, a Charlie Parker bebop classic that allows Barnett to showcase his jazz playing in partnership with double bassist Jeff Picker. The aptly named Picker also (usually) tours with Kentucky Thunder alongside Barnett, as well as performing with Sarah Jarosz. Jeff is also a passionate jazz fan and his skills are fully explored on this number, about as far away from “root and fifth” as it’s possible to get.
The fabulously titled The Breath and the Bow features the amazing talent that is Eddie Barbash. This versatile saxophonist joins Barnett in an original Irish-style medley of tunes which puts the lie to the theory that sax doesn’t belong in traditional music. I recall witnessing a memorable after-hours jam session at Celtic Connections festival, where Barbash matched Bruce Molsky note for note in an otherwise fiddle- and banjo- dominated old time jam session after Eddie’s gig with Sierra Hull at the Mitchell Theatre. Next up on the album, Hollow City sees Sarah Jarosz return (this time on octave mandolin) to sing lead on this lovely tribute to New York City which Barnett left to follow his girlfriend (now wife) to Texas several years ago. We’re jolted by another contrast with the next tune Hybrid Hoss; a stunning re-working of the Bill Monroe bluegrass classic Wheel Hoss. Corey Walker on five-string banjo shows off his fretboard dexterity and joins Barnett in a joyful mash-up which takes the original tune off into some jazzier and rather progressive stylings. The Little Sisters Medley sticks more closely to bluegrass traditions with sparkling renditions of Little Sadie and Little Maggie co-starring Barnett’s Kentucky Thunder bandleader Ricky Skaggs. Famed as an award winning mandolinist, Skaggs shows off his exceptional skills on banjo on these tracks. Album closer Piece of Shrimp is a sparky, jazzy duet with Barnett’s close friend Alex Hargreaves, another violin prodigy who was also part of the original Sarah Jarosz trio as well as performing with David Grisman, Mike Marshall and more.
+1 is a stunningly eclectic and talent-packed collection that accurately reflects Mike Barnett’s range and gifts as a fiddle player and composer, while generously spotlighting the talents of his musical collaborators. A brilliantly realised feelgood project that roams across acoustic genres, I’m sure that +1 will continue to reveal its musical and emotional layers with repeated listenings.
Pre-order +1 here: https://compassrecords.lnk.to/plus1WE
The project has been in progress for four years, as Mike recorded the various tunes and songs with different musical collaborators, but its release comes hard on the heels of tragic and unforeseen events for Barnett and his family. On 25th July 2020, two days after his 31st birthday, he suffered a massive cerebral haemorrhage while at home in Nashville. Emergency surgeries were successful in removing a clot on his brain which apparently was due to the bursting of an “arteriovenous malformation,” or AVM, that he was probably born with. But the road to recovery will be long and uncertain, with extensive therapy and rehabilitation required. It’s a terrible event to have befallen anyone, especially a young musician with a gargantuan talent like Mike Barnett. Here’s hoping that he can recover sufficiently to continue what has been an inspiring musical journey so far.
Mike is going to need extensive therapy going forward. Although he shows many remarkable signs of progress, he remains unable to fully express himself in speech or written language, and has very limited mobility on the left side of his body. Everyone in Mike’s life wants him to get the best therapy possible, to maximize the likelihood that Mike could regain some quality of life, and possibly even play fiddle again. – Jeff Picker, friend and musical collaborator.
You can contribute to the Mike Barnett Recovery Fund here.
http://www.mikebarnettfiddler.com/
Photo Credit: Stacie Huckaba