Makes sense to us, Bluegrass/Newgrass innovator Sam Bush joins Jazz Saxophonist Great Bill Evans in a high-powered pairing of American styles in "Soulgrass," and they are performing at the legendary Blue Note jazz club Jan 23-28.

Evans says that the idea of exploring an adventurous and unlikely hybrid of bluegrass and jazz was actually something he had in mind for years. "I've been an Americana fan ever since my Miles days. I liked the sound of mandolin, banjo, dobro and fiddle and I thought that music had a very cool rhythmic approach, even though I never really knew the names of the players or the tunes. I had been listening to some Americana and bluegrass stuff for quite some time. I had some Bill Monroe CDs at home as well as recordings by Bruce Hornsby, the Flecktones, Sam Bush, Mark O'connor. Music of that genre was very inspiring to me. Bluegrass and jazz are very similar in so many ways. As a jazz musician, it's all just a different way to improvise and express yourself. I find it very exciting to combine both kinds of music. It is a dream of mine to play on stage at the Blue Note with all these great musicians and create some totally new music!"

In 2005 Bill flew to Nashville and with the stellar cast of Bela Fleck, Sam Bush, Victor Wooten, Jerry Douglas, Vinny Colaiuata, Mark Egan, and Bruce Hornsby and completed the CD, calling the music and CD "Soulgrass." The record was nominated for Grammy in 2005, and now, Evans is bringing the music all over the world.

Show Information: Bill Evans Soulgrass at Blue Note

Posted by Ted at January 24, 2007 6:11 AM