Fasten your seat belts, because we have to take a quick detour to the United States. I said that my boss was interesting, not consistent. So we are out of the Sahara and into the mid-west with Abigail Washburn. She is a noted banjo player and singer. And Toni sent along the follow link to a live performance by Sparrow Quartet of “Kangding Qingge” (Old-Timey Dance Party) from their 2008 album, Abigail Washburn & The Sparrow Quartet. It’s a great song and Washburn is wonderful and all but…
It should be really clear listening to this that Washburn is not the star of this band. The real star in the Sparrow Quartet is Béla Fleck. In fact, he is so great that I really think I’m going to have to do a week of his music sometime soon. But for now, let’s enjoy this beautiful piece of music. It really is lowly.
I got introduced to Abagail Washburn when I went to an eTown taping to see Jimmie Dale Gilmore and the Wronglers and she was the second musical guest. She has spent much time in China and can speak Mandarin pretty well. You can really her that influence in her music.
https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLX-PcnMCjL76NWj2V2hV5s6_zRpsuEaIt
I’m sure you already know that she and Bela Fleck are married.
Thanks. I’m sure I’ll be checking out more of her stuff.
Yeah, I read that toward the end of my article. I thought about adding it, because it’s kind of cute. But I didn’t want to take away from any of the individuals. All four of them are great musicians. It’s a great find.