Andy's Ramble

Andy Statman is one of his generation's most adventurous mandolinists, possessing a formidable technique that is always in the service of a gifted sense of musicality. His love for traditional bluegrass music, and especially the music of Bill Monroe, goes back at least as far as 1965, when, at the tender age of 15, he began taking mandolin lessons from David Grisman. This album draws from bluegrass traditions and finds Statman leading a top-flight ensemble (including fiddlers Vassar Clements and Kenny Kosek, and banjoist Tony Trischka) on a musically eclectic journey that takes its inspiration from the music of Monroe -- Statman's guiding light. Four of the inspired participants in this project -- Statman, Kenny Kosek, Tony Trischka and Roger Mason -- have worked together since the Country Cooking/Breakfast Special days of the early 1970s.