Unusual find

[Ken Dryden]

I just picked up a bluegrass CD by banjo player Doug Dillard and discovered Red Mitchell is the bassist. Lots of fun if you enjoy this sort of thing.

[Walt Richmond]

What's the name of the CD?

[jazztrain]

From the hillbillyhollywood.com website:

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In 1969 Doug recorded "The Banjo Album" - (Together Records) which featured The Original Gang of Four - (Don Parmley, Byron Berline, and David Lindley), (which also had an unbilled Gene Clark, John Hartford, Red Mitchell, Milt Holland, Andy Belling and Don Beck).

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The album was reissued in 2004 on CD with four bonus tracks on the Rural Rhythm label: The Banjo Album

What's the name of the CD?

Edited September 24, 2009 by jazztrain

[Big Beat Steve]

Amazing ... wasn't Red Mitchell living in Sweden at that time (and for many more years)?

[jazztrain]

This site gives 1968 as the recording date: Dillards

Perhaps it was recorded before Mitchell left. Some sources suggest that Mitchell moved overseas so that he could concentrate on playing jazz.

To update the earlier post, the original LP issue was on Together STT 1003.

The initial CD reissue in 1992 was on Sierra OXCD 6008.

A later (2004) CD reissue, with bonus tracks, was on Rural Rhythm RHY 1022.

There's always the possibility that it was another Red Mitchell. However, here's a link to the CD liner notes to another Dillards album: CD Liner Notes

Note the following quote (appears to be from their producer John Dickson):

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"I was not so much looking for a fusion between folk and rock, but ways to enhance folk music," he elaborated in the author's 2002 book Turn! Turn! Turn!: The '60s Folk-Rock Revolution. "At first, using jazz musicians Red Mitchell, Jimmy Bond, Bud Shank, Billy Higgins, and Frank Butler, and sometimes cello. I wanted more music: countermelodies from the bass instead of just playing changes. This was followed by [David] Crosby [playing] with [guitarist] Tommy Tedesco, [drummer] Earl Palmer, [and bassist] Ray Pohlman. The above musicians and Glen Campbell [with whom the Dillards played on two Dickson-produced 1964 LPs credited to the Folkswingers] were among those I made experiments with, looking for sounds to support folksingers. Working with the Dillards convinced me that better players were possible, as well as [of] the virtues of group singing."

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Amazing ... wasn't Red Mitchell living in Sweden at that time (and for many more years)?

[Ken Dryden]

That's the one, The Banjo Album, reissued on Sierra as a CD. I enjoyed it.

[jazzerby]

How is Josh Berman? Is he good?