Abigail Washburn & The Sparrow Quartet--s/t

by Rick Zeigler

The Sparrow Quartet sees Abigail Washburn stretching out mightily from her bluegrass roots. While also performing with traditionalists Uncle Earl, the world's "only all-female string band," Washburn's solo career has always been one of transcending traditional bluegrass boundaries. As proof, her first solo album, Songs of the Traveling Daughter, featured her on banjo and Ben Sollee on cello (!) as they explored the connections between bluegrass and traditional Chinese music (Washburn has studied and traveled extensively throughout China and speaks the language fluently). But her new work with the Sparrow Quartet extends even these ambitions many times over, as she is now seemingly intent on inventing her own musical language, which has grown to include not just the aforementioned genres, but also pop, classical/chamber music, and even avant-jazz. Luckily for us (and for her), she has been able to enlist the talents of renowned banjo virtuoso Bela Fleck and violinist extraordinaire Casey Driessen, along with longtime cohort Sollee on cello, to help her on her quest. And the Sparrow Quartet's self-titled album highlights what an exhilarating quest this is. Opening with what is titled "Overture," Washburn and her bandmates invite us into their world with a single cello line, followed by the slow plucking of a banjo, then followed by a violin line. As the instruments join together they break into alternately sprightly and elegiac country/bluegrass riffs, with intertwined Chinese melodies and tunings popping up here and there, along with the first vocals on the disc, Washburn's yodeling. After showing off the range of musical styles Washburn intends to weave together, the album proceeds by offering us an "avant-country/jazz" tune carried by vocal, banjo and cello, and enlivened by a beautiful pop melody sung by Washburn. The next song, "Strange Things" (a motto for the album as a whole?), is the Quartet's interpretation of a traditional country tune, with a dramatic reading that includes lots of tension-building via Sollee's cello and Driessen's violin, all propelled along by Fleck's constant banjo underpinning. "Taiyang Chulai" presents a traditional Chinese melody refracted through the stylings of the Quartet, which is then followed by a very spare voice and banjo original, "Oh Me, Oh My". Also on the disc is a Kazahk instrumental, which the group then masterfully blends into "Banjo Pickin' Girl," a song Washburn learned from a 1930's Coon Creek Girls album. The fusion of these two styles is amazing, but even more so is the follow-up, "Kangding Qingge/Old Timey Dance Party". The title gives away the marriage to be found in combining a VERY funky Bela Fleck banjo riff with a traditional Chinese folk song, an unbelievably potent musical mix. And lest we forget, Washburn's voice is a thing of beauty throughout, particularly demonstrated on the closing "Journey Home," a Washburn bluegrass original written in Chinese. Indeed, Washburn truly is a "bluegrass original". There is nobody out there even remotely approaching the territory she seeks to explore and, like her bandmates Fleck and Driessen, she will probably get some grief for departing radically from the more traditionalist wing of the bluegrass brigade. But as long as she keeps blessing us with the kind of totally unique music presented here, the rest of us can simply marvel at and appreciate the depth and breadth of her talent and ambition. If you have open ears, pick this disc up.