The Spirit of St. Louis
Following his 2006 "Festival Time Again" album of original songs, a new album entitled, "The Spirit of St. Louis" will be released January 15, 2007 on the Zephyr Records label by Oregon musician Joe Ross. The 12-track album features eleven original Bluegrass and Americana songs written by Ross during the past three decades, as well as a novel arrangement of the traditional "St. Anne's Reel" with autoharp, whistle, mandolin, Japanese koto, and more. The title cut tells the story and celebrates the 80th anniversary of Charles Lindbergh's famous trans-Atlantic solo flight from New York to Paris in 1927.
Phil Rosenthal offers, "What a nice collection! With strong melodies and well-crafted, detailed images, Joe Ross' songs on 'The Spirit of St. Louis' draw the listener in. Some celebrate the beauties of the Northwest, others evoke childhood memories or retell the story of Lindbergh's flight. All are memorable, and invite repeated listening. Strong instrumental work, great vocal harmonies and creative arrangements round out this compelling new album."
A multi-instrumentalist, Joe Ross plays guitar, mandolin, hammered dulcimer, upright bass, and keys on the project. Vocals and harmonies are handled by Joe Ross and Randy Kohrs, while noted traditional bluegrass vocalist Mel Besher (and his Missouri-based band, Cedar Hill) make a cameo appearance on the song "Mother's Songs." Some other artists working with Ross on "The Spirit of St. Louis" project include:
Bryan Bowers - Autoharp Al Brinkerhoff - Resophonic guitar
Tim Crouch - Fiddle Mitsuki Dazai - Koto
Ben Greene - Banjo Adam Haynes - Fiddle
Jason Heald - Bass James King - Guitar
Randy Kohrs - Harmony vocals Jerry McNeely - Bass
Kevin Prater - Mandolin, guitar Ron Stewart - Banjo, fiddle
Scott Vestal - Banjo Frank Ray - Mandolin
Radim Zenkl – Pennywhistle Lisa Ray – Fiddle, harmony vocals
Joe Falletta, staff writer for Bluegrass Now magazine, observes, "There's a lot to like about this latest effort from Joe Ross. Eleven new original songs cover everything from stirring Gospel, to songs about logging, Mom, Oregon (where Joe calls home), love, even fowl, and, as the title implies, Charles Lindbergh's epic flight across the Atlantic…. The word sure seems to have gotten out among his peers that Joe is a talent to be reckoned with; it's more than about time this notion catches on with the listening public and bluegrass radio."
Ross admits that the set is quite eclectic and draws inspiration from bluegrass, Celtic, folk, and gospel music.
Bob Cherry, Editor of Cybergrass, comments "The songs are generally up-beat, full of life and energy and thought provoking. They create dreams of yesterday and enlightenment for tomorrow. There is a bit here for everyone as Ross carries the listener from traditional and early-country sounds through a musical journey that encompass gospel and folk as well. This is a fine add on to the Joe Ross collection of songwriter albums providing fresh sounds and ideas in bluegrass and acoustic music today."
All lyrics for the originals can be found at http://www.talentondisplay.com/joerosslyrics.html
Songs on the album include:
1. The Logger's Song
2. The Homefire
3. One Legged Turkey
4. The River in Oregon
5. Mother's Songs
6. The Church Bell No One Hears
7. The Spirit of St. Louis
8. My Heart Remembers Yesterday
9. Saint Anne's Reel
10. Streamliner
11. Somewhere Down the Road
12. His Hand is Divine
Born in Virginia but raised a "military brat" in Japan, Joe heard his first strains of bluegrass on the Far East Network as a teenager. During the late-60s, he played electronic organ overseas in professional rock and soul bands. Ross formed his first bluegrass band, The High Mountain Ramblers, while attending the University of Oregon in the 1970s. Over the years, he's also played and recorded with Sagegrass and Cold Thunder.
With over 1,200 published feature stories and reviews during the past three decades, Joe Ross may be best known as a music journalist. He is a "Top 500" reviewer on Amazon.com, but his songwriting and musicianship have also garnered numerous awards. Joe currently "edu-tains" with his interactive, fast-paced "Roots of Bluegrass" solo show that traces the evolution of the music and demonstrates multiple instruments. He also performs with The Celtic Tradition, and he fronts the Joe Ross Band (with Beth McNamara, Jerry Ashford, and Oregon state Dobro champion Al Brinkerhoff). His six highly-acclaimed albums span various genres from bluegrass to Celtic, children's music to Americana. "Festival Time Again" marks his first all-original project, and he is already planning future releases to showcase more of his own songs. Ross is on the Northwest on Tour juried artist roster and frequently performs shows and festivals throughout the region. Songs from "The Spirit of St. Louis" will be presented at CD release events throughout 2007.
The best way to stay abreast of the Joe Ross' performance schedule is at their website, http://oregonbluegrass.org/Bands/joeross.htm Described as "indefatigable and wry-witted," Joe Ross moderates a 1,000-member listserv called the Nwbluegrass Yahoogroup, as well as the 100-member SoundReinforce Yahoogroup. Famous bluegrass musician Mark Petteys notes, "This new bluegrass album is a lyrical journey through diverse and evocative stories and moods. The instrumentalists are all great and the album, with Joe's powerful lyrics, distinguishes his lyrical abilities as well as his skill as a singer and picker. Joe carves out a real niche as an Oregon singer and songwriter."
"The Spirit of St. Louis" (Zephyr-0430) will receive worldwide distribution. All music stores will be able to order the item from the Super-D/Phantom One-Stop distribution catalog. "The Spirit of St. Louis" is currently available for purchase on the internet at CDBABY, CDPulse, CDUniverse and Amazon. Many sound clips and reviews are also available at http://www.cdbaby.com/jross4
Professor, musician and reviewer Bill Jolliff concludes, "Here's another fine set of new, tightly written bluegrass tunes by Oregon's Joe Ross. No Carolina cabins or Kentucky hills here, but these songs from the Pacific Northwest are engagingly written, tightly arranged, and superbly picked. The super group of first-call pickers cut their swath right through some pretty tall bluegrass. Great work!" The album is also getting international attention and airplay. Benny Metten of Belgium calls this new project from Joe Ross " an album chockful of sparkling bluegrass ditties, immediately drawing one's attention by their strong melodies and a big, big country heart."
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