''Fair Weather'' is album by

American American(s) may refer to: * American, something of, from, or related to the United States of America, commonly known as the "United States" or "America" ** Americans, citizens and nationals of the United States of America ** American ancestry, pe ...

banjoist

Alison Brown Alison Brown (born August 7, 1962) is an American banjo player, guitarist, composer, and producer. She has won and has been nominated for several Grammy awards and is often compared to another banjo prodigy, Béla Fleck, for her unique style o ...

, released in 2000. At the

43rd Grammy Awards The 43rd Annual Grammy Awards were held on February 21, 2001, at the Staples Center in Los Angeles, California. Several artists earned three awards on the night. Steely Dan's haul included Album of the Year for ''Two Against Nature''. U2 too ...

Brown and

Béla Fleck Béla Anton Leoš Fleck (born July 10, 1958) is an American banjo player. An acclaimed virtuoso, he is an innovative and technically proficient pioneer and ambassador of the banjo, bringing the instrument from its bluegrass roots to jazz, classi ...

won the

Grammy Award for Best Country Instrumental Performance The Grammy Award The Grammy Awards (stylized as GRAMMY), or simply known as the Grammys, are awards presented by the Recording Academy of the United States to recognize "outstanding" achievements in the music industry. They are regarded by m ...

for "Leaving Cottondale". Guests include

Stuart Duncan Stuart Duncan (born April 14, 1964) is an American bluegrass musician who plays the fiddle, mandolin, guitar, and banjo. Life Duncan was born in Quantico, Virginia, and raised in Santa Paula, California, where he played in the school band. He ...

Darol Anger Darol Anger is an American violinist and founding member of The David Grisman Quintet. Career Darol Anger entered popular music at the age of 21 as a founding member of The David Grisman Quintet. Anger played fiddle to David Grisman's mando ...

Vince Gill Vincent Grant Gill (born April 12, 1957) is an American country music singer, songwriter and musician. He has achieved commercial success and fame both as frontman of the country rock band Pure Prairie League in the 1970s and as a solo artist b ...

and

Tony Rice David Anthony Rice (June 8, 1951 – December 25, 2020), known professionally as Tony Rice, was an American guitarist and bluegrass musician. He was an influential acoustic guitar player in bluegrass, progressive bluegrass, newgrass and a ...

Reception

In his

Allmusic AllMusic (previously known as All Music Guide and AMG) is an American online music database. It catalogs more than three million album entries and 30 million tracks, as well as information on musicians and bands. Initiated in 1991, the databas ...

review, music critic Rick Anderson wrote that Brown "returns to her bluegrass roots on this beautiful and exhilarating album. Well, sort of... much of this is bluegrass music of a type that Bill Monroe might not recognize... The album's most thrilling moments come on the complex and exhilarating "Leaving Cottondale," which is both one of the prettiest and one of the most technically impressive of Brown's compositions. Here she's joined by fellow banjo maverick Bela Fleck for one of the most jaw-dropping passages of twin-banjo counterpoint ever put on tape. Call it bluegrass, call it newgrass, call it jazzgrass, whatever. This is one of the best albums of 2000 in any genre." Ian Perry of ''Banjo NewsLetter'' writes of the title track "Fair Weather was written by Steve Libbea (brother of Nashville Bluegrass Band bassist Gene Libbea), who died tragically in a plane crash. Alison, along with vocalist Vince Gill and Gene Libbea who also appear on the cut, offer this version of Steve’s song as a tribute, making the whole performance that much more heartfelt and meaningful." Chet Williamson of Rambles.net writes "The music is great, from the blazing hot opener, "Late on Arrival," to "Sweet Thing," the banjo solo that wraps things up. There are a lot of highlights in between. The title track is a

showcase, proving that he can still play mighty fine lead guitar as well as sing magnificently."

Track listing

*Track information taken from the album's liner notes.

Personnel

– banjo, guitar *

– banjo * John Burr – piano, keyboards * Rick Reed – drums * Garry West – bass *

Sam Bush Charles Samuel Bush (born April 13, 1952) is an American mandolinist who is considered an originator of progressive bluegrass music. In 2020, he was inducted into the International Bluegrass Music Hall of Fame as a member of New Grass Revival. ...

– mandolin, lead vocal (4) *

– fiddle *

Garth Fundis Garth Fundis is an American country music record producer. Active since the 1970s, Fundis has produced albums for several country artists, including Alabama, Don Williams, Trisha Yearwood, Sugarland, and Keith Whitley. He has also served as a ju ...

– vocals *

– guitar, vocals *

David Grier David Grier is an American acoustic guitarist. He is considered to be one of the premier flatpicking guitarists in the world. His crosspicking, unique phrasing, and his ability to create multiple variations on a theme are hallmarks of his play ...

– guitar * Tim O'Brien – mandolin, lead vocal (8) *

– guitar * Mike Marshall – guitar, mandolin *

Todd Phillips Todd Phillips (né Bunzl, born December 20, 1970) is an American film director, producer, and screenwriter. He began his career in 1993 and directed films in the 2000s such as ''Road Trip (film), Road Trip'', ''Old School (film), Old School'', ...

– bass *

Missy Raines Missy Raines (born April 6, 1962) is an American bassist, singer, teacher, and songwriter. She has won 10 International Bluegrass Music Awards for Bass Player of the Year. Missy Raines was the first woman to win IBMA Bass Player of the Year awa ...

– bass

References

External links

Alison Brown Official SiteCompass Records Official Site
{{DEFAULTSORT:Fair Weather (Album) 2000 albums Alison Brown albums