''Punch'' is the debut

album An album is a collection of audio recordings issued on compact disc (CD), Phonograph record, vinyl, audio tape, or another medium such as Digital distribution#Music, digital distribution. Albums of recorded sound were developed in the early ...

Punch Brothers Punch Brothers is an American band consisting of Chris Thile (mandolin), Gabe Witcher (fiddle/violin), Noam Pikelny (banjo), Chris Eldridge (guitar), and Paul Kowert (bass). Their style has been described as "bluegrass instrumentation and sponta ...

. It was released by

Nonesuch Records Nonesuch Records is an American record company and label owned by Warner Music Group, distributed by Warner Records (formerly called Warner Bros. Records), and based in New York City. Founded by Jac Holzman in 1964 as a budget classical label, No ...

on February 26, 2008. The centerpiece of the album is mandolinist

Chris Thile Christopher Scott Thile (; born February 20, 1981) is an American mandolinist, singer, songwriter, composer, and radio personality, best known for his work in the progressive acoustic trio Nickel Creek and the acoustic folk and progressive blue ...

's ambitious four movement suite, "The Blind Leaving the Blind". Thile says the piece was written in part to deal with his divorce of 2004. It was composed over the course of a year and a half using Finale composition software. About 30% of the composition involves some improvisation, "like a jazz

lead sheet A lead sheet or fake sheet is a form of musical notation that specifies the essential elements of a popular song: the melody, lyrics and harmony. The melody is written in modern Western music notation, the lyric is written as text below the st ...

or a written out fiddle tune". Chris Thile has said that his goal was "to fuse the formal disciplines of

jazz Jazz is a music genre that originated in the African-American communities of New Orleans, Louisiana in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, with its roots in blues and ragtime. Since the 1920s Jazz Age, it has been recognized as a major ...

or classical composition with the vibrancy of bluegrass or

folk music Folk music is a music genre that includes traditional folk music and the contemporary genre that evolved from the former during the 20th-century folk revival. Some types of folk music may be called world music. Traditional folk music has b ...

song writing". The remainder of the album was co-written by the entire band. This album, like the group's previous effort ''

How to Grow a Woman from the Ground ''How to Grow a Woman from the Ground'' is a 2006 album by Chris Thile and Punch Brothers. It was released on Sugar Hill on September 12, 2006. The album is named after a song on the album; a cover of the original by folk singer Tom Brosseau. T ...

'', was recorded live, with only minimal use of multi-track.The Bluegrass Blog » Interview: Chris Thile & Chris Eldridge Part 3: bluegrass music news

Track listing

Personnel

*Producer: Steven Epstein *Engineer: Richard King *Assistant engineers: Hyomin Kang, Don Goodrick *Mixing: Steven Epstein, Richard King *Mastering: Steven Epstein, Richard King *Cover photography:

Autumn de Wilde Autumn de Wilde (born October 21, 1970) is an American photographer and film director best known for her portraiture and commercial work photography of musicians, as well as her music video works. In 2020 she directed her first feature film, '' E ...

*Wardrobe: Shirley Kurata *Studio photography: John Peets *Design: Loren Witcher *Executive producer: Robert Hurwitz

References

External links

Punch Brothers official website
{{Authority control 2008 debut albums Chris Thile albums Nonesuch Records albums Punch Brothers albums