Time and Place

When confronted by albums of new, original compositions by an instrumental folk artist, this reviewer must admit to a bit of apprehension. All too often they lack the directness, simplicity and, crucially, the great melodies of the traditional repertoire that influenced them. So it's a relief when ‘Cabin on the Cumberland’, the opening track, reveals itself to be a rollickingly good tune with unexpected chord-changes and a tricksy extra two beats to the bar here and there to keep listeners on their toes.

George Jackson, a New Zealander in Nashville, is a master of old-time American fiddling and Time and Place is a pleasingly varied collection. While the banjo (from Brad Kolodner), guitars (Ashlee Watkins and Mark Kilianski), acoustic bass (Andrew Small) and mandolin (Andrew Marlin) ensure everything always sounds authentically old-time American, there is something about the melody of ‘Chapel Hill Deer Stalk’ that recalls Scotland, while ‘Stetson's Cabin’ has a touch of Scandinavia to it. Jackson lends his guy-next-door singing to ‘Cumberland River Roll/Tune for Zack’, which charm by their very ordinariness while the whole band add the occasional gang-vocal hook to a tune. While it doesn't quite command undivided attention throughout – an album doesn't have to have more than ten tracks – these tunes sit effortlessly alongside old-time classics while being steeped in Jackson's own personality.