Traveler

Even if you have no idea who Jerry Douglas is, chances are you’ve heard him play. A regular member of Alison Krauss and Union Station since 1998, a 13-time Grammy winner, a three-time Country Music Association Musician of the Year and with some 2,000 album appearances to his credit, Douglas is the most renowned Dobro (lap-steel) guitar player in the world. Traveler is Douglas’ first solo effort in three years. Recorded in New Orleans, New York, Montréal, Banbury (UK) and Nashville, the album’s 11 tracks render the distinctive tonal colours and rhythmic textures of the respective cities and regions, mainly drawing from R&B, blues and alt-rock sources, but never straying far from an over-arching bluegrass mantle. A Who’s Who list of collaborators – Eric Clapton, Keb’ Mo’, Marc Cohn, Dr John, Del McCoury, Sam Bush, Jon Cleary, and Alison Krauss and the Union Station crew – enriches and enhances the proceedings without devolving into a ceremonial superstar showcase.

Things get rolling with a gutbucket, funky version of Leadbelly’s classic ‘On A Monday’, featuring Douglas on lead vocal for the first time on record. On ‘So Here We Are’, an original psych-folky instrumental, Douglas’ wailing lap steel soars above the rock-solid rhythm section of Victor Krauss (bass) and Omar Hakim (drums). A splendidly soulful interpretation of Paul Simon’s ‘The Boxer’ features the composer backed up by Mumford & Sons. ‘King Silkie’, an acoustic picker’s showcase, harkens back to the newgrass roots from which Douglas initially emerged as a visionary talent.