Generation Nation
Though the Republic of Strings features 14 musicians, ranging in age from 14 to 52, the conductor-in-chief is clearly Darol Anger, a violinist and mandolinist who has established his own worldly approach to the new acoustic music of fellow travelers like David Grisman, Mike Marshall, and Béla Fleck. Second-in-command is guitar prodigy Scott Nygaard, who gives the tunes their rhythmic drive as well as a few precise improvisational leads, allowing Anger, cellist Rushad Eggleston, and five-string fiddler Brittany Haas to jam, trill, and generally outwail each other. The collective's vision, however, remains surprisingly smooth, despite the wide range of musical currents, including Celtic and European folk styles and baroque chamber music as well as post-bop jazz and Anglo-American fiddle tunes, which may be closer in harmonic structure than you'd guess. The prettiest performance is the luminous, almost chanson-like "Father Adieu," while the most purely exciting is the seven-minute live jam on the Yellowjackets' "Rain Dance." The album's only misfires are the two attempts at the pop music canon. On "Chain of Fools," singer Chris Webster goes for remote cool but mostly sounds genteel, while Terry Pinkham oversings on a bluegrassy interpretation (with a brief new age interlude) of Buffalo Springfield's "Bluebird."--Roy Kasten