Recapturing The Banjo

Performer: Otis Taylor
Engineer: Mark Johnson; Matt Sandoski
Producer: Otis Taylor
Distributor: Fontana Distribution

Notes: Personnel: Otis Taylor (vocals, guitar, banjo, mandolin, piano, percussion, background vocals); Alvin Youngblood Hart (vocals, guitar, 12-string guitar, lap steel guitar, banjo, background vocals); Cassie Taylor (vocals, 12-string guitar, background vocals); Corey Harris, Don Vappie (vocals, banjo); Guy Davis (vocals, mandolin, harmonica, background vocals); Keb' Mo'. Liner Note Author: Dick Weissman. Recording information: Immersive Studios, Boulder, CO; Stustu Studio, Los Angeles, CA. Photographer: Stacy Moore. Arrangers: Guy Davis; Alvin Youngblood Hart; Otis Taylor; Don Vappie. Simultaneously roots-reverent and post-modern, RECAPTURING THE BANJO is credited to Otis Taylor, but is in fact a group effort that also involves contemporary bluesmen Keb' Mo', Guy Davis, Alvin Youngblood Hart, and Corey Harris. They band together for an album that spotlights the role of banjo in early blues, as an instrument with African roots. Classic blues material is offset by Taylor's originals, buoyed by arrangements that alternate between period-perfect and electrified/modern.

Uncut (p.104) - 4 stars out of 5 -- "[A] fine celebration of the instruments roots in Africa and its assimilation into the fabric of American music." Down Beat (p.92) - 5 stars out of 5 -- "There may not be a better roots album released this year or decade than RECAPTURING THE BANJO." Dirty Linen (p.p.36) - "Taylor and his colleagues have again served up a living history lesson -- musical, cultural, political -- that's bound to expand the thinking of a lot of listeners." Dirty Linen (p.45) - "Otis Taylor and a host of notable contributors present a collection of largely blues-flavored, banjo-backed songs intended to entertain..." Mojo (Publisher) (p.100) - 4 stars out of 5 -- "Multi-instrumental bluesman Taylor continues to enthrall with roots music allied to an exploration of America's past race problems and social injustices. Harp (magazine) (p.94) - "'Hey Joe' of Hendrix/Byrds renown, is pierced by Taylor's nasty guitar licks, and his 'Absinthe' takes an ethereal turn via Hart's lap steel."

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