Although not as well known as what’s happening in the Rockies or Appalachians, there’s a strong bluegrass scene in the northern California Bay Area. The most famous product of that community right now is undoubtedly Molly Tuttle. But there are several other emerging talents, notably AJ Lee and her band, Blue Summit. In fact, Lee played with the Tuttle family band and younger Tuttle brother, Sullivan, is part of Blue Summit. The band is about to release their sophomore album, I’ll Come Back, and it’s a good sampler of the style and virtuosity coming out of the Bay Area.
The first half of the CD leans toward a progressive sound. My favorite song on the disc is opener Lemons And Tangerines. It has a Muscle Shoals-meets-Telluride funky vibe that uses a grafted citrus tree from Lee’s back yard as a metaphor for life. The title track has an indie-grass Americana sound that’s very NPR friendly. Monongah Mine practically crosses into the pop realm with a deceivingly light-hearted tune with an underlying story of a 1907 mining disaster where “there’s no American dream from mine number 6.”
The change to a more traditional bluegrass delivery is noted midway through the album with Back To Bluegrass, a waltz about getting back to your roots, picking all night with friends, whether you “drink whiskey or Hamms”. Put Your Head Down is an uptempo number about the act of prayer and its up to the listener to decide the motivation. Faithful is a blisteringly paced breakup song with attitude when Lee tells her soon-to-be ex to “give my best to your family.”
Arguably the most “bluegrass” of instruments is the banjo. AJ Lee & Blue Summit made a conscious decision not to use it in most of their music. The fiddle and mandolin can still craft as traditional a sound as you could want. By the same token, the lack of banjo lets them shortcut to a sound that’s more progressive, or Americana if you will. I’ll Come Back shows you just how wide a range of music that ground covers and it’s just one of a whole lot of reasons why you should check out the record and the band.
About the author: I've actually driven from Tehatchapee to Tonopah. And I've seen Dallas from a DC-9 at night.