To paraphrase a friend of mine, people go to a classical music performance to hear the composer’s music. They go to a bluegrass show to hear the performer’s music, whether written by themselves or someone else. So I found it intriguing to listen to Trish Imbrogno’s (aka Trish Plays Bass) debut EP. After 25 years playing classical music in orchestras she put away the formal attire, pulled on her boots and jeans, and immersed herself in the world of bluegrass. That initial record, Bluegrass Love Songs, Volume 1, just came out and it’s a paradigm of traditional bluegrass.
Assisted by friends, the likes of whom include Becky Buller and Rainy Miatke, Trish anchors the female harmony on the old-timey Don’t This Road Look Rough and Rocky. Those harmonies sparkle as well on Think Of What You’ve Done, really more of a breakup song than a love song. Bury Me Beneath the Willow pulls on your heartstrings with a sweet bluegrass ballad. Two instrumentals, Cherokee Shuffle and Clinch Mountain Backstep, give the players a chance to stretch out on their instruments. There’s no point in Bluegrass Love Songs, Volume 1, where you’d ever think Trish Plays Bass grew up in the classical world of concert halls and not the campfire circles and impromptu jams of the string band environs.
About the author: I've actually driven from Tehatchapee to Tonopah. And I've seen Dallas from a DC-9 at night.