The fruit of four decades of collaboration between bluegrass music's premier photographer and premier historian, Bluegrass Odyssey is a satisfying and visually alluring journey into the heart of a genuinely American music. Combining Neil V. Rosenberg's commentary with more than two hundred of Carl Fleischhauer's matchless photographs, this elegant visual documentary captures the music making, the culture and community that foster it, and "the places where bluegrass is at home.'Fleischhauer's striking photographs take the reader to the festival stages, taverns, grassy hillsides, country music halls, upscale clubs, barbershops, hillbilly storefront bars, and parking-lot jam sessions where bluegrass thrives. Inviting us in to the process of creating and celebrating this exuberant art form, his images offer an authentic and direct vision of the bluegrass community, including fans, instrument dealers, disc jockeys, and revered performers. In addition to wide-angle photographs that document the places in which bluegrass and its people are found, Fleischhauer offers arresting performance portraits of musicians such as Bill Monroe and his Blue Grass Boys, Lester Flatt, Earl Scruggs, Ralph Stanley, Ricky Skaggs, the Lewis and Stoneman families, the New Grass Revival, J. D. Crowe and the Kentucky Mountain Boys, the Dillards, and dozens of others.Rosenberg's narrative explores the dynamics of bluegrass performance, from the practice of "ganging around the mike," as bands bring one musical strand after another to the fore, to the tight harmonies and intricate exchanges as players respond to each other's musical ideas. Noting the blend of influences that have shaped bluegrass-ranging from rural and small-town "preachin' and prayin'" to an assembly-line precision and coordination that reflect the factories and offices to which many rural southerners migrated-Rosenberg traces the genre's emergence as a fully realized musical culture deeply rooted in community and family.
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Book Description
Editorial Reviews
Review
Salutes the values that a tradition has held dear: passion, community, family, and the craft of storytelling. -- Doubletake Magazine
Striking photographs. . . . Covers many aspects of the music's culture.. . . Chock-full of photos capturing the first decade of the festival movement. -- Richard Harrington,Washington Post
Striking photographs. . . . Covers many aspects of the music's culture.. . . Chock-full of photos capturing the first decade of the festival movement. -- Richard Harrington,Washington Post
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12 of 12 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Photo Album/Essays,
By A Customer
This review is from: Bluegrass Odyssey: A Documentary in Pictures and Words, 1966-86 (Music in American Life) (Hardcover)
I highly recommend this book to anyone interested in the history of bluegrass music. Carl Fleischhauer's photographs are worth the cost of the book alone. He has stunning black and white photos of early concerts featuring some of the greatest bluegrass musicians to grace the stage. He also has terrific backstage shots, photos of parking lot pickings, and nostalgic images, such as Uncle Pen's fiddle. These photos portray fascinating facets of bluegrass music's history. Neil Rosenberg's writing complements and enhances these images. His writing provides sufficient information to answer significant questions raised in looking at Fleischhauer's photographs. As a special treat, the book includes a fine photo memorial and essay to Bill Monroe. This book is an excellent record of the early history of bluegrass, and it vividly portrays images that ring true today.
4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:
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This review is from: Bluegrass Odyssey: A Documentary in Pictures and Words, 1966-86 (Music in American Life) (Hardcover)
This book blends a photo essay with a well written history of early years of bluegrass music. Neil Rosenberg has performed bluegrass music for years, and his compelling writing thoroughly documents the genre's history. Carl Fleischauer photographs folk culture with a terrific eye for ways in which music is situated with communities. There are vivid portraits of stellar bluegrass musicians and beautiful pictures of classic bluegrass venues during this formative time period. It is especially interesting to see bluegrass music's "look" from 1967-1986 still remains a presence within the contemporary bluegrass music scene.
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This review is from: Bluegrass Odyssey: A Documentary in Pictures and Words, 1966-86 (Music in American Life) (Paperback)
This book arrived in a reasonable amount of time and was packaged well so that it arrived in great condition. I was very happy with the service.
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Front Cover | Front Flap | Table of Contents | First Pages | Index | Back Flap | Back Cover | Surprise Me!
Inside This Book
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First Sentence:
Carl and I grew up in the 1940s when the dominant home entertainment media were aural-radio and records-so that it was our ears rather than our eyes that first drew us to the intensity of bluegrass. Read the first page Key Phrases - Statistically Improbable Phrases (SIPs): (learn more)
bluegrass scene, bluegrass concert, bluegrass fans, bluegrass festival, bluegrass music, bluegrass band, family bands Key Phrases - Capitalized Phrases (CAPs): (learn more)
Bill Monroe, Bean Blossom, Blue Grass Boys, West Virginia, Ralph Stanley, Lester Flatt, Country Gentlemen, Indian Springs, Earl Scruggs, Bluegrass Unlimited Festival, Grand Ole Opry, Jimmy Martin, Kenny Baker, Ralph Rinzler, Frontier Ranch, Seldom Scene, Astro Inn, Charlie Waller, John Duffey, New York, Sandy Rothman, Birchmere Music Hall, Blue Grass Folk Music Festival, Carter Stanley Memorial Festival, Doyle Lawson New!
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Front Cover | Front Flap | Table of Contents | First Pages | Index | Back Flap | Back Cover | Surprise Me!
Carl and I grew up in the 1940s when the dominant home entertainment media were aural-radio and records-so that it was our ears rather than our eyes that first drew us to the intensity of bluegrass. Read the first page Key Phrases - Statistically Improbable Phrases (SIPs): (learn more)
bluegrass scene, bluegrass concert, bluegrass fans, bluegrass festival, bluegrass music, bluegrass band, family bands Key Phrases - Capitalized Phrases (CAPs): (learn more)
Bill Monroe, Bean Blossom, Blue Grass Boys, West Virginia, Ralph Stanley, Lester Flatt, Country Gentlemen, Indian Springs, Earl Scruggs, Bluegrass Unlimited Festival, Grand Ole Opry, Jimmy Martin, Kenny Baker, Ralph Rinzler, Frontier Ranch, Seldom Scene, Astro Inn, Charlie Waller, John Duffey, New York, Sandy Rothman, Birchmere Music Hall, Blue Grass Folk Music Festival, Carter Stanley Memorial Festival, Doyle Lawson New!
Books on Related Topics | Concordance | Text Stats Browse Sample Pages:
Front Cover | Front Flap | Table of Contents | First Pages | Index | Back Flap | Back Cover | Surprise Me!
Citations (learn more)
This book cites 86
books:
See all 86 books this book cites
- Bluegrass: A HISTORY 20TH ANNIVERSARY EDITION (Music in American Life) by Neil V. Rosenberg in Front Matter, Back Matter (1), and Back Matter (2)
- The Bill Monroe Reader (Music in American Life) by Tom Ewing on page 152, and Back Matter
- West Virginia (His The new enchantment of America) by John Allan Carpenter on page 95, and page 124
- Joe Scott, the Woodsman-Songmaker (Music in American Life) by Edward D. Ives in Back Matter
- Traveling the High Way Home: Ralph Stanley and the World of Traditional Bluegrass Music (Music in American Life) by John Wright in Back Matter
See all 86 books this book cites
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