''Short Trip Home'' is an album of classical

chamber music Chamber music is a form of classical music that is composed for a small group of Musical instrument, instruments—traditionally a group that could fit in a Great chamber, palace chamber or a large room. Most broadly, it includes any art music ...

by a quartet unusual both for its membership and its instrumentation. Double bassist

Edgar Meyer Edgar Meyer (born November 24, 1960) is an American bassist and composer. His styles include classical, bluegrass, newgrass, and jazz. He has won seven Grammy Awards and been nominated ten times. Meyer is a member of the Telluride Bluegrass ...

wrote the majority of the compositions recorded on the album for a quartet of violin, double bass, mandolin, and guitar. Classical violinist

Joshua Bell Joshua David Bell (born December 9, 1967) is an American violinist and conductor. He is currently music director of the Academy of St Martin in the Fields. Early life and education Bell was born in Bloomington, Indiana, one of four children of ...

joins bluegrass musicians

Sam Bush Charles Samuel Bush (born April 13, 1952) is an American mandolinist who is considered an originator of progressive bluegrass music. In 2020, he was inducted into the International Bluegrass Music Hall of Fame as a member of New Grass Revival. ...

and Mike Marshall and Meyer on the album. In addition to classical music in an American vernacular, the quartet occasionally breaks out on more traditional instrumental bluegrass tunes.

Track listing

#"Short Trip Home" (Edgar Meyer) #"Hang Hang" (Meyer, Mike Marshall) #"BT" (Meyer) #"In the Nick of Time" (Meyer) #Concert Duo. Prequel (Meyer) #"BP" (Meyer) #"If I Knew" (Meyer) #"OK, All Right" (Meyer) #"Death by Triple Fiddle" (Meyer, Sam Bush, Marshall, Joshua Bell) #Concert Duo. 1 (all movements by Meyer) #Concert Duo. 2 #Concert Duo. 3 #Concert Duo. 4

Personnel

*Joshua Bell,

violin The violin, sometimes referred to as a fiddle, is a wooden chordophone, and is the smallest, and thus highest-pitched instrument (soprano) in regular use in the violin family. Smaller violin-type instruments exist, including the violino picc ...

*Edgar Meyer,

bass Bass or Basses may refer to: Fish * Bass (fish), various saltwater and freshwater species Wood * Bass or basswood, the wood of the tilia americana tree Music * Bass (sound), describing low-frequency sound or one of several instruments in th ...

*Sam Bush,

mandolin A mandolin (, ; literally "small mandola") is a Chordophone, stringed musical instrument in the lute family and is generally Plucked string instrument, plucked with a plectrum, pick. It most commonly has four Course (music), courses of doubled St ...

; violin on "Death by Triple Fiddle" *Mike Marshall,

guitar The guitar is a stringed musical instrument that is usually fretted (with Fretless guitar, some exceptions) and typically has six or Twelve-string guitar, twelve strings. It is usually held flat against the player's body and played by strumming ...

;

mandola The mandola (US and Canada) or tenor mandola (Ireland and UK) is a fretted, stringed musical instrument. It is to the mandolin what the viola is to the violin: the four double courses of strings tuned in fifths to the same pitches as the viola ...

on "BT"; violin on "Death by Triple Fiddle"

In popular culture

The track "Short Trip Home" is heard in the

Richard Proenneke Richard Louis Proenneke (; May 4, 1916 – April 20, 2003) was an American self-educated naturalist, conservationist, writer, and wildlife photographer who, from the age of about 51, lived alone for nearly thirty years (1968–1998) in the mounta ...

documentary ''Alone in the Wilderness.'' The tracks “In the Nick of Time” and "Concert Duo. 1" are heard in the

Ken Burns Kenneth Lauren Burns (born July 29, 1953) is an American filmmaker known for his documentary films and television series, many of which chronicle American history and culture. His work is often produced in association with WETA-TV or the Nati ...

documentary ''The War'' (miniseries). The track "BT" was used as the theme song for

WUNC (FM) WUNC (91.5 Hertz, MHz) is a listener-supported public radio radio station, station, serving the Research Triangle area of North Carolina. It is city of license, licensed to Chapel Hill, North Carolina, Chapel Hill and is operated by the Universi ...

The State of Things (radio show) ''The State of Things'' was a radio talk show produced by North Carolina Public Radio. The show aired live at 12 noon Eastern time Monday through Friday, and was rebroadcast Monday through Thursday at 8 PM. Linda Belans founded and hosted the pro ...

from 2004 until 2010.

References

1999 albums Classical crossover albums {{classical-album-stub