''Uncommon Ritual'' is the second album released by

Sony Classical Sony Classical is an American record label founded in 1924 as Columbia Masterworks Records, a subsidiary of Columbia Records. In 1980, the Columbia Masterworks label was renamed as CBS Masterworks Records. The CBS Records Group was acquired ...

of string trios, following Appalachia Waltz, with unusual instrumentation and influences from bluegrass and

folk music Folk music is a music genre that includes #Traditional folk music, traditional folk music and the Contemporary folk music, contemporary genre that evolved from the former during the 20th-century folk revival. Some types of folk music may be ca ...

to create an Americana-style of traditional

classical music Classical music generally refers to the art music of the Western world, considered to be #Relationship to other music traditions, distinct from Western folk music or popular music traditions. It is sometimes distinguished as Western classical mu ...

. ''Uncommon Ritual'' adds

jazz Jazz is a music genre that originated in the African-American communities of New Orleans, Louisiana, in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. Its roots are in blues, ragtime, European harmony, African rhythmic rituals, spirituals, h ...

blues Blues is a music genre and musical form that originated among African Americans in the Deep South of the United States around the 1860s. Blues has incorporated spiritual (music), spirituals, work songs, field hollers, Ring shout, shouts, cha ...

, and elements from

world music "World music" is an English phrase for styles of music from non-English speaking countries, including quasi-traditional, Cross-cultural communication, intercultural, and traditional music. World music's broad nature and elasticity as a musical ...

to the mix. Regarding the genre-defying nature of the music, New York Times music critic Ben Ratliff wrote, "Despite its inclusion of

Bach Johann Sebastian Bach (German: �joːhan zeˈbasti̯an baχ ( – 28 July 1750) was a German composer and musician of the late Baroque period. He is known for his prolific output across a variety of instruments and forms, including the or ...

and

Pablo de Sarasate Pablo Martín Melitón de Sarasate y Navascués (; 10 March 1844 – 20 September 1908), commonly known as Pablo de Sarasate, was a Spanish violinist, composer and Conducting, conductor of the Romantic music, Romantic period. His best known work ...

's "

Zigeunerweisen ''Zigeunerweisen'' (''Gypsy Airs'', ), Op. 20, is a musical composition for violin and orchestra written in 1878 by the Spanish composer Pablo de Sarasate. It was premiered the same year in Leipzig, Germany. Like his contemporaries, Sarasate mi ...

", ''Uncommon Ritual'' is not a classical album. But neither does it belong to bluegrass, traditional Irish music, jazz or any of the other traditions it lightly borrows from. It's sort of a chamberized health shake of music that's acceptable to a National Public Radio listenership: it comes with an unmistakable patina of culture, the pieces are brief and funny and the sound of the music is comfortably familiar." The trio includes double-bassist and composer

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 ...

, banjoist and composer

Béla Fleck Béla Anton Leoš Fleck (born July 10, 1958) is an American banjo player. An acclaimed virtuoso, he is an innovative and technically proficient pioneer and ambassador of the banjo, playing music from bluegrass, jazz, classical, rock and various ...

, and mandolin player Mike Marshall. The album is noted for the variety of instruments used, and the performers' ability to change instruments fluently within songs. The pairing of these three musicians was new for the recording of this album; however, Meyer and Fleck's musical relationship dates back to the mid '80s.

Track listing

#"Uncommon Ritual" (

) #"Seesaw" (

) #"Sliding Down" (Meyer) #"Chromium Picolinate" (Meyer, Fleck) #"Contramonkey" (Meyer) #"Chance Meeting" (Meyer) #"

" (

- arr: Mike Marshall, Meyer) #"Travis" (Fleck) #"Old Tyme" (Meyer) #"Contrapunctus VIII from '' The Art of the Fugue''" (

Johann Sebastian Bach Johann Sebastian Bach (German: Help:IPA/Standard German, �joːhan zeˈbasti̯an baχ ( – 28 July 1750) was a German composer and musician of the late Baroque music, Baroque period. He is known for his prolific output across a variety ...

- arr: Fleck, Marshall, Meyer) #Third movement from ''Amalgamations for solo bass'' (Meyer) #"By the River" (Meyer) #"Big Country" (Fleck) #"Barnyard Disturbance" (Meyer) #"In the Garden" (Meyer) #"Child's Play" (Marshall) #"The Big Cheese" (Fleck, Marshall, Meyer)

Personnel

*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 ...

;

piano A piano is a keyboard instrument that produces sound when its keys are depressed, activating an Action (music), action mechanism where hammers strike String (music), strings. Modern pianos have a row of 88 black and white keys, tuned to a c ...

and

mandocello The mandocello () is a plucked string instrument of the mandolin family. It is larger than the mandolin, and is the baritone instrument of the mandolin family. Its eight strings are in four paired courses, with the strings in each course tuned in ...

on "Sliding Down" *Béla Fleck,

banjo The banjo is a stringed instrument with a thin membrane stretched over a frame or cavity to form a resonator. The membrane is typically circular, and in modern forms is usually made of plastic, where early membranes were made of animal skin. ...

;

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 ...

on "Sliding Down";

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 ...

on "Sliding Down", "Travis", and "By the River" *Mike Marshall, mandolin; mandocello on "Uncommon Ritual" and "Travis";

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 "Sliding Down", "Travis", and "In the Garden"; guitar on "Sliding Down" and "Big Country"

References

{{Authority control Classical crossover albums 1997 albums