THE TONY RICE UNIT - UNITS OF MEASURE CD

Release Date: 01-Jan-2000 Cat No: GUM1524 Genre: Bluegrass Country

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CD Tony Rice has long been one of bluegrass's best-loved guitarists. From his stints with J.D. Crowe's New South and the David Grisman Quintet, to his solo albums and those with the Tony Rice Unit, the Rice Brothers, and Rice, Rice, Hillman, & Pedersen, he has created a body of work that is at once progressive and grounded in tradition. His unmistakable approach to flat-picking - fluid, economical, and always inventive - redefined the guitar's role in bluegrass. Beyond that, his timing, good taste, and sophisticated harmonic pallette unveiled a new avenue of acoustic music: a subtle, fusion of bluegrass, jazz, and folk music that he deems "spacegrass." Unit of Measure, his first album as a leader in seven years, is spacegrass par excellence. Featuring mandolinist Jimmy Gaudreau (Chesapeake, J.D. Crowe's New South) and guitarist Wyatt Rice (Tony's brother and a renowned solo artist in his own right) this edition of the Tony Rice Unit is the same one that twice captured IBMA's coveted Instrumental Band of the Year award. Joined by bassist Ronnie Simpkins and fiddler Rickie Simpkins, they are an exceptionally verasitle band capable of following Tony's multifarious muse anywhere. And they do. From swing to fiddle tunes, blues to folk, Unit of Measure is the welcome return of one of the giants of contemporary acoustic music.