Kicking Horse Culture presents: John Reischman and the Jaybirds

Event Description

Where to start? Grammy award-winner John Reischman is, quite simply, one of the world’s greatest mandolin players. He got his start in the early 1980s in the San Francisco Bay area, most notably with the legendary Tony Rice Unit, famed for their virtuosity and for incorporating exciting jazz influences into bluegrass. A decade later Reischman moved to Vancouver and by 1999 formed the Jaybirds, a group of remarkable acoustic musicians from the Pacific Northwest who instinctively found the sweet spot between bluegrass and Appalachian-style old-time music.

Over the years the Jaybirds have recorded a half-dozen wonderful records, and the critics have been wowed. Mandolin Café’s Scott Tichenor wrote: “Vintage and Unique has everything one could ask for in a great bluegrass recording. Exciting new originals, a couple of great traditional numbers, razor sharp picking, and strong, distinctive singing.”

And speaking of a different CD, Victory Review praised the band’s “lightning speed and laser precision.” As it turns out, Reischman isn’t just a musical master but a great talent scout as well. Nick Hornbuckle plays the five-string banjo with a flair the L.A. Daily News called “downright spine-tingling.” Bassist-vocalist Trisha Gagnon has one of the most affecting voices in bluegrass, and beautifully anchors the band’s three-part harmonies.

Fiddler Magazine hailed Greg Spatz as a “world-class bluegrass fiddler.” And guitarist Patrick Sauber has the kind of amazing skills that got him gigs with Doc Watson, Richard Greene, John Fogerty, and Peter Rowan. Folk Radio UK says it best: “The Jaybirds put their own particular stamp on bluegrass, old time and acoustic roots music, with a satisfying blend of traditional and modern styles, and they also give the impression that they really enjoy playing together.”