Metro Pulse/Music/Vassar Clements

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What:
Vassar Clements & Tony Rice with the Larry Keel Experience and the Jerry Douglas Band

When:
Thursday, Dec. 5, 7:30 p.m.

Where:
Tennessee Theatre

Cost:
$25

Vassar Clements still brews a vital bluegrass fusion

by Clint Casey

Vassar Clements is the definitive fiddle player. With his Russian Duiffoprugcar fiddle circa 1550, he has touched almost every genre and is still full of fresh, new material. He effortlessly combines jazz and swing with country rhythm to create an unmistakable bluegrass blend. The four-time Grammy nominee has recorded with a diverse mix of artists, ranging from Hank Williams to the Monkees. Throughout his career, Clements has seized almost every opportunity to collaborate. "With other people, you know, if they have any suggestions, the more heads you get together, the better off it is. It works out all the different ways of getting to it and makes it sound the best," Clements says. He continues to release albums and dazzle audiences on the festival circuit playing year-round across the country.

Clements began playing fiddle as a child before meeting Bill Monroe at age 14. He played with Monroe as a regular Bluegrass Boy in 1949 and continued until 1956. Clements spent the next four years performing with Jim and Jesse Reynolds before returning to his Tennessee home. In Nashville, he continued to record and played tenor banjo at the renowned Dixieland Landing club until October 1969. Clements then toured with Faron Young before joining John Hartford and his Dobrolic Plectoral Society. When the band dissolved in 1971, he joined the legendary Earl Scruggs as a member of the Earl Scruggs Revue.

In 1972 everything changed. Clements played on the wildly successful Nitty Gritty Dirt Band album Will the Circle Be Unbroken. The release featured a legendary cast of bluegrass, country, and folk artists—most notably Roy Acuff, Mother Maybelle Carter, Doc Watson and Jimmy Martin—all backed by the Dirt Band. Relatively unknown before then, the album made Clements a country and bluegrass star.

Within months of its release, Clements was in high demand as a fiddle player. Performing with the Grateful Dead, Allman Brothers Band, and Paul McCartney he was introduced to a younger non-country audience. When asked about the diversity of talent he has had the opportunity to perform with, he sheepishly replies, "It's a lot of fun. The good Lord's let me stay here a long time."

Clements recorded the landmark album Old and in the Way during a live performance in San Francisco in 1973. With Jerry Garcia, David Grisman and Peter Rowan, it was met with overwhelming success, and Clements developed a cult following akin to that commanded by the Grateful Dead. Old and in the Way still holds the title of best-selling bluegrass album of all time.

Flash forward to 2002. Since 1973, Clements has released 27 albums ranging through bluegrass, country, waltzes, swing, and jazz. On his most recent solo CD, Full Circle, he re-explores his bluegrass roots with a stellar line up of musicians, including Sam Bush, Bela Fleck, Rowan, J.D. Crowe, and Ricky Skaggs. Pleased with the outcome, Clements boasts, "I think it's one of the best ones. You know, I think we got good material on all of it. It's all different, and I don't think it's a CD that you could just pick one out and say I don't like that. I believe overall that we got the right material and everything."

Despite his success, Clements remains humble, with an air of grace in both his music and demeanor. His contributions are a testament to his talent, and his influence can be heard in every circle of American music. With Full Circle, an unmistakable reference to the Nitty Gritty Dirt Band release, Clements returns to fusing jazz with bluegrass on a combination of new material, country standards, and genre-crossing rock classics. More information and a link to his catalogue of releases can be found on his website at www.vassarclements.com.