I don't know a lot about her but I do have albums of hers that I appreciate... Sarah Jarosz – Blue Heron Suite Label: Rounder Records – none Format: 11 x File, AIFF, Album Country: US Released: May 7, 2021 Genre: Folk, World, & Country Sarah Jarosz – World On The Ground Label: Rounder Records – 1166100913 Format: CD, Album Country: US Released: Jun 5, 2020 Genre: Folk, World, & Country Sarah Jarosz – Follow Me Down Label: Sugar Hill Records (2) – SUG-CD-4062 Format: CD, Album Country: US Released: May 17, 2011 Genre: Rock, Folk, World, & Country Style: Folk Rock, Bluegrass, Folk, Progressive Bluegrass
For anyone wondering, NEC is New England Conservatory, a serious longhair music school. Sarah Jarosz knows her stuff. Her styles and changes are complex and original. The "Americana" tag is ballast for her, she is musically beyond many others in that category.
Kid, you are so spot-on about the comparison with Pentangle on the fusion this ensemble has pulled off. Took to it in a manner of seconds and kept my enjoyment building the farther I got into it. Will definitely explore Sara further.
Thanks. That Song and album by James McMurtry is a fave. Nice cover indeed! Perfect for her...like Ronstadt and Tom Rush, Jarosz knows how to pick 'em.
Opening this thread for me was a revelation. You guys turned me onto Blue Heron Suite...stunning. I had four other albums already by Sarah, but this one is so sublime. I also hadn't gotten deeply into world On The Ground yet...stunning. How does Jarosz get better and better... she could rest on her laurels but no, she tops he last release each time. This is so damn good it hurts' Blue Heron "Sarah Jarosz (with Punch Brothers) sings "Blue Heron" on our December 16, 2017 broadcast". Another stunning performance on "Live From Here"
What I really respect and love about Sarah's music is her fearless explorations and genre bending arrangements. I especially love it when a song takes unexpected turns into jazz, and blues with folk around the edges. Her reading of "Eve" from World On The Ground is a stunning example that of that mix. Another artist well worth the visit that runs a similar kind of genre bending path...folk/jazz/blues Anis Mitchell with her ambitious Hadestown, her folk opera. Wedding Town https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4TRiglxAjJE&list=OLAK5uy_lj_2-Sz6RLlU0LwsRytXv_GETIvxPdpSM&index=1
Re the origins of Blue Heron - Sarah Jarosz first presented it at the FreshGrass Festival in September 2017 as a commisioned work: From FreshGrass : Sarah Jarosz: Composition Commission - FreshGrass Foundation "Sarah Jarosz, the second recipient of the FreshGrass Composition Commission, premiered Blue Heron Suite at the 2017 FreshGrass Festival. The work, a cohesive song cycle performed with her trio which highlighted both the maturity of her writing and the virtuosity of her musicianship, was inspired by family trips taken as a child growing up in Texas. Evocative and intensely personal, the piece illuminated the uncommon depth of an artist who has transitioned from teen prodigy to a (23-year-old) mature artist in full command of her songwriting." The premiere of Blue Heron was well received at FreshGrass, and posted on Youtube, but I am unable to locate it now. It may have become a serious property after the release of the album in 2021. I went to hear her live in October 2017, three weeks after the FreshGrass Blue Heron debut (where it was performed in its entirety). At our concert she played a short medley of excerpts from Blue Heron. It was something of an aside, her last album was Undercurrent, she was touring like mad pushing it (her first major tour which was long and grueling, twice round the USA and also overseas) and she was not promoting Blue Heron at the time. It was accepted warmly but as an experimental and unfamiliar piece it was not seized upon. I absolutely loved it and marked it for recording search. At the meet and greet after the concert I asked her if she was planning on doing Blue Heron in studio. She didn't really answer, something like maybe, then said it was on Youtube, which it was. This was all in a thirty second hi-bye fly-by, I said, "It was my favourite part of the show, amazing. If you ever decide to release Blue Heron, consider some copies sold to myself, family, and friends." She was glad to hear it, and then it was thanks, best, goodbye. From 2017 on she was headed for lots of international touring, the huge I'm With Her project, then the splash of World On the Ground, so Blue Heron was going to be shelved for years, maybe forever if she didn't get some traction with a big record. I like to think I dropped the right word at the right time to contribute a bit to the "popular demand" confidence it would take to risk such an unconventional and experimental release. . . . Meanwhile, where is that FreshGrass Blue Heron premiere Youtube?
Great story @speedracer ! I think I love Blue Heron Suite the best of all her albums ( I have six so far + I'm With Her vinyl), and I love them all! Interlude 1 ...kills me every time! So unexpected. Something so sublime about all of Blue Heron Suite...it puts my head into a really good place.
Maybe I will graduate this thread to an all inclusive, every album, "track by track" when I am freed up from Pentangle and a couple other threads I'm into now. Anyone up for it?!
Sarah Jarosz deserves a reading room here. I will certainly lurk, might drop a line on occasion. Album by album threads glaze me over though, too linear, they seem to stifle spontaneity. However, it is a great thread form for learning about an artist, so go for it. Don't wait to get free of Pentangle there are a hundred tracks to go! Or more. Freestyle threads tend to die off for lack of focus.
Yes....I'll need to finish Renbourn then Bert to go still. See ya back there! I was struck today at the growth between Sarah's first album and her second! She explains it here. So much jazz infused into her "new" direction to my ears. Love the "Follow Me Down" album...Dylan was and is such an influence on Sarah. Follow me down, "I'm kinda trying new things".
