New York (Top40 Charts/ Jerry
Douglas Official Website) - Grammy-winning Dobro master Jerry
Douglas will perform in select U.S. markets as he tours in support of his holiday album, Jerry Christmas!.
Douglas will appear alongside guitarist John Oates and Grammy-nominated vocalist/actress Maura O'Connell. At the Foxboro Showcae, Aoife O'Donovan from Crooked Still will join the group, and Maura O'Connell will not perform that evening. The eloquent lyricism and dynamic virtuosity of Jerry Douglas, hailed by the New York Times as "the dobro's matchless contemporary master," is ideally suited to the creation of an Americana Christmas classic. And that's exactly what Jerry has produced: a spirited group of carols, traditional folk tunes, and modern seasonal songs. With a guest vocal by Maura O'Connell, Jerry Christmas! gets that warm, down-home holiday feeling just right from the first note to the last.
"The thought of recording a Christmas project has been with me for some time, though I held the idea as a disquieting prospect.
After all, these melodies have become established perennials due to the fact they are great songs; to do them disservice would be, to me, unforgivable,"
Douglas says. "I have tried being faithful to the original versions of these classics precisely because the melodies are so special. My instrument lends itself well, in an emotional sense, to performance of these treasures, allowing me to offer my interpretations of works I have heard sung by such definitive artists as Nat King Cole, Ella Fitzgerald, and Burl Ives."
On the album, fellow musicians Todd Parks, Guthrie Trapp, Luke Bulla, and Doug Belote have conveyed their own expressive spirits via their individual instruments, and Maura O'Connell has lent her alluring voice to a melancholy new song ("New Years Eve"), rounding out this unique serving of these time honored holiday treats.
Douglas has garnered twelve Grammy Awards and numerous International Bluegrass Music Association awards, and holds the distinction of being named "Musician of the Year" by The Country Music Association (2002, 2005, 2007), The Academy of Country Music (11 times), and The Americana Music Association (2002, 2003).
In 2004, the National Endowment for The Arts honored Douglas with a National Heritage Fellowship, acknowledging his artistic excellence and contribution to the nation's traditional arts, their highest such accolade. In 2008, Douglas was named "Artist-In-Residence" at the Country Music Hall of Fame and Museum in Nashville, TN. The four-part music series featured Douglas alongside some of today's biggest country music stars including Trisha Yearwood, Garth Brooks, Alison Krauss, Travis Tritt, Emmylou Harris, Earl Scruggs, Ricky Skaggs, Bela Fleck, Sam Bush, Edgar Meyer, Guy Clark, Tony Rice, Lloyd Green, Jesse Winchester, and John Cowan.
Douglas' musical brilliance has graced over 2,000 recordings by such distinguished artists as James Taylor, Paul Simon, Ray Charles, Lyle Lovett, Elvis Costello, Garth Brooks, Charlie Haden, Earl Scruggs, Phish, Emmylou Harris, Bill Frisell, The Chieftains, and the eight million-plus selling soundtrack to O Brother, Where Art Thou?.
Since 1998, Douglas has been an inimitable member of Alison Krauss & Union Station, and over his career has been a featured player in such groundbreaking bands including The Country Gentlemen, J.D. Crowe & The New South, Boone Creek, and Strength in Numbers (of which both Sam Bush and Edgar Meyer were also members). While music aficionados have come to know the sound of Jerry Douglas from his stunning contributions to countless albums and concerts with other acclaimed artists, it is with his singular solo recording projects where he unabashedly unveils the elegance of his own songwriting and artistic virtuosity.
See dates at jerrydouglas.com.
