2007年VOA标准英语-David Grisman Quintet 'Dawg's Groove' Most Ecle

By Katherine Cole
Washington
30 May 2007

For close to 50 years, mandolinist and composer David Grisman has been one of America's leading proponents¹ of acoustic² music in America. In that time, he's recorded dozens of albums of his own music, and produced many records for other performers. In 1990, Grisman launched his own record company, Acoustic Disc. Since then, he's produced over 50 critically-acclaimed recordings⁴, including five that have been nominated for Grammy Awards. As VOA's Katherine Cole reports, with the release of a new album, David Grisman is showing no signs of slowing down.

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Over 30 years ago, David Grisman came up with a sound that blends bluegrass, jazzy and Latin rhythms, and other styles into what he calls "dawg music." That's what you're hearing in this song, "Limestone⁵", and the nine other tracks on Dawg's Groove, the latest album from The David Grisman Quintet.

David Grisman began playing the mandolin as a teenager, soon after he discovered bluegrass music. In the beginning, he played in the style of Bill Monroe, the man credited with inventing bluegrass. Soon Grisman was composing original songs and exploring other musical styles. This led to the invention of "dawg music."

The original David Grisman Quintet featured a "strings⁷ only" lineup that included guitarist Tony Rice and Darrol Anger on fiddle⁸, along with other relatively-unknown performers who today are well-known to fans of bluegrass and acoustic music.

Dawg's Groove, released 30 years after the first David Grisman Quintet recording³, has a somewhat different sound. In his liner notes, David Grisman says this is the most eclectic of his Quintet albums to-date. This album finds the bandleader turning more toward jazz and Latin America for influences, and to accommodate the difference between bluegrass and those sounds, includes drums and flute⁹ in the lineup.

David Grisman wrote the majority of the songs on Dawg's Groove, with the band members contributing most of the rest. One, written by bassist Jim Kerwin, is a musical portrait of his Irish grandmother, who survived the 1906 earthquake that destroyed much of San Francisco. The multi-movement tribute is called "Ella McDonnell."

While many musicians struggle to come up with enough songs for one record a year, that is not the case with David Grisman. On the same day he released Dawg's Groove, fans were treated to the first ever recording by a new band he has formed, The David Grisman Bluegrass Experience.

We'll tell you more about that recording in part two of this report.

1 proponents   

n.（某事业、理论等的）支持者，拥护者( proponent的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• Reviewing courts were among the most active proponents of hybrid rulemaking procedures. 复审法院是最积极的混合型规则制定程序的建议者。 来自英汉非文学 - 行政法
• Proponents of such opinions were arrested as 'traitors. ' 提倡这种主张的人马上作为“卖国贼”逮捕起来。 来自辞典例句

2 acoustic   

adj.听觉的，声音的；(乐器)原声的

参考例句：

• The hall has a fine acoustic.这个大厅的传音效果很好。
• Animals use a whole rang of acoustic, visual,and chemical signals in their systems of communication.动物利用各种各样的听觉、视觉和化学信号来进行交流。

3 recording   

n.录音，记录

参考例句：

• How long will the recording of the song take?录下这首歌得花多少时间？
• I want to play you a recording of the rehearsal.我想给你放一下彩排的录像。

4 recordings   

n.记录( recording的名词复数 )；录音；录像；唱片

参考例句：

• a boxed set of original recordings 一套盒装原声录音带
• old jazz recordings reissued on CD 以激光唱片重新发行的老爵士乐

5 limestone   

n.石灰石

参考例句：

• Limestone is often used in building construction.石灰岩常用于建筑。
• Cement is made from limestone.水泥是由石灰石制成的。

6 groove   

n.沟，槽；凹线，（刻出的）线条，习惯

参考例句：

• They're happy to stay in the same old groove.他们乐于墨守成规。
• The cupboard door slides open along the groove.食橱门沿槽移开。

7 strings   

n.弦

参考例句：

• He sat on the bed,idly plucking the strings of his guitar.他坐在床上，随意地拨着吉他的弦。
• She swept her fingers over the strings of the harp.她用手指划过竖琴的琴弦。

8 fiddle   

n.小提琴；vi.拉提琴；不停拨弄，乱动

参考例句：

• She plays the fiddle well.她小提琴拉得好。
• Don't fiddle with the typewriter.不要摆弄那架打字机了。

9 flute   

n.长笛；v.吹笛

参考例句：

• He took out his flute, and blew at it.他拿出笛子吹了起来。
• There is an extensive repertoire of music written for the flute.有很多供长笛演奏的曲目。