2007年VOA标准英语-David Grisman Returns to Tradition on 'Bluegras

By Katherine Cole
Washington
30 May 2007

For close to 50 years, mandolinist and composer David Grisman has been a leading proponent¹ of acoustic² music in America. He's recorded dozens of albums of his own music, launched his own record company, and produced over 50 critically-acclaimed recordings⁴, five of which have been nominated for Grammy Awards. VOA's Katherine Cole reports on The David Grisman Bluegrass Experience.

The David Grisman Bluegrass Experience finds Grisman turning his back on the jazzy "Dawg Music" he's known for, and returning to his first musical love, traditional bluegrass. The songs on this record come from a variety of places. Many, like that new version of Flatt and Scruggs' "Down the Road," will be familiar to bluegrass fans. They include one from the Jimmy Martin songbook, along with Charlie Poole's "The Great Baltimore Fire", and The Stanley Brothers' "Say Won't You Be Mine." A new version of the traditional song "Dream Of The Miner's Child" is also part of The David Grisman Bluegrass Experience.

Now 62 years old, David Grisman first picked up the mandolin as a teenager, not long after he first heard bluegrass. He began playing in the style of Bill Monroe, the man credited with inventing bluegrass. Soon Grisman was composing original songs, and exploring other musical styles, which led to the invention of what he calls "dawg music."

In 1970, Grisman moved from New York to San Francisco, where he met Jerry Garcia and played with him on the Grateful Dead classic "American Beauty. In 1975, the two, along with fiddler Vassar Clements and bass⁵ player John Kuhn, and singer and guitarist Peter Rowan formed Old And In The Way, recording³ an album with the same name. Grisman has worked up a new arrangement of the title track for his CD with The David Grisman Bluegrass Experience.

In the liner notes for this record, David Grisman says, "Bluegrass has always been my first big musical thrill since I first heard it nearly 50 years ago." The David Grisman Bluegrass Experience is a fine example of traditional bluegrass music, and is a good contrast to Dawg's Groove⁶, the jazz and Latin-influenced album released by The David Grisman Quintet on the very same day.

1 proponent   

n.建议者；支持者；adj.建议的

参考例句：

• Stapp became a strong early proponent of automobile seat belts.斯塔普是力主在汽车上采用座椅安全带的早期倡导者。
• Halsey was identified as a leading proponent of the values of progressive education.哈尔西被认为是进步教育价值观的主要支持者。

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 bass   

n.男低音(歌手)；低音乐器；低音大提琴

参考例句：

• He answered my question in a surprisingly deep bass.他用一种低得出奇的声音回答我的问题。
• The bass was to give a concert in the park.那位男低音歌唱家将在公园中举行音乐会。

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。