String Theory, the Will Patton Ensemble (Kings Hill Music KHM-0505) Will is among of the best of those quiet giant musicians in Vermont… so good that’s its a little too easy to take for them granted, content to play and write from what inspires the heart and nurtures the soul., renowned elsewhere, a bit underappreciated at home. He consistently churns out staggeringly good material, as an instrumentalist (mandolins and bass) and composer, and just when you think you may be the first to discover some special little corner of celtic, bluegrass, Gypsy jazz or world music no one else knows about, it turns out that Will has been there, done that, explored it from multiple sides, and played the blue blazes out of it. Brazilian choro is a case in point, roughly a third of this new CD, among them a soulful, fitting tribute to another, slightly less-quiet Vermont musical giant, the late Rachel Bissex. The ensemble is stellar… Will on mandolins, guitar and bass, David Gusakov on violin and viola, Steve Blair on guitar, Clyde Stats on string bass and Steve Winert on drums and percussion. Also featured are Jeremiah McLane (accordion), Anna Patton (clarinet), Patricia Julien (flute) and members of Vermont’s Brazilian group Sambatucada. When he’s not playing and/or teaching at Jay Ungar’s camp in the Catskills, Gyspy Jazz Week in Northampton, in Paris, New York or California, you can pick up a copy of the CD at one of Will’s Vermont gigs
