John Reischman, Scott Nygaard, and Sharon Gilchrist: Live From Empty Sea

This program was originally broadcast October 31, 2015 from Empty Sea Studios.
The acoustic power trio of mandolinist John Reischman, guitarist Scott Nygaard, and bassist/mandolinist Sharon Gilchrist blends traditional bluegrass and folk styles with their own personalized visions of contemporary acoustic music, reshaping old melodies and composing new music based on traditional forms with an improvisatory flair and melodic richness.
Reischman and Nygaard, both Grammy winners revered in the acoustic world for their melodic virtuosity and impeccable tone, have been performing together off and on since the early ‘90s, when they played on each others’ solo recording debuts for Rounder Records. They are joined by Gilchrist, whose mandolin and bass playing have been in high demand for years, gracing the bands of acoustic and bluegrass icons Darol Anger, Peter Rowan, Tony Rice, Laurie Lewis, and others. Reischman’s most recent album, Walk Along John, was described by Bluegrass Today as combining “blazing bluegrass, stately old time melodies, and even reckless, seat-of-the-pants improvgrass,” a fitting description of what you can expect to hear from these three empathetic musicians.

[@bossanovista]

This is fantastic!!! Thank you to the musicians and producers that put this on the internet ❤❤❤❤❤

[@robertlunsford5052]

Been listening to a lot of John's music lately, he has such a pleasant sound, but it speaks to me. Thank you brother, and God bless.

[@erlethepearl]

Yes, Gilchrist plays mandolin and bass well, and she's the best singer of this group. Yea Sharon!

[@erasmusomnius]

Ridiculously wonderful music. Oh how I yearn for return of RIVER CITY BLUEGRASS FESTIVAL in Portland Oregon.

[@frankphelps9281]

I like the sound of that Gibson Guitar...

[@quigley4440]

Love the old Gibson guitar Scott plays, but when you bring in two mandolins - oh my. Mandolins played by these two musicians especially with one much prettier than the other, is special.

[@als1023]

Me too, I've so much exposure to other makes and models, very little Gibson, played by a master, wonderful to hear.

[@grahamnunn8998]

So inspiring to a guitarist who play Mandolin and always feels guilty he doesn't spend enough time with it. Just discovered John and Sharon but love Scott''s playing too. That Gibson sits so beautifully in the mix. The vocals are amazing and Sharon's voice in particular is mesmerising. I love how informal this is yet the sound is huge, even when Sharon switches to Mandolin.

[@deanoverlie224]

Wonderful to hear the bass brought up in the mix '

[@jimmatthews6110]

Our histories go back to the Bay Area in the early 80s to Strawberry to merlefest and it's great to see this combination in this Trio with such long-standing talented musicians playing such great music so come back to North Carolina sometime please

[@jimduckett7128]

I love Sharon's original!

[@alexquiroz9945]

John is the best!

[@tarashupe3786]

True Love Away right around 47:... So incredibly beautiful. Scott's guitar playing is breaking my heart open today. LOVE!

[@rgbart01]

Scott really shines on this song towards the end, so beautifully played, the old gibson is a perfect instrument in his hands. I do have to say that John on that mandolin is really special as well!

[@allenhughes12]

I've been wanting an old J-45. So beautiful sounding.

[@Grindstaff09]

Exquisite, thank you, wonder tonemastery and taste.

[@raywilly]

great production.....making me yearn for more

[@juliewasney6101]

Thanks for the music 🎶!

[@barkingdog123]

Beautifully performed, filmed, and recorded. A treasure. Bravo!

[@garykaufman8128]

Good to see/hear Sharon again....really enjoyed her part in the David&Elkins sessions in W.Virginia with greats like Darol Anger, Herschel Sizemore, Byron Berline, Ned Lubercki, Sally VanMeter, and Tyler Grant.

[@carlstewart4315]

Really enjoyed this so much. Please keep it up.

[@davidscotbrown3241]

What a treat!! Outstanding by any measure!

[@allenhughes12]

Just about as clean as you can get. Very special music.

[@vballady]

Can't wait for the album!

[@jimduckett7128]

Stunning!

[@allenhughes12]

I have to comment again (sorry). This is what acoustic music is. I hope young players will see and hear this. You don't have to cram every note on the fretboard into a solo at a breakneck pace. This is how I always wanted to play. Thank you so much for uploading.

[@bluegrasscannuk]

I agree with your analogy. Often the younger players think that lickety split fast sounds better. I prefer , as do you , to hear the notes. Mind you I have played in bands with top notch banjo and fiddle players and a good crowd pleasing fast number is great. Been picking in Ontario for over 60 years . But I get the impression from watching Scott , I say to myself : " hey I can do that " if I work at it.

[@jarchitect]

Beautiful production...

[@EricSkyeMusic]

Fantastic

[@peterjames2580]

He's playin his Loar!!!

[@gusgarelick852]

Doesn't look like a Loar.

[@steveblanchard2712]

@@gusgarelick852 Most definitely is.

[@donjeffcoat5683]

His Loar is considered the best sounding one in existence.

[@philiprundall3432]

@@donjeffcoat5683 John was kind enough to let me play it when I attended his class for a week at Sore Fingers Summer School here in the UK in 2017. The first thing that struck me about it was how light it was! The tone, even in my hands, was lovely and to Hear John play his beautiful tune 'A Prairie Jewel' with Ron Block on guitar was the highlight of the week for me. And yes, it is indeed a Loar.

[@gibby6904]

Yep it's his Loar!

[@paullarnce2167]

Excellent music! Is there more of this great stuff ?

[@scottmidler8603]

2 wraps, below the hole.

[@jimSTRATemblin]

The best tone from a guitar center mandolin.

[@zimmcal]

lol wat

[@thelittlemoontravelers]

So good. Would someone remind me the name of the first tune?

[@MrLaserbob]

That question was also driving me nuts. I know the tune well but couldn't remember the name. It is, of course, Liza Jane

[@thelittlemoontravelers]

@@MrLaserbob thanks!

[@thelonesomesongbirds]

What is the name of the song that starts around minute 28:32? So beautiful!

[@RiffCollector]

'Smoke On The Water'. No wait, sorry, it's 'Midnight On The Water'. It's the third track on their 'The Harmonic Tone Revealers' album.

[@thelonesomesongbirds]

@@RiffCollector Oh yes, thank you!

[@RiffCollector]

@@thelonesomesongbirds you’re very welcome 👍🏻

[@ThisCreaturesFeatures]

Why didn't you just call yourselves the Pegheads?

[@dalechaplin8636]

i like this, but keep trump out of it, he's a good man that did a good job, just like you all doin' a good job on those songs, lets move on, and melania does a lot of nice things as well.

[@travis8947]

Trump is garbage