These intimate tracks featuring
Hobart Smith
playing banjo, guitar, fiddle, and piano were recorded in October, 1963 at
Fleming Brown
's home in Chicago, and while they were never intended for commercial release, they add up to a well-rounded portrait of this immensely talented
old-timey
musician. There doesn't seem to have been an instrument that
Smith
couldn't play (in addition to what he plays here, he also mastered accordion, harmonica, mandolin, and organ), and his repertoire ranged from
sacred hymns
and
Tin Pan Alley
classics to the
blues
and the Appalachian
ballads
he grew up hearing as a child, all of it delivered with an obvious joy and delight. Among the highlights here are a piano version of
"Fly Around My Pretty Little Miss"
(
is a rare example of a man who could play piano in a
string band
); a fiery and hard-charging rendition of
"Cuckoo Bird,"
full of hammered and pulled notes on the banjo that
called "double-noting;" a slide guitar take on
"John Henry,"
and the
a cappella
"I Feel So Good,"
probably best known in the version recorded by
Big Bill Broonzy
in 1941.
incorporated a 19th Century Afro-American feel into his banjo playing, which is apparent on the brief and lovely
"I'll Meet You When the Sun Goes Down"
(as well as on
"Cuckoo Bird"
), and his guitar playing drew heavily from the
, as evidenced by the closing track, a spirited instrumental version of
"K.C. Moan."
keeps time throughout the set with his exuberant and percussive foot stomping -- and the coffee cups rattling, dogs barking, and
Brown
's children occasionally wandering in and out of the room -- only add to the real-life intimacy of these recordings, which provide a priceless and fascinating glimpse of a brilliant rural musician performing in a relaxed and casual environment. A beautiful set,
In Sacred Trust
was assembled and produced by
Stephen Wade
, who provides detailed song by song annotation in the nearly 80-page booklet that accompanies the CD. ~ Steve Leggett