AJ Lee & Blue Summit play California bluegrass music. The Golden State may be geographically distant from Kentucky but has a long and honorable tradition of bluegrass artists and audiences. From Clarence White in the 1950s to San Francisco’s 21st century Hardly Strictly Bluegrass festivals, which attract more than a quarter of a million fans annually, California bluegrass has its proud traditions as well as being the home for new and exciting artists. Such is the case of AJ Lee & Blue Summit. Their third full-length album, City of Glass, reveals the strengths of the individual musicians and their group sound.
AJ Lee handles most of the lead vocals and brings brightness to the proceedings through her mandolin. On songs such as “City of Glass” and “Bedside Window”, her playing reveals her mixed feelings when reflecting on life’s changes while her voice describes the simple facts of the stories told. Lee purposely keeps an even keel while singing and lets the strings do the emotional work through her instrumental trills accented by Jan Purat’s fiddle and guitarists Sullivan Tuttle and Scott Gales. “Rocks will tumble, making more sand,” Trill sings as she describes a scene of mass destruction. Passion fades with time. On other tunes, such as the beautiful “All I Know” that closes the record, Lee wrings out all the happiness found in just living expressed in the lyrics.
That’s one of the hallmarks of bluegrass versus country. Both can be sad, but bluegrass can best describe joy through its use of vocal inflections and fast-paced accompaniment. For a group like AJ Lee & Blue Summit, the stringed instruments and the voice frequently contrast to reveal the different layers of meaning. Country singing often over-accentuates the emotional content of the material. A good example of this can be found by comparing this album’s version of Patsy Cline‘s “He Called Me Baby” with the original hit. Cline’s rendition drips with sorrow as she croons about lost hugs and kisses, turning each “baby” into a multisyllabic aria. Lee and company keep the tempo lively. They both celebrate the past even as they simultaneously mourn the passing of time and love.
Of course, the differences between country and bluegrass aren’t always simple and clear, nor is AJ the only singer in the group or all the songs on the new album bluegrass. Some tracks are sung by the whole band in harmony or feature Sullivan or Scott on lead. Sully’s “Seaside” is a particular highlight, with echoes of the Smiths mixed with Jan’s bittersweet fiddle playing to create a folk-pop masterpiece. Scott’s lead vocals on “Bakersfield Clay” reveal the group’s California country roots. The slow pace of the cut and its use of yodels and waltz time suggest the depth of feeling without getting too schmaltzy.
Sully’s sister Molly, who is a Grammy Award-winning bluegrass star, takes the lead on “I Can’t Find You at All”, a song written by Sully and their father, Jack. It’s an enchanting tune about a love that seems to have evaporated. The fact that it doesn’t stand out on AJ Lee & Blue Summit’s City of Glass but fits right in with the rest of the material is a tribute to the album’s high quality. City of Glass consistently showcases the distinctive gifts of each performer and the magic that happens when they all play together.