Original instrumentals, melodic, classically influenced Travis-style fingerpicking, a little bit bluesy, a little bit of ragtime, some solo pieces, some with fiddle, mandolin or dobro.

15 MP3 Songs
BLUES: Acoustic Blues, CLASSICAL: Contemporary



Details:
"Melodic, upbeat, classically influenced Travis style finger picking" gets close to describing many of the tunes on Pickin After Midnight.
It's a collection of instrumental duets and solo guitar pieces, written and played by Duke Sharp (mostly). Duke plays guitar, mandolin and dobro on this CD.
Jim Averitt wrote two of the tunes and plays guitar, and Mike Parsons (from Two Grass Crew)plays mandolin and fiddle.
"Fires of Spring" is a light and happy solo guitar piece played on a nylon string guitar.
"Doin the Salesville Rag" and "Spanish Creek" are toe-tapping ragtime mandolin/guitar duets.
"Snoring Dog" and "A Tune for Ted" are beautiful guitar duets, and were written by Jim Averitt, who plays guitar on both tunes.
"Thanks, Leo!" is an energetic romp on a 12-string, and Leo's influence is apparent.
"Embers" is a Grisman-esque mandolin/guitar duet, with Mike Parsons ripping on his mando. Mike is also playing his fiddle on "Inside Out" a waltz that also features dobro.
"Joe Beam Ain't Here" is a driving bluesy thing with guitar and dobro.
"There's a Tavern" is a flatpicking guitar and mandolin duet that has a wild klesmer/gypsy sort of feel to it.
"Requiem" is a moody piece, and "Sarah's Serenade" is much lighter. Both are essentially "classical" guitar pieces, even if "Requiem" is played on a streel string guitar.

Duke Sharp has been playing music in and around southwestern Montana since 1976. He teaches music at Music Villa in Bozeman, and plays in several local bands. His music has been featured on MTV and NPR.