Press

Wes Corbett "Cascade"
For Immediate Release: Composer and Banjo Player Wes Corbett to release debut album, Cascade, with elite lineup of players on Padiddle Records.
Sept 15th Nashville TN,

After many years spent playing with bands and artists beyond the cutting edge of bluegrass, banjo virtuoso, composer, and producer, Wes Corbett is set to release Cascade, his first album under his own name. The forthcoming release draws from 10 years worth of Corbett’s original music, carefully selected and arranged with the specific players appearing on the album in mind. Cascade is a masterful display of the power of instrumental music to deliver emotional impact, with moving compositions and sparkling performances front and center on every track.

Wes Corbett is a familiar name to fans of bluegrass and acoustic music, he has long been at the forefront of the contemporary string band movement as a member of Joy Kills Sorrow, an instructor at the prestigious Berklee College of Music, a sideman with rising americana star Molly Tuttle, and most recently as the newest member of the Sam Bush Band. He’s also no stranger to the producer’s chair, taking the helm on albums for Front Country, Mile Twelve’s Bronwyn Keith-Hynes, and many more. With Cascade, Wes is now stepping into the spotlight as a solo artist in his own right.

For Cascade, Corbett partnered with his longtime friend, guitarist and producer Chris Eldridge, best known for his work as a member of both the Punch Brothers and the sadly defunct Live From Here house band. Chris pulled double duty, playing guitar throughout as well as producing. Cascade was recorded in Nashville at International Bluegrass Music Association award-winner Ben Surratt’s Rec Room studio with Punch Brother Paul Kowert on bass, and improvisational master, Alex Hargreaves, on fiddle. Modern traditional wonder Casey Campbell and multiple IBMA award-winner and GRAMMY nominee Sierra Hull split mandolin duties, and Wes’s longtime musical parter, hammered dulcimer virtuoso Simon Chrisman, joins on 3 of the 10 tracks.

Cascade opens with the relentless and episodic “Boss Fight”, a video game-inspired burner that spirals and unfurls kaleidoscopically, pulling the listener along with shifting textures and color-changes from beginning to end. It’s a powerful first statement, one that careful ears will understand is a signal that there won’t be so much as a moment of monotony in what lies ahead.

“Mary Evelyn” is the track on Cascade that’s most evocative of Bèla Fleck’s landmark album The Bluegrass Sessions; Tales from the Acoustic Planet Vol 2. Wes and the ensemble pull off the same trick that Fleck and company did; creating something that is decidedly bluegrass, but with richer harmonic content and deeper arrangements. Making music that feels familiar while sharing with the audience a compelling vision for the future.

The only Corbett/Eldridge co-wrote on Cascade, “Stan Lee” is a “friendly so-long” written for the now-departed comic book icon. The gentle, folksy feel of this track belies a nuanced harmonic bed, in much the same way that Lee’s work hid cultural commentary beneath a fictional multiverse, populated by superheroes. “Stan Lee” is a piece that becomes more and more rich with each listen.

Cascade Tracklisting:
Boss Fight
Camp Sherman
Sweet Simone
Mary Evelyn
Light ‘em Up
Stan Lee
Waltz For Courtney
The Three Trees
Long Winter
Dinosaur Birthday

Preview the record on Sound Cloud here:
https://soundcloud.com/user-667101354/sets/wes-corbett-cascade/s-Ld2Iybj040g

Cascade is scheduled for release on December 4th and will be available on all streaming services and at wescorbett.com