"Grant's guitar stylings offer a rare blend of flat-picking virtuosity, jazz exploration and classical sensibility — all displayed here in the setting of his choosing.” -David Grisman That “setting” is Gordy’s self-titled debut album, which includes his “Blues To Dawg” that he invited Grisman to contribute his signature mandolin playing to. He also brought in Jayme Stone (banjo) — with whom he’d recorded and toured Canada and the Eastern U.S. in Stone’s AFRICA TO APPALACHIA band with Malian musician Mansa Sissoko. Also part of his studio quartet: fiddle phenom Alex Hargreaves; virtuoso Paul Kowert on bass, currently playing with Chris Thile’s Punch Brothers; and Dominick Leslie on mandolin, who’d been part of Gordy’s Denver-based quartet and currently attends Berklee School of Music. “At heart, I’m really an improviser; that’s what very first drew me to playing music — the idea that you can make things up as you go along — but I’m also very interested in composition,” Gordy says. “I like the idea of a group of musicians having as much room and freedom to explore and improvise as they want, but within a context of a compelling arrangement that can be exciting for, and draws in, the listener. … It’s also my hope that even though the pieces on the record reflect a wide range of interests and influences, they still sound like a cohesive statement from one composer.” "If you want to get a feel for where the next generation of acoustic string artists are taking their music, this is an adventure well worth your time and trouble. Every tune is a gem, and the soloists are flat out stunning." -The Bluegrass Blog