Scott Nygaard, John Reischman and Sharon Gilchrist

Reischman and Nygaard had played together on and off since the early 1990s, when each played on the other’s debut solo album for Rounder; in those years their joint recordings had centered on their own instrumental compositions. Gilchrist, a mandolinist and bassist, had worked in the bands of Darol Anger, Peter Rowan, Tony Rice and Laurie Lewis. As a trio they blend traditional bluegrass and folk with their own contemporary approach to acoustic music, reworking old melodies with improvisation.

For this record they turned to traditional and traditional-sounding pieces. They recorded at Sage Arts studio in Arlington, Washington, over a couple of days in November 2015 and a couple more in April 2016, sitting in a circle around the microphones with Erick Jaskowiak engineering. The twelve tracks include Ed Haley’s “Half Past Four,” Marcus Martin’s “Cousin Sally Brown,” Luke Thomasson’s waltz “Midnight on the Water,” Bill Monroe’s “My Father’s Footsteps,” “I Am a Pilgrim” in a nod to Clarence and Roland White, “Little Sadie” after Doc Watson, Jim Childress’s “The Road to Malvern,” “Little Liza Jane” from J. P. Fraley, and Kenny Baker’s version of “Sail Away Ladies,” played on two mandolins and guitar, along with the Irish “The Girl Who Broke My Heart,” from Kevin Burke.

The album was announced in September 2016. All three taught courses for Peghead Nation, which Nygaard co-founded, and the trio played concerts in Northern California, including a house concert in San Rafael, and at Empty Sea Studios in Seattle.