Multi-instrumentalist, sideman extraordinaire, podcast host, composer, and IBMA Award winner Justin Mosesâ presence in bluegrass is as ubiquitous as it is unassuming — that is, in every way except when his picks meet the strings. Moses won Resophonic Guitar Player of the Year from the International Bluegrass Music Association in 2018 and 2020; heâs also recorded on countless sessions and albums, played on the Grand Ole Opry, and has toured with Dan Tyminski, Ricky Skaggs & Kentucky Thunder, and for more than a decade heâs been touring and recording music with his wife of three years, Sierra Hull.
A new track, âTaxland,â which features double mandolins played by Moses and Hull, marries his quiet, often humble virtuosity and his confidence on the mandolin. Moses can command any/all of bluegrassâs staple instruments, resulting in a melody that is all at once careening wildly towards its end and impossibly, impeccably clean. An unfamiliar listener might find it difficult to pick out which instrument belongs to Moses and which to Hull, a testament to their seamless musical gelling after years and years of collaborating. Inspired, loosely, by David âDawgâ Grismanâs new acoustic, post- jazz and swing bluegrass, the tune is housed in a cheerful minor key, as Dawg tunes often are, and Michael Clevelandâs wonky, edge-of-your-seat fiddle solo recalls Vassar Clementsâ forays in new acoustic, but not without Clevelandâs own brand of idiosyncratic, bombastic bowing and double-stops peppered throughout.Â
That a song could feel so improvisational, melodious, and frenetic while retaining its impossible polish once again points back to Mosesâ lifelong career in bluegrass and his endless professionalism not only as a creator, but as a technician of each instrument he commands. With Barry Bales and Bryan Sutton — two more lifelong friends and fellow music makers — rounding out the fivesome, âTaxlandâ will stick with you for longer than just its nearly three minutes and thirty seconds. If youâre a musician like Moses, it just might last you from April âtil your extension deadline.
Photo credit: Kady Carter