AMG Review of Acoustic Disc: 100% Handmade Music, Vol. 6

Jesse Jarnow
All Music Guide

Label-based compilations usually don't amount to a whole lot -- maybe a sampler of what's available out there. Most certainly don't say much about the artists involved. The Acoustic Disc sampler series is a different beast, though. The label is owned and run by mandolinist David Grisman, who also participates in the bulk of the label's numerous recording projects (he appears on ten of the album's 15 tracks). Even the tunes that Grisman isn't on speak well for his intentions. Thus, the sampler is a neat peek into Grisman's aesthetic, and gives the listener a good taste of what he is trying to accomplish with the instrument; from the Hawaiian swing of "Moonlight Bay" (with Mike Auldridge and Bob Brozman) to the string jazz of "Brazilian Street Dance" (with Denny Zeitlin) to the traditional Italian music of "Costumi Siciliani" (with Carlo Aonzo and Beppe Gambetta) to the folk-jazz fusion of his numerous collaborations with the late Jerry Garcia. It is the last partnership that provides tasty non-album tracks (in the form of some vintage live tracks), which makes sense: despite the fact that the duo aren't producing any new music, it was the consistent sale of their albums that kept the label afloat in their early days.