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What’s up Sorry State readers? I hope everyone has had a nice week. We’ve been going through all the seasons at once here in North Carolina recently. I’m ready for the warmer weather to finally prevail. Anyways, I recently came across an album I was unfamiliar with by an artist I love, so I had to scoop it up when I saw it: Dawg Jazz / Dawg Grass by David Grisman. The cover initially caught my eye cause it’s a cool ass picture of a dog with sunglasses on in a jazz club. How could I pass that up? When I flipped it around to check out any info on the back, I was greeted with an equally cool photo of the same dog dressed like a cowboy sitting on a bale of hay, and it was then I realized this is kinda a two albums in one kinda deal. Jazz on one side, bluegrass on the other. David Grisman has kinda created his own unique sound, or “dawg music” as he puts it: bluegrass with lots of different elements mixed up into it, so I was curious about the jazz side. There’s lots of great players on here: Tony Rice, Jerry Douglass, Earl Scruggs, Stephane Grappelli… a real stacked roster. Any time Tony Rice is playing guitar on a record, you can sign me up. To be honest, the jazz side isn’t too much different from your regular Grisman album… definitely still bluegrass-y, but a little more straight lined. My favorite on this side would probably be the second track, Steppin’ With Stephane. I probably lean more towards the Dawg Grass side of this record, though, cause it’s just classic David Grisman Quartet firing on all cylinders. The track Swamp Dawg on this one is a really cool standout track to me as it’s a bit slower and has more of a laid-back tone to it. I also really like the second to last track Happy Birthday, Bill Monroe. The father of bluegrass definitely deserves his own birthday track. Overall, this is a pretty cool album, and I’m glad I randomly came across it. Always a happy surprise to discover something new from an artist you’re a fan of!