Album Notes

The Ballad of The Judge & The Jury:

Back in 1995, I was living in Athens, Georgia playing piano in a variety of country and rock bands. Around that time I met Aaron Parrett, a graduate student and bluegrass aficianado who was gigging regularly with a small combo. Aaron was really into old-timey music, especially of the singer/songwriter variety. That showed through in his own tunes. Not long after that he sat in on mandolin with one of my groups. We immediately noticed that our singing styles worked well together.

He and I began to collaborate on a series of home recordings. The material ranged from traditional gospel hymns to bluegrass standards to some of Aaron's originals.

Eventually, these informal sessions (featuring a number of seasoned players) were released as limited-edition cassette tapes which circulated throughout the local music scene. Before long, Aaron and I were booking live shows around town with a rotating cast of sidemen and building a small following as The Judge & The Jury.

Fast forward a few years. In 1999, we released our debut CD, entitled "The Ballad of Jim Collins." It was recorded at my project studio, and appeared on our own Pizzle Records label. Our lineup on this album included electric bass, drums, fiddle and pedal steel guitar. The record was well received and the band began to play live more frequently throughout the region.

Early 2002 saw the release of our second CD, "West Of The Mason-Dixon Line." It too, was tracked at Elevated Basement Studios in Savannah, Georgia, and features the same general lineup as before. This time around, however, more time was spent on the production, and the results are a bit more polished than on our first effort. Additionally, noted pedal steel guitarist John Neff's work is featured more prominently on this latest album.

Recently, The Judge & The Jury played a few stripped-down shows just as we initially began - as a simple duo of acoustic guitar and piano held together by our strong vocal harmonies. In the coming months we're looking forward to recording another full-length record, possibly the old-fashioned way - quick, live and unembellished.

Meanwhile, Aaron lives in Montana and I'm still in Savannah. The rest of the band resides elsewhere, but we reunite regularly for special events.

Thanks for taking the time to check out our music. We hope you like what you hear, and if you do, please feel free to view our official website for more information on the group. It'll be up and running soon.

Jason Anderson