MEETINGS WITH REMARKABLE FRIENDS has been named "Best Acoustic Instrumental Album of 1999" by New Age Voice magazine!  "For more than 25 years the awesome guitar prowess of Artie Traum has
been on stages and in studios, backing up some of our generation’s greatest
artists. Now many of his friends have gathered in support of Traum for his
Narada debut Meetings With Remarkable Friends. Adding to Traum's innovate
guitar work were Levon Helm, Rick Danko, Garth Hudson, Adrian Belew, Sam
Bush, Bela Fleck, Tony Levin and many more..."John Schoenberger, Excursions ABOUT THE ALBUM Now living upstate in Woodstock, Traum made his Narada recording debut with MEETINGS WITH REMARKABLE FRIENDS, a summary statement of Artie's eclectic style featuring a star-studded group of musical colleagues. The Band made a rare ensemble appearance in the studio; fellow Woodstock resident and bass virtuoso Tony Levin cut several tracks; John Sebastian dropped in for a tune, as did Traum's brother Happy; and Artie traveled to California to record with David Grisman, and to Tennessee for a session with Sam Bush and Béla Fleck. Pursuits along similar musical lines have kept the players in touch, so when friend and songwriter Robbie Dupreé suggested the album, the musicians were rarely more than a phone call away. The music was closer still. Artie says, "I would try to imagine what would keep each of these artists interested in terms of chords and rhythm. For instance, when I was writing Yankee Swamp for The Band, I was thinking, 'What kind of groove do I like to hear Levon Helm play best? What would Garth Hudson do on keyboards?' With Grisman, I tried to think like a mandolin player. I wrote all these pieces with them in mind. If there had been other players the album would have come out completely different." "Performing with these musicians and songwriters was like meeting with the great philosophers. There was wisdom in the music. The songs had meaning. They were about issues and feelings and politics and poetry. We live in such a disposable age that this music, these friendships, should have lasting value. That's why I wanted to make this album." "If it works, all this music should sound familiar yet unique." Available from Narada Records at 800-966-3699 or online from Amazon.com MORE REVIEWS "Meetings With Remarkable Friends delivers on its title with a 54-minute tone-and-groove ballet of sweet, lush, funky, delicate, rustic, exotic sounds, set in motion by a gathering of some of the most celebrated fingers in contemporary music." - John D'Agostino, Wood & Steel "Artie Traum's new CD Meetings With Remarkable Friends is another milestone in the career of a remarkable player and songwriter whose work defines the vitality and sophistication of American acoustic music." Julie Bergman, Acoustic Guitar Magazine "Traum's long explorations of the world's ethno-acoustic traditions, decades of skill-honing and lifetime of making friends pays off in buckets of gold. The result is unassailably wonderful, a time-less masterpiece of acoustic camadraderie that works on every level of listening and sustains its excellence throughout. If I had to pick a favorite from among all the CD's I’ve reviewed in these pages over the last 10 years, I wouldn't hesitate to wave this one in your face. Get off your butt, run out and buy it, right now. This is one jewel box with a real jewel in it." - Spider Barbour, Woodstock Times AWARDS Meetings With Remarkable Friends has been named Best Acoustic Instrumental Album of 1999 by New Age Voice magazine! Meetings With Remarkable Friends has won The Best of the Valley Award from Hudson Valley Magazine (November 2000 Issue). [Order online now from Amazon.com]
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