February 2, 2024 — “A musician’s musician” — it’s a phrase that’s hard to define, yet easy to understand, and it sometimes seems as if it were made for Mountain Home Music Company’s Andy Leftwich. And if there were any doubt that it applies, both to him and the collection of friends he pulled into the studio late last year, the proof can be heard in the session’s first fruit, a breathtaking original instrumental called “Behind the 8 Ball.”
“The idea of this song was to have an upbeat ‘barn burner’ that could lend itself to some really creative soloing, and I feel like we captured that here,” says Leftwich. “I have to give the credit of the title to my wife, Rachel, who heard me mention this phrase while in the studio recording it. We were moving along, but not at the pace I was hoping, so we were behind on time. At the end of the day, she mentioned naming this song, ‘Behind the 8 Ball.’ I thought it was perfect! It certainly has that anxious spirit we all have from time to time when we get in tough spots, but it’s a fun tune that has great energy and a different sound than you normally hear in bluegrass ‘barn burner’ instrumentals.”
That different sound manifests itself right from the start, when Leftwich’s mandolin and fiddle circle around the tune’s first motif over jittery backing from guitarist Cody Kilby (Travelin’ McCourys), banjo player Matt Menefee (Mountain Heart, Mumford & Sons) and legendary bassist Byron House. A flawlessly virtuosic series of solos follows, showcasing the ensemble’s mastery and pure creative joy while a myriad of sounds, from Celtic airs to Delta blues to gypsy jazz — and, of course, a healthy dose of old-time and bluegrass staples — flash by in a musical kaleidoscope. In its deft blend of “chambergrass”-like composed passages with the in-the-moment spontaneity that has given observers reason to compare bluegrass to jazz, “Behind the 8 Ball” makes a compelling case for recognizing Andy Leftwich as one of the decade’s preeminent instrumental artists, transcending region and genre alike.
“Behind the 8 Ball” is streaming in Dolby Atmos spatial audio on Apple Music, Amazon Music and TIDAL. Listen to it HERE.
About Andy Leftwich
Four-time GRAMMY®-winning instrumentalist Andy Leftwich began playing the fiddle at the age of six, entering his first contest at seven and winning the National Championship for Beginners at the age of twelve. By the time he was a teenager, he had appeared on the Grand Ole Opry and “Music City Tonight” with Crook and Chase, and had established a reputation as a winning contest fiddler throughout the Southeast. At 15, he capped off his contest career by winning Winfield, Kansas’s Walnut Valley Old Time Fiddle Championship, one of the most prestigious contests in the country. At the same time, with mandolin and guitar added to his arsenal, Andy began playing professionally, and before he finished his teens, he had joined Ricky Skaggs and Kentucky Thunder in 2001. wIn addition to 2005’s solo album, Ride, Andy has recorded two critically acclaimed albums as a member of Three Ring Circle (with dobro player Rob Ickes and bassist Dave Pomeroy), and built an impressive list of studio credits as one of Nashville’s top session players.