October 6, 2023 — After more than a quarter century of recording, Mountain Home Music Company’s Chris Jones breaks new ground for himself and his band, the Night Drivers, with the release of their first EP, Pages in Your Hand. Yet though the project weighs in at 6 tracks, it’s arguably the most diverse to date, with two of them having already topped the charts, two covers — their first after the all-original song list on their previous release, Make Each Second Last — and one featuring the first lead vocal from a musician not named Jones.
In other respects, though, Pages in Your Hand is a quintessential Chris Jones & the Night Drivers set, full of music for which the best one-word description might be “elegant.” Jones, bassist Marshall Wilborn, mandolin player Mark Stoffel and multi-instrumentalist Grace van’t Hof know how to play in a way that enhances, without overshadowing, the essence of each song, and the so do their guests: labelmate Carley Arrowood (fiddle), resophonic guitarist Billy Cardine and legendary drummer Tony Creasman. The same is true of the singing, with Jones’ warm, resonant baritone setting the pace with expressive precision while the Night Drivers’ deliver a smooth blend of empathetic harmonies.
“There was such a comfortable feeling in the studio for us when these songs were recorded,” recalls Jones. “We had been playing together that much longer as a group, and I would say that we had a closeness and musical understanding of each other that had grown a lot since our previous recording.
“There was greater band involvement in this EP, too, with Marshall Wilborn writing ‘Blow Whistle’ and Grace van’t Hof singing one of my favorite Jimmie Rodgerssongs, ‘Those Gambler’s Blues,’” he continues. “That marks the first time I’ve had one of our band members singing lead on a CJND recording. Mark Stoffel, as he has been for over 15 years, was an indispensable part of the instrumental sound and rhythmic feel of these recordings.
“For me there are some direct family connections in this set of songs, with the title track ‘Pages in Your Hand’ being inspired by exchanging letters with my sister Manya, and ‘Henderson Hill’ being about my Uncle Bob.”
That title track, released in August as the set’s third single, is one of two songs written with frequent collaborator Thomm Jutz, while “Step Out In The Sunshine” finds Jones drawing once more from the favored well of songs from the Ralph Stanley/Stanley Brothers songbook. Wilborn’s “Blow Whistle” benefits from Cardine’s slinky resophonic guitar work, and Jones’ own “The Price of Falling” from Arrowood’s supple fiddle, while van’t Hof’s turn on “Those Gambler’s Blues” recaps the mournful feel of the Father of Country Music’s original in a higher register. And in a bit of sequencing that exemplifies Jones’ thoughtful approach to a recorded project, the entry of the signature bluegrass banjo is delayed until the third number, underlining the quartet’s stylistic range while allowing the instrument’s eventual arrival to offer an even greater impact.
In short, Pages in Your Hand is a masterful presentation of everything that makes Chris Jones & the Night Drivers’ music, as Americana music master Jim Lauderdale once put it, “fine wine for the ears” — and what could be more elegant than that?
Pages in Your Hand is streaming in Dolby Atmos spatial audio on Apple Music, Amazon Music and TIDAL. Dolby Atmos is a sound experience you can feel all around you. Familiar from its “surround sound” application in thousands of movie theaters” Dolby Atmos reveals “depth, clarity and details like never before.”
Listen to it HERE.
About Chris Jones & The Night Drivers
Whether it’s in the studio or on stage, Chris Jones & The Night Drivers are making some of the most distinctively elegant yet driving music to be heard anywhere today, and they’re delivering it with a unique blend of dry wit, emotional authenticity and broad humor that’s won the loyalty of a growing number of fans across the country, from MerleFest in North Carolina to California’s Huck Finn Jubilee, and around the world.
Steve Martin referred to the Night Drivers as “. . . some of the best players in bluegrass! Chris Jones’ voice is there with the great masters.” Americana artist Jim Lauderdale said of Chris, “He continues to have one of the most distinctive and best voices in music, period.”
The band — which is Mark Stoffel on mandolin, Grace van’t Hof on banjo and ukelele and Marshall Wilborn on bass — is led by Chris’ soulful lead-singing, songwriting, and solid rhythm and lead guitar. Chris boasts extensive performance credits as a sideman with artists like Lynn Morris, Vassar Clements, Special Consensus, Dave Evans, Earl Scruggs, and the acclaimed Irish band The Chieftains.
Altogether, members of Chris Jones & The Night Drivers have won more than a dozen IBMA awards and have recorded more than ten #1 songs. The Night Drivers also bring name recognition in related fields, as bluegrass fans are well-familiar with Jones for his award-winning work as a SiriusXM DJ, on both Bluegrass Junction and Willie’s Roadhouse.