[Vancouver, BC] — [March 17] – John Reischman announced today that his album, New Time & Old Acoustic, has been nominated for TRADITIONAL ROOTS ALBUM OF THE YEAR in the 51st Annual JUNO Awards. Reischman has previously been nominated for two Juno Awards with his band the Jaybirds. Often referred to as the Canadian equivalent of the Grammys, the Junos started as the RPM Gold Leaf Awards in 1964 by RPM editor and publisher Walt Grealis and record label executive Stan Klees, soon became The JUNO Awards in 1971. Named in tribute to Pierre Juneau, the first chairperson of the Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission (CRTC), the JUNO Awards were founded to raise the public profile and recognition of musical artists in Canada.
Grammy Award-winning musician John Reischman has been a foundational mandolinist, composer, bandleader, and musical educator in bluegrass and North American roots and folk music since emerging from the vibrant “new acoustic” music scene of the Bay Area in the 1980s. He’s been a founding member of the groundbreaking Tony Rice Unit, a veteran of the West Coast bluegrass band The Good Ol’ Persons, and now he continues to front the well-loved Candian bluegrass band John Resichnman and the Jaybirds. Reischman’s mastery of bluegrass, old-time, swing, and multiple Latin American musical styles, coupled with an old master’s sense of tone, taste, and musicality, has brought him a global reputation as one of the finest mandolinists of his era.
His latest solo project, New Time & Old Acoustic on Corvus Records, blends a lifetime of musical influences into an engaging recording with some of today’s top acoustic players including flatpicking guitarists Molly Tuttle and Chris Eldridge, fiddler Alex Hargreaves, and bassist Todd Phillips.
Along the way, you’ll hear the likes of Canadian music darlings Pharis & Jason Romero, The Fretless (also nominated in the CONTEMPORARY ROOTS ALBUM OF THE YEAR category), and rotating appearances from John’s bandmates in The Jaybirds across the record. The 14-track album includes 12 new Reischman originals and 2 traditional cuts. John also has included a reinterpretation of his tune “Salt Spring,” which has garnered a cult following in the bluegrass jam scene over the past two decades. New Time & Old Acoustic is the most mature, accomplished solo recording of Reischman’s storied career.
John is among three other bluegrass adjacent acts to be nominated in this year’s awards. Reischman’s composition “Salt Spring,” written shortly after moving to BC and named for Salt Spring Island off the coast of Vancouver, has become a cultural phenomenon within the bluegrass community. The new version of this tune included on the record brings together multiple generations influenced by John’s music and brings John’s connections to both bluegrass and Canasa full circle.