Biography
An American ensemble fronted by violinist and pianist Matt Glaser operates under the name Wayfaring Strangers and should never be mistaken for a separate European pair that adopted the identical moniker in 1994. That overseas twosome comprises British guitarist and vocalist Neil Grant alongside German mandolinist and vocalist Martin Ahrndt. The Glaser-led collective, likewise rooted in acoustic textures, produces material whose stylistic boundaries resist tidy classification. Their output can be situated within progressive bluegrass, Americana, or broader roots traditions, occasionally intersecting with the alternative country and No Depression community, yet the overall palette stretches farther afield. Elements of bluegrass, folk, country-rock, jazz, world music, blues, and both African-American and white country gospel all surface within the same body of work.
Older sources such as Bill Monroe, the Carter Family, Bob Wills & His Texas Playboys, and Woody Guthrie—the very artist who shaped Bob Dylan—inform their approach, but the results never amount to mere replicas of 1930s or 1940s sounds. Swing, Dixieland, and early jazz idioms appear alongside modal post-bop explorations that originated in the late 1950s through figures such as John Coltrane, Miles Davis, and Yusef Lateef. Country reference points likewise span pre-World War II styles and later country-rock variants, favoring the rawer edges of alt-country and No Depression over the glossy productions typically favored by contemporary country radio. The resulting synthesis yields a sound that remains both eclectic and consistently surprising.
Glaser assembled the project in the opening years of the 2000s after the group secured a deal with Rounder. Core contributors have included banjoist Tony Trischka, drummer and percussionist Jamey Haddad, bassist Jim Whitney, mandolinist and guitarist John McGann, and three principal vocalists—Tracy Bonham, Ruth Ungar, and Aoife O'Donovan. Ungar has performed with the Mammals while O'Donovan belongs to Crooked Still; Bonham, meanwhile, has maintained a solo career since the 1990s, during which she scored an alternative-rock success with the pointed 1996 single “Mother Mother.” Straight-ahead jazz credentials are also represented by pianists Bruce Barth, whose recordings have appeared on the MAXJAZZ imprint, and Laszlo Gardony, a Hungarian émigré now residing in the northeastern United States. Rounder issued the ensemble’s debut album, Shifting Sands of Time, in 2001. Their second collection, This Train, was captured in 2002 and reached stores the following year.
Older sources such as Bill Monroe, the Carter Family, Bob Wills & His Texas Playboys, and Woody Guthrie—the very artist who shaped Bob Dylan—inform their approach, but the results never amount to mere replicas of 1930s or 1940s sounds. Swing, Dixieland, and early jazz idioms appear alongside modal post-bop explorations that originated in the late 1950s through figures such as John Coltrane, Miles Davis, and Yusef Lateef. Country reference points likewise span pre-World War II styles and later country-rock variants, favoring the rawer edges of alt-country and No Depression over the glossy productions typically favored by contemporary country radio. The resulting synthesis yields a sound that remains both eclectic and consistently surprising.
Glaser assembled the project in the opening years of the 2000s after the group secured a deal with Rounder. Core contributors have included banjoist Tony Trischka, drummer and percussionist Jamey Haddad, bassist Jim Whitney, mandolinist and guitarist John McGann, and three principal vocalists—Tracy Bonham, Ruth Ungar, and Aoife O'Donovan. Ungar has performed with the Mammals while O'Donovan belongs to Crooked Still; Bonham, meanwhile, has maintained a solo career since the 1990s, during which she scored an alternative-rock success with the pointed 1996 single “Mother Mother.” Straight-ahead jazz credentials are also represented by pianists Bruce Barth, whose recordings have appeared on the MAXJAZZ imprint, and Laszlo Gardony, a Hungarian émigré now residing in the northeastern United States. Rounder issued the ensemble’s debut album, Shifting Sands of Time, in 2001. Their second collection, This Train, was captured in 2002 and reached stores the following year.
Albums
