Aubrey Haynie

This multi-instrumentalist is an A-list session player in Nashville, where he has recorded on hundreds of records. His fiddle, mandolin and guitar playing present an impeccable combination of taste and blazingly fast chops that swing with a jazz player's feel for improvisation. Haynie is also a startlingly good writer; his compositions can sound like long lost Appalachian standards passed down from generation to generation. When a sideman steps out on his or her own, it's oftentimes a case of brilliant technical playing in search of material -- that's clearly not the case here.