Bluegrass is my Second Language

I've just finished a fascinating book by John Santa called "Bluegrass Is My Second Language". Santa hails from Bluegrass Heaven, North Carolina that is, and he knows what he's talking about when it comes to explaining the atmosphere of the jam session. He made the transition from a long history of playing the blues to the frenetic world of bluegrass sorta" cold turkey" when asked by a new friend that he had only just recently jammed with to help out at a benefit for a large group of important people. The other players were complete strangers to him. In the book he humorously explains the emotions he has on the ride to the gig and how he gets thru it all.
The rest of the book takes the reader on many long rides to magical places where the people are warm and wonderful. You get to meet folks that are sometimes a bit different, maybe even quirky and some of the surroundings where the jams take place are almost mythical. Santa tells us about the many emotional relationships he develops with folks at the jams and shows us the basic goodness found in all of them, how they help him get through sad times as when his beloved dog passes or when a particularly bad winter puts him into a depression. Santa has the ability to put the reader right into the middle of a jam with his vivid recollections of how each player takes his turn on a solo or backs up the group and the audiences reaction to the music. This turned out to be a fun read and I know I'll go back and reread chapters just to enjoy the books characters.

To learn more about the book click here




EIGHTwentythree


John Santa

L-R John Santa Keith Carroll Jeff Wiseman Gregg Eldred