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 Acclaimed acoustic artists Andy Cohen, Eleanor Ellis and William Lee Ellis reunite as a trio for their new album, Whistlin’ Past The Graveyard. RELEASE DATE: MARCH 20 2026 The ambitious project is a 21-track tour-de-force of old-time blues, gospel, ballads, ragtime, and country song that surpasses their previous high bar, the 1993 Marimac outing, Preachin’ in That Wilderness. In the intervening years all three musicians have established themselves as noted artists in the folk and blues worlds, both on stage and in the studio: Eleanor records for the Patuxent label, Andy for Earwig Music, and William for Yellow Dog, where his latest solo album, Ghost Hymns, earned a Blues Music Awards nomination for Acoustic Blues Album of the Year. Produced by William Lee Ellis and River Hartley (Ghost Hymns), Whistlin’ is a truly unique listen, one that fits no single musical category; rather, it explores with finger-picked verve and joy the expansive palette of America’s musical past, still relevant and very much alive in the sound of this remarkable trio. ANDY COHEN is a virtuoso finger-style guitarist described as “a walking, talking folk-blues-roots music encyclopedia.” During the Sixties folk revival, he got hooked on the music of luminaries old and young, from Big Bill Broonzy to the Jim Kweskin Jug Band, although his most profound experience came at 16 when he first heard blues/gospel icon Rev. Gary Davis. He has since devoted his life to studying, performing, and promoting traditional blues and folk music of the pre-World War II era and has toured and played with, among others, Martin, Bogan & Armstrong, John Jackson, Rev. Gary Davis, Jim Brewer, and Honeyboy Edwards. Based these days in Memphis, Tenn., Andy holds a master’s degree in anthropology and has more than a dozen recordings to his credit, including Oh Glory, How Happy I Am: The Sacred Songs of Rev. Gary Davis and numerous albums on the Earwig label. He is a recipient of both the Eisteddfod Award from the Eisteddfod Traditional Music Festival and a Lifetime Achievement Award from the California Autoharp Gathering. ELEANOR ELLIS has been praised “a celebrated master of the country and Piedmont blues, one of the most significant women in the acoustic genre” (Living Blues). The Louisiana native has performed at clubs, festivals, and concerts in the U.S., Canada, and Europe, notably with gospel street singer Flora Molton, bluesman Archie Edwards, and, on occasion, Delta blues great Eugene Powell. She is a founding member of the DC Blues Society and the Archie Edwards Blues Heritage Foundation and is producer/editor of the noted Piedmont blues documentary Blues Houseparty. Among Eleanor’s many recordings are the recent albums, I Do Just What I Do and Comin' a Time, both on the Patuxent label, appearances on numerous anthologies, and two records with Flora Molton, I Want to Be Ready to Hear God When He Calls, and Flora Molton, the latter made for Radio France. Eleanor has also worked at the Archive of New Orleans Jazz at Tulane University and at the New Orleans Jazz Museum. WILLIAM LEE ELLIS is a roots music fingerpicking guitarist and songwriter who has been hailed a “wizard on steel strings” (Blues Revue) and “one of our finest contemporary songwriters” (Living Blues). He has released five albums on the Yellow Dog Records label, notably 2023’s Ghost Hymns – a Blues Music Awards nominee for Acoustic Blues Album of the Year – and he has backed his father, banjo/fiddle composer Tony Ellis, on numerous studio projects and in concert. William holds a PhD in ethnomusicology, has played Mountain Stage, MerleFest, and the Kennedy Center among other venues, and is a guitar-instructing alum of Jorma Kaukonen’s Fur Peace Ranch and Augusta Blues Week. He lives with his wife and daughter in Vermont, where he is Professor of Music at Saint Michael’s College. Tracklisting
1. Columbus Stockade (4:12) 2. Riley & Spencer (3:29) 3. Pearl River Blues #2 (2:21) 4. Whistlin’ Past the Graveyard (1:43) 5. Mr. Furry’s Blues (3:13) 6. Do Right Woman (2:42) 7. Police Dog Blues (3:03) 8. Won’t That Be a Happy Time (1:50) 9. Shuckin’ Sugar (3:09) 10. Handful of Frets (For Fats Waller) (2:08) 11. Chicken (2:31) 12. South Nashville Blues (3:02) 13. Make Believe Stunt (1:51) 14. I Will Turn Your Money Green (2:37) 15. Memphis Minnie and Me (2:30) 16. I’m Goin’ Home (3:02) 17. Red River Blues (3:27) 18. I’ll Be Rested (When the Roll is Called) (3:03) 19. Drunkard’s Lament (2:25) 20. Ye Banks and Braes (2:16) 21. I Am Born to Preach the Gospel (2:50) Andy Cohen VOCAL / GUITAR / MANDOLA / DOLCEOLA William Lee Ellis VOCAL / 6 AND 12-STRING GUITAR / SLIDE GUITAR Eleanor EllisVOCAL / GUITARWITH SPECIAL GUESTS Steve Feinbloom BASS Fraser Speirs HARMONICA Julie Coffey VOCAL Vernita Weller VOCAL / TAMBOURINE Recorded November - December 2024 at Spicy World Studios, Burlington VT Produced by River Hartley and William Lee Ellis Executive Producer: Andy Cohen Engineered and Mixed by River Hartley Mastered by Jim Godsey Website: andycohenmusic.com eleanorellis.com williamleeellis.bandcamp.com riverlark.com Opmerkingen zijn gesloten.
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