Stony Run
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Ken & Brad Kolodner's latest CD, released March 2020
Released March 13, 2020 - Debuted #4 on The Billboard's Bluegrass Charts
Ken Kolodner - hammered dulcimer, fiddle
Brad Kolodner - banjo, fiddle, vocals
Rachel Eddy - fiddle, guitar, vocals
Alex Lacquement - bass, vocals
1. Wild Bill Jones 02:45
2. Stony Run 04:24
3. Across The Great Divide 03:40
4. Wisteria 03:15
5. Dizzy Creek 02:29
6. Richmond Blues/Possum On A Rail 05:05
7. Black Eyed Susie 04:06
8. The Circle 03:20
9. Bowling Green 02:41
10. Shakin' Down The Acorns 03:36
11. Ain't No Ash Will Burn 03:43
12. Happy Hollow/Hunting The Buffalo 03:37
"Ken and Brad Kolodner make it clear: The family that plays together stays together. The canon of Americana music has long been passed down the generations, but these 12 tracks showcase not only the father-son duo’s familial bond but also their unique musical chemistry and mutual inspiration. It’s their most creative recording yet, charting new territory on robust original tunes, like the effusive title track, inspired by the waterway that ripples between their Baltimore homes, as well as through evolving techniques, such as unlikely instrument combinations and added emphasis on Brad’s warm vocals. They also pay homage to artists of the past through inventive takes on traditional folk and bluegrass classics."
-- Lydia Woolover, Baltimore Magazine, April 2020
"It seems fair to say that there’s no strong bond than that which exists between parent and child, or, more specifically, as in the case of Ken and Brad Kolodner, the ties that bind father and son. With Stony Run, the duo’s fourth album, that precept proves true courtesy of their musical synergy, and their ability to draw on a traditional tapestry while still maintaining a contemporary credence. The two complement one another with an adroit sense of novelty and nuance, Ken’s masterful hammered dulcimer finding a perfect complement through Brad’s tasteful banjo. Stony Run offers an adroit example of instrumental artistry and integrity, stirred with equal measure. Credit the Kolodner’s with one of the best examples of innovative traditional string music heard yet this year."
-- Lee Zimmerman Bluegrass Today, March 2020
"Two scions of the entire bluegrass scene, not just Maryland (though we claim them as ours, and proudly so) – absolutely stunned the digital audience with their duets on dulcimer (sometimes mbira) and clawhammer banjo (sometimes gourd). Their playing is fluid and constantly beautiful, but also rewarding and challenging; they’ve created something that feels like a place captured by sound. It is easy to be transported by their music. They recently released Stony Run on March 13th (what feels somewhat like the beginning of the current state), a nod to Baltimore and her influences. Both Ken and Brad gave in to their tendencies to teach, sprinkling their set as liberally with music facts as with wry and humorous comments about the world at large. In truth, I found their set one of the most beautiful and inviting I’ve watched this entire quarantine."
-- Matt Ruppert, These Subtle Sounds, April 29, 2020
"Upon first hearing Stony Run, one realizes there’s a music lesson to be learned from this CD, a lesson that both players’ music-playing and performing has been 'preaching' for years: Never underestimate an instrument’s, vocalist’s, or composer’s potential and ability to grow and perform new styles and music genres. Beginning with their first Otter Creek recording and through this fourth musical journey, both musicians have revealed an amazing ability to spread their music wings to new levels. On Stony Run the two are joined by Rachel Eddy and Alex Lacquement, outstanding musicians and vocalists themselves, and the results of this teamwork are audibly and uniquely exceptional."
-- Dan Hayes, Dulcimer Player News, Spring 2020
"The centerpiece of the Ken & Brad Kolodner sound is fiddle tunes and old time songs on banjo and hammered dulcimer. But don’t stop there. Brad’s ten-plus years of focus on clawhammer banjo has paid off in clean technique, excellent tone and his own musical innovations. He plays with drive, precision and when appropriate, quieter and more evocative tones. He’s become a worthy tunesmith and a fine musician on fretless and fretted banjos and fiddle. Ken has established himself as a world-class fiddler and hammered dulcimer player. On dulcimer he goes beyond hammering out fiddle tunes showcasing the wonderful percussive and muted sounds the instrument offers. Enter the hammered mbira, a hybrid musical creation by Don MacClane that uses hammered dulcimer technique and set-up with African mbira (thumb piano) metal keys instead of strings. Ken takes his hammered dulcimer technique to a new format and sound and brings it into the old-time atmosphere beautifully. If there were stars in this review, Stony Run gets 5 out of 5!"
-- Cathy Fink, Banjo Newsletter, May 2020
Father-son team Ken & Brad Kolodner have a musical bond that runs deep. For more than ten years, they’ve explored the sonic and textural possibilities of Ken’s hammered dulcimer and Brad’s banjo sculpting a unique sound that’s taken them to stages around the country.
Their fourth studio album, Stony Run, is their most adventurous record to date with ethereal soundscapes abound. Their groove is tight while genre lines are blurred. The title track, composed by Brad, is named after the stream that runs between Ken and Brad’s respective houses in Baltimore City. It’s the lush area of solace among the bustle of urban life that inspired this tune.
The album kicks off with a driving rendition of the bluegrass classic Wild Bill Jones. Brad’s singing takes center stage on Kate Wolf’s moving number Across The Great Divide and Walt Aldridge’s stirring piece Ain’t No Ash Will Burn. Ken’s haunting original, The Circle, provides a moment of calm reflection. They wade into uncharted waters on Black Eyed Susie and Shakin’ Down the Acorns blending the hammered mbira, a steel-rod version of the hammered dulcimer, with the gourd banjo – a combo that earned them the blue ribbon in the acclaimed neo-traditional band contest at The Appalachian Stringband Festival in Clifftop, WV in the summer of 2019.
Shortly thereafter, Ken & Brad hit the recording studio with West Virginia-born fiddler/guitarist Rachel Eddy and upright bassist Alex Lacquement. The album was to be released on March 13, 2020 at the 2nd Annual Baltimore Old Time Music Festival, an event founded by Ken & Brad who have grown into community leaders for the burgeoning Baltimore Old Time music scene.
Despite the inopportune release date, Stony Run hit #4 on The Billboard Bluegrass Charts. Stony Run is a genre-bending journey played dynamically and with a fiery drive only achievable by the close familial bond Ken & Brad Kolodner have.