Much like the music of David Grisman, this unusual live album featuring violinists Darol Anger, David Balakrishnan, and Matt Glaser is not easily pigeonholed into any one musical genre, even though it is titled Jazz Violin Celebration. Mixing works by Horace Silver, Lennie Tristano, Louis Armstrong, and Thelonious Monk, along with originals and one standard (Angel Eyes), the musicians have no problem crossing any artificially constructed stylistic boundaries. As in Grisman's music, there is often a healthy bluegrass influence that adds to the swinging flavor of many of the performances, all of which come from a 1984 concert at the Great American Music Hall in San Francisco. Mike Marshall, a versatile musician who has worked with Grisman and many others, is heard on mandolin, guitar, and mandocello, and is added as a fourth fiddler in a dash through bluegrass giant Bill Monroe's Big Mon and Anger's wry Street Stuff. Balakrishnan and Anger, who would later co-found the Turtle Island String Quartet, are standout soloists and arrangers, while Glaser is also no slouch and is showcased in Tristano's dissonant Wow. While the demise of Kaleidoscope has left this LP out of print for some time, it still isn't that difficult to acquire -- for the time being. Fans of other works by the musicians on this date will want to keep an eye out for it. ~ Ken Dryden, Rovi

1		Foos Juice
2		Nutty
3		Selena
4		Opus de Funk
5		Big Mon
6		Street Stuff
7		Angel Eyes
8		No Tomorrow
9		Wow
10		Swing That Music

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