The Goat Rodeo Sessions

In the tradition of Appalachian Journey and Obrigado Brazil, Yo-Yo Ma once again embraces styles and traditions that go beyond Classical Music by bringing together four American string virtuosos and creating a new kind of chamber ensemble The Goat Rodeo Sessions is a landmark album project by four of the great instrumentalists in music today. The album uniquely showcases cellist Yo-Yo Ma, bassist Edgar Meyer, mandolinist Chris Thile and fiddler Stuart Duncan. A goat rodeo, according to Urban Dictionary, “is about the most polite term used by aviation people (and others in higher risk situations) to describe a scenario that requires about 100 things to go right at once if you intend to walk away from it." This name appealed to the participants as all four lead extremely demanding if not chaotic lives in terms of scheduling, at least, making their meeting here, while much desired, still a near goat-rodeo miracle. The Goat Rodeo Sessions came about because Ma and Meyer are great friends, who both wanted to work together with Thile and Duncan, who were also longtime friends. It is above all a product of the collaborative chemistry and communication between the players working, notes Meyer, toward "a harmonious whole." There was an underlying sense of community and shared sense of values that characterized the recording sessions. Meyer attributes much of this to the group's improvisational "co-authorship" of the music, much of which was created on the spot. Two tracks feature female vocalist Aoife O?Donovan who is part of the new-bluegrass-folk indie band movement in the US.

1. Attaboy
2. Quarter Chicken Dark
3. Helping Hand
4. Where?s My Bow?
5. Here And Heaven (featuring vocals by Aoife O?donovan & Chris Thile)
6. Helping Hand
7. Less Is Moi
8. Hill Justice
9. No One But You (featuring vocals by Aoife O?donovan & Chris Thile)
10. 13:8
11. 13:8