Kenny Kosek and Tony Trischka © Frank Gimpay
Kenny Kosek has announced the highly anticipated follow-up to his 1997 solo record, Angelwood, by divulging details and sharing notes regarding the Sept. 6 release of Twisted Sage. The forthcoming album taps into a nearly 200-year tradition of fiddle and banjo duets, a footing in Americana music. With the help of fellow bluegrass troubadour Tony Trischka and others, Kosek steps back in time, pulling songs that are reminiscent of his youth and other moments throughout his lengthy, spirited career.
Twisted Sage pulls inspiration from foundation moments from Kosek’s childhood, mainly exposure to one of the top collectors of fiddle band 78 RPM records, Loy Beaver. Recalling the events, Kosek reminiscences, “Andy May and I used to go to his place in the East Bronx. I carried my father’s reel-to-reel Wollensak tape recorder and would hold the microphone up to one speaker while Loy would take out 78s from his collection. That was an incredibly great thing.”
While barely a teen when first exposed to the genre, the discovery was enough to simulate motivation and push Kosek toward the fiddle. Now, decades later and with experience under his belt, Kosek, known for stints in Jerry Garcia Acoustic Band and David Bromberg Band, newgrass groups like Country Cooking and Breakfast Special (with Trischka) and sessions work with James Taylor, Willie Nelson, and Leonard Cohen, is using those formative experiences to fuel his impending set with homages to his colorful career.
The set draws heavily on the musical telepathy that permeates Kosek and Trischka’s connection, a side effect of 50 years of playing together. Twisted Sage goes deeper into Kosek’s collaborative history, pulling in Andy Statman (mandolin), Mark Cosgrove (guitar) and Marty Cutler (banjo) for a mingling of guest-present duets. Included on Twisted Sage are songs Kosek likely heard on the aforementioned 78s: “Streak O’ Lean Streak O’ Fat,” a tune he learned from a 1931 Okeh Records release by A.A. Gray and others and “Maiden’s Prayer,” a mid-19th Century piano tune adapted into a Texas swing classic by Bob Wills.
Leaning into traditionals, Twisted Sage sees Kosek land on “Lady Hamilton” and “Deer Walk” while also pulling another, “Turkey in the Straw,” and expanding it into a medley of three different takes with help from Statman. Elsewhere on the impending set, Kosek draws on the iconic Godzilla march, known as “Gojira County Breakdown,” Kosek and Cutler’s rendition of the 1955 Japanese soundtrack staple.
Kosek says of his lengthy musical partnership with Trischka, “I first met Tony at a bluegrass festival, maybe in 1970, in Virginia. Tony was from Syracuse and had long hair. And, you know, we bluegrass hippies had this certain camaraderie.” Speaking to the passing of time and the culmination of joint experiences, he adds, “We had developed a large repertoire of obscure tunes. I was worried I was going to start forgetting these tunes unless I start playing them seriously. One night, Tony and I were playing with Peter Rowan and he said, why don’t you guys do a fiddle and banjo number? We both knew this tune ‘Texas’ by Henry Reed and we did it. The crowd loved it.” And the rest is history.
Scroll down to watch fan shot video of Garcia introducing Kosek during a Jerry Garcia Acoustic Band gig.
