Alison Krauss & Union Station featuring Jerry Douglas
For Alison
Krauss, musical
collaboration has
been a way of life. Her
own story has been nothing
short of amazing: signed to
Rounder Records as a 14-year-old fiddle player from Champaign, Illinois, she
has, over two decades with the label, become
the most recognized face in contemporary
bluegrass, a critically acclaimed artist who has brought modern sophistication to the genre while respecting
its traditions.
She has released eleven albums on Rounder, six of them with her peerless band Union Station. She has sold upwards of 8 million records and garnered 20 Grammy Awards, the most for any female artist in Grammy history. With her recent release, A Hundred Miles Or More: A Collection, Krauss gathers on one elegant disc five newly-recorded tracks, including the current single Simple Love, several previously released collaborations with such artists and friends as Brad Paisley, John Waite, James Taylor and The Chieftains, along with songs she cut for tribute albums and film soundtracks, including songs from the Grammy winning O Brother and Oscar nominated Cold Mountain. With its 16 songs, A Hundred Miles Or More gracefully balances the new with the familiar to form a vivid portrait of this adventurous artist, chronicling the places she’s been and showcasing hauntingly beautiful new work.
Alison Krauss and Union Station are respected among musicians and fans alike as one of the best bands around in any genre. Collectively and individually, they are tapped for everything from the stellar songwriting skills of Ron Block or the rock solid bass playing of Barry Bales to the instantly recognizable voice of Dan 'the Man' Tyminski or instrumental prowess of Dobro master Jerry Douglas.
The longest tenured player in Union Station is Kingsport, Tennessee native Barry Bales who landed the bass job with Union Station in 1990 and also contributes harmony vocals. Barry’s demand as a session player is evidenced by his work with Vince Gill, Dolly Parton, Merle Haggard, Patti Loveless and many others.
Ron Block has been the spiritual touchstone of AKUS, contributing not only sterling musicianship on banjo, acoustic and electric guitar and harmony and lead vocals, but also a catalogue of beautiful songs that deal mostly with issues of religious faith. Ron’s latest album, Door Way, came out in June 2007.
Dan Tyminski gained national recognition, along with awards from NARAS (Grammy folks), the Country Music Association and the International Bluegrass Music Association, as the singing voice of George Clooney in the motion picture O Brother, Where Art Thou? As acoustic guitarist/mandolin player and harmony and lead vocalist for AKUS, Dan is one of the most dynamic and talented performers on the bluegrass scene and is frequently called to help out fellow artists like Vince Gill or LeeAnn Rimes on stage or in the studio.
Jerry Douglas’ transcendent technique and his passionate musicality have helped him net twelve Grammy Awards, two CMA Musician of the Year awards and countless specialized awards. Regarded as the finest Dobro player in contemporary acoustic music, he has played on more than 1500 albums and has defined the sounds of many diverse recordings including discs released by Garth Brooks, Paul Simon, James Taylor, and the late Ray Charles. He has also released 12 solo albums and fronts his own band when not on tour with Alison Krauss and Union Station.