by Joe Davis

The other evening my wife, Connie, and I went along with our new banjo playing friend, Jim Carrier, to the Café Carpe in Fort Atkinson to hear Jerry Wicentowski and the New Pioneers. Before I go into the particulars of the music I encourage all bluegrass fans to catch this group. Individually, the members are some of the top musicians in the state and collectively, they are what everyone ought to expect when going to hear a bluegrass band.

Quality musicianship, fast fiddle tunes and driving banjo are synonymous with bluegrass, but the real key to the music (understood by the experts) is the singing; bluegrass is grounded in solid singing, both solo and group and this band has surely got it covered. I really don’t think I have to talk at length about Jerry Wicentowski’s stellar reputation – he is, without doubt, one the top practitioners of this art form anywhere in the country. And, it is an art form. The trio singing, with Bruce King (mandolin) and Mike Schmidt (banjo) joining Jerry is excellent – “Sitting Alone in the Moonlight” and “On & On” are just two examples of how good it gets with this band. And, the occasional duets were just as professional (and I offer this as my highest compliment).

I would be selling this band short if I didn’t mention the instrumental proficiency – and this ranges far beyond the excellent solo work done by Bruce and Mike and the stellar fiddling of Paul Kienitz, fiddler extraordinaire – beyond the leads though this band does the hard and very necessary work of solid back-up and exceptional interplay among the musicians. Mike Schmidt’s back-up banjo is hard driving and it, along with Jon Peik’s rock solid bass playing, keeps this band on track. I also want to make special mention of an often overlooked part of bluegrass; a part which Jerry has down and that is rhythm guitar. I know it’s fashionable to think of bluegrass guitar in the mold of Bryan Sutton and Tony Rice, but there is nothing more essential to the pure bluegrass sound than a guitarist, like Jerry, who knows how to ground a band and keep it centered.

I know that if you are reading this review you already love bluegrass – well, get yourself and your friends to the Café Carp on the second Thursday of each month – you will be more than pleased. And, a special message to the members of various bands around the area – come out and pay your dues; listen to some masters do it in person like it ought to be done and take some lessons, some soul, some expertise away with you.