Jayme Stone

Click here for a recent article on Jayme Stone [Songlines.co.uk]

Two-time Juno-winning banjoist, composer and instigator Jayme Stone makes music inspired by sounds from around the world— bridging folk, jazz and chamber music. His award-winning albums both defy and honor the banjo’s long role in the world’s music, turning historical connections into compelling sounds.

Jayme Stone’s Folklife (2017) follows the bends and bayous through the deep river of song and story. Evolving out of Stone’s “Lomax Project,” this gathering of versatile musicians blows the dust off of old songs and remakes them for modern ears. With spellbinding singing, virtuosic playing and captivating storytelling, their concerts and educational programs are moving, inventive and participatory experiences. Think Sea Island spirituals, Creole calypsos and stomp-down Appalachian dance tunes. The album is due out in April on Borealis Records.

Jayme Stone’s Lomax Project (2015) focuses on songs collected by folklorist and field recording pioneer Alan Lomax. This collaboratory brings together distinctive roots musicians to revive, recycle and reimagine traditional music. The repertoire includes Bahamian sea shanties, Gullah spirituals, Appalachian ballads, fiddle tunes and work songs collected from both well-known musicians and everyday folk: sea captains, cowhands, fishermen, prisoners and homemakers. Collaborators include Grammy- winning singer Tim O’Brien, Bruce Molsky, Margaret Glaspy, Moira Smiley, Brittany Haas, Julian Lage and more.

The Other Side of the Air (2013) is a travelogue of imaginary landscapes and faraway lands. The album traverses the

Cinnamon Route through Persia and India, revisits and reinvents melodies Stone collected in West Africa and includes a Concerto for Banjo and Chamber Symphony.

Room of Wonders (2010) explores music from Norway, Sweden, Bulgaria, Brazil, Italy and North America. The repertoire includes a movement from Bach’s French Suite, a Moorish sword-fighting dance and Stone’s lush, edgy originals.

Africa to Appalachia (2008) is a boundary- crossing musical collaboration with griot singer Mansa Sissoko that explores the banjo’s African roots and Stone’s adventures in Mali.

Stone is the consummate collaborator, unearthing musical artifacts and magnetizing extraordinary artists to help rekindle these understudied sounds. He is a passionate educator, producer and instigator.

“The Yo-Yo Ma of the banjo.”  – GLOBE AND MAIL

“This is what the future of the banjo sounds like.” –  SONGLINES

“I take back what I said about Jayme Stone.”  –  STEVE MARTIN

“Stone’s banjo playing is a source of limitless creative expression.” – NO DEPRESSION

“It sounds like a whole new instrument.”   – WASHINGTON POST