The Fun Of Open Discussion

Banjo player Bob Carlin and singer/multi-instrumentalist John Hartford might seem like an odd combination — Carlin somewhat the earnest musicologist and Hartford the impish Mississippi River steamboat aficionado (and composer of the early 1970s folk-pop classic “Gentle On My Mind”). But when they came together in Hartford’s home in 1994 to record some fiddle-and-banjo duets, the result was absolute magic. Running through old-time session tunes both familiar (“Chinquapin,” “Dry and Dusty”) and obscure (“Lantern in the Ditch,” “Hy Patitian”) as well as a couple of Hartford originals, the duo sound like they’re dancing together down a country road. Hartford’s puckish sense of humor can be heard both in his playing itself and in his occasional count-ins. At times Carlin sounds like he’s hanging on for dear life, but his playing is brilliant.