Jerusalem Ridge

Imagine every possible combination of bluegrass; they do it all: traditional, contemporary, mixed with country swing, as well as bluegrass gospel and bluegrass humor. Not only has Jerusalem Ridge made a significant contribution to the bluegrass music scene in western Canada and won awards from the Alberta Recording Industry Association and the City of Edmonton, but the quartet has also toured extensively for the past eight years and been acknowledged by such institutions as the Society for the Preservation of Bluegrass Music in America. They've also released four albums: Jerusalem Ridge, North Wind, Looking Back and Make a Joyful Noise, as well as Canada's first bluegrass music video. You can't have bluegrass without banjo, and Craig Korth, one of the band's originals, has that in hand, though he's recently taken up the guitar as well. He also builds them: top-line handcrafted archtop guitars for jazz and swing players. The old-time fiddle player, Byron Myhre, also plays guitar, and has impeccable blood lines; he's the son of old-time fiddle legend Alfie Myhre. In 1997, Byron did his daddy proud by placing third in Canada's National Old-Time Fiddle Competition, held in Nepean, Ontario. Bill Lopushinsky is another original member of the Ridge. On the mandolin he's known as the "fastest fingers in the West", and is in demand as a session player. Keith Burgess, upright bassist, singer and songwriter, is also one of the group's original players, though he took a two year leave of absence to write a book for performers: Establishing Roots: A Beginner's Guide to Performing Roots Music in Canada.

  -- AK