You’ve probably heard his voice on the airwaves of Alabama Public Radio (APR) on Saturday nights alongside string instruments and songs about life on the farm or in the hills. However, APR is now to properly introducing the newest host to our weekend programing options.
Birmingham native Jeffery Albright is the newest member of the Alabama Public Radio team. Using his knowledge of Bluegrass music and his own musical experience, he’s adding a new perspective to the station’s long running show Bama Bluegrass, hosted on WUAL radio since 1972.
Bluegrass is a genre of music that can be traced back to the 1600s when people from Ireland, Scotland and England immigrated to America. The instruments typically used include mandolin, banjo, fiddle, guitar and bass.
Albright said the origins of bluegrass, much like any other genre of music, are important so history and culture are not lost.
“There's a lot. The Blues is like that, too. Country music is a Southern thing. Blues is a Southern thing. Jazz [is] Southern from New Orleans and Memphis. All these genres of music originated in the South. So, it’s a part of our culture down here,” he explained.
Albright plays the banjo as well as the upright bass. He’s also had experience playing in bluegrass bands in the South, making his experience with the genre unique.
“I've played in bands around Atlanta and in Alabama over the last 20 years. I've got experience as a musician... I've listened to a lot of bluegrass music, so I'm familiar with the genre,” Albright said.
The Bama Bluegrass host explained there are a variety of styles to the musical genre.
“There's old traditional style, kind of like the old-style blues. Then, there's the newer style, where you got young people, or younger people today, that are playing the music. So, that's kind of been my experience with it,” he said.
During his high school years, Albright recalled the 1972 album “Will the Circle be Unbroken” by the Nitty Gritty Dirt Band being the driving force behind him getting into the bluegrass scene.
“It had a lot of bluegrass, old country musicians, newer country musicians, a lot of famous bluegrass players and instrumentalists like Doc Watson and Jimmy Martin and Earl Scruggs,” he explained. “That album came out, and it was very influential on me. That got me interested in playing banjo and playing bluegrass music. So, my father bought me a banjo, and I kind of tried to be self-taught.”
Albright said he learned the banjo then took a break from playing, and that break lasted 20 years. He later began taking lessons for the instrument again while living in Atlanta, where he also started doing live shows. Albright explained, that’s when he began listening to more bluegrass to become more connected with the genre.
“I want to understand the history of the music and how it has been influenced by particular artists that were pretty famous, like Bill Monroe, Jimmy Martin, Flatt and Scruggs and people like that,” Albright explained.
For anyone who’s looking to get into bluegrass or just want to learn an instrument, Albright said finding online resources is beneficial but getting the fundamentals is important for any instrumentalist.
“These days, there's so much information online. So, you can go watch a lot of people play, and there's a lot of lessons and stuff. You can even do lessons and stuff online, but getting the techniques down when you get started is a great idea,” he said.
As the newest host of Bama Bluegrass, Albright said he wanted to bring something new to the program. He explained he was drawn to Alabama Public Radio because he wanted to showcase the genre to a wide audience in Alabama.
“It was like, ‘Hey, it's music that I love. I enjoy playing it. It's given me a lot of joy,’ and I like bringing that joy to people out there that aren't watching football Saturday night and that want to listen to some music,” he said. “I appreciate APR having a bluegrass show in the state of Alabama. We can continue to bring bluegrass music to the people who are interested in hearing this kind of music, the style of music.”
While hosting Bama Bluegrass, Albright said he plays a variety of music that is bluegrass adjacent to captivate listeners with music that varies.
“I try to do mostly bluegrass, traditional bluegrass and some gospel bluegrass,” he explained. “But also, Americana music. I'll do some old country music, some gospel. I've done the Blind Boys of Alabama on the show,” Albright continued. “Basically, acoustic style music, or what I call bluegrass adjacent music, because there's a lot of artists that have played bluegrass music that are in other genres.”
Tune in to listen to Albright host Bama Bluegrass on Saturdays from 7:00 p.m. to 9:00 p.m. on Alabama Public Radio.
