This jam session recorded in veteran fiddler Fletcher Bright’s living room in Lookout Mountain, Tennessee, exudes a warmth, passion, and joyfulness that’s right in line with the old-time music, fiddle tunes, and bluegrass the quartet plays.

Banjo man Bill Evans organized proceedings, rounding up old friends Norman and Nancy Blake. They cut these 16 tracks over three days.

These sessions are not about virtuosity, a quest that sometimes mars modern-day bluegrass jams. Rather, it’s about feel, and originals here like “Blake’s March” and “Berkeley Shanghai” revel in the interplay between the impromptu band memmbers. Tone also rules. Bright bows an early 1800s Panormo fiddle while Evans plays a 1930 Gibson Granada, blending beautifully with Blake’s Gibson LC Century replica from ’75 and Signature Martin 000-18. Wonderful.

This article originally appeared in VG‘s August ’16 issue. All copyrights are by the author and Vintage Guitar magazine. Unauthorized replication or use is strictly prohibited.