Nick Hornbuckle brings out the lonesome in the 5-string banjo better than anyone I've heard in a long time. A curious thing for someone who’s spent his life on the rugged Pacific Coast of Washington State and British Columbia.  At the same time, there's a real elegance to his playing – something that people don't often associate with the banjo.  Listen to this CD and revel in Nick's musical landscape, at once old and new, rooted in tradition, but reaching gorgeously forward. A gem of a record.

Alison Brown

Nick Hornbuckle's new CD is a delight. Clean, well-played, melodically oriented yet with plenty of solid rhythm, Nick’s unique two-finger banjo style brings the kind of musicianship and tasteful sensitivity to Scruggs-style banjo that Adam Hurt brings to clawhammer. His substantial technical abilities are in service of the music, not "look-at-me" pyrotechnics. The arrangements are modern yet tasteful, and beautifully conceived, and the melodies themselves are faithful representations of fiddle tunes drawn mostly from master fiddlers of generations past.

Brad Leftwich

Nick Hornbuckle has created a gorgeous, melody-driven recording that sits comfortably on the melding edge of Bluegrass, new acoustic and old-time.  He obviously has technique to burn, but doesn't use this setting as a testosterone fueled lick-fest.  This is more of a sparse, beautifully hewn chamber project with fiddle tunes glowing at the center.  Nick's tone is pure, his timing is righteous and he's surrounded himself with like-minded string players who brim with supernal taste and empathy.   This music can soothe and heal.

Tony Trischka

I love how this record consists of mostly three elements at a time: one part Nick on two-finger Scruggs-style banjo, one part masterful tones of great acoustic string instrumentalists on mandolin, fiddle, bass, or cello, and one part…silence. That third part is a strong presence in this music. It calms, it highlights, it trusts, it helps us focus.

The tunes are graceful, well-structured, and rich with feeling. Some are old, some are new, but all just plain sound good. Nice work for an ex-rock musician. Rock on, Nick!

Pete Wernick

Nick Hornbuckle has put together an album of fiddle tunes from a tradition usually called old time Appalachian – tunes that, for the most part, pre-date commercial country music, including bluegrass. In the old time tradition, they would have been played by a fiddler and perhaps a banjo player using the old “clawhammer” style. Nick, a great bluegrass banjo picker, uses his formidable chops and keen understanding of his instrument, and of the tradition, to explore the beauty of this (mostly) old music in his own way.

Make no mistake, this is not an old time music CD. It is a 21st Century appreciation of old time music, accomplished with authentic love and understanding. The tunes are brilliantly played and their arrangements open new ways of hearing and appreciating, even for those of us who have known and played many of them for decades

I love the spare arrangements that offer a real intimacy, both for the musicians and the listener. John Reischman’s moving chord substitutions on “Cumberland Gap” and other tunes create new pathways for Nick’s great two-finger picking, reminding us of the Celtic DNA in Appalachian music. “Ninety Degrees,” an original tune by my old friend Brad Leftwich, has Nick’s banjo evoking at one moment the old time two-finger picking of Dock Boggs, and a few bars later great jazz (thereby calling to mind the African DNA in Appalachian music). The cello and banjo arrangements of “Geese Honking” and “Sail Away Ladies” offer powerful new perspectives into the beautiful structure of those tunes. The bass, plucked and bowed, serves a similar revelatory function in “Lost Girl,” an ancient piece from the playing of John Salyer of Eastern Kentucky. Nick’s version transcends genre in revealing a lovely, and complex piece of music.

Another Eastern Kentucky fiddler, Art Stamper, used to talk about the challenge faced by musicians carrying on traditional music. Art’s father, Hiram, was a quintessential old time fiddler, but Art played bluegrass most of his life, including long stints with the Stanley Brothers. He also never stopped playing old time fiddle. “You have to play music in your own time, for your own time, even as your carry on the tradition,” was Art’s view. I think he had it nailed. I personally dislike the emphasis on labeling music as “bluegrass,” or “old time,” or whatever. As my banjo picking neighbor used to say, “It’s all hillbilly music.” Nick and his comrades take it beyond that, and remind us, as did Duke Ellington, that it’s all MUSIC. It is the understanding and execution, the love and appreciation of the music shared by musicians in their arrangements and performance – that’s what matters and that’s what makes music worth listening to. Nick’s music has all that; it rewards the listener with subtle new insights into beautiful old tunes by extraordinary contemporary musicians.

James Leva

Nick Hornbuckle- Twelve By Two (Plus or Minus One) Equals Outstanding
DONALD TEPLYSKE | NOVEMBER 10, 2014

Nick Hornbuckle "12X2(+/-1)" Corvus Bay

And the award for worst album title of the year goes to...

That was my first reaction when this stunning collection of banjo and string music slipped out of its bubble wrap envelope. Being rather linear, I thought, 'Just call it "25" or "23"...don't throw introductory algebra into the mix.'

Then I listened. And learned.

I've been familiar with Nick Hornbuckle for almost as long as he has played banjo with John Reischman & the Jaybirds. I've interviewed him. I've shared beverages and meals with him. I've written about his performances. I've hired him as a member of the Jaybirds, whose sets I've experienced far too many times to count.

Nick Hornbuckle plays banjo in a two finger-thumb and index-style that is quite unlike anyone else's I can recollect. And that is where the album may get its name- 12 tunes X two fingers...except, sometimes there is also two (or three) musicians, or two banjos...hence, the +/- part of the title.

When Hornbuckle plays banjo, whether live, or on any one of the half-dozen and more Jaybirds and Jaybirds-related albums on which he has played, it doesn't noticeably sound-at least, to my untrained ears-different from those banjo players who play in the more conventional, three-finger bluegrass banjo style. Cleaner maybe, less cluttered perhaps. But, I hear rolls, fills, backing, and leads that are as tasteful, soulful, and jaw-droppingly impressive as I do whenever I listen to more traditional bluegrass 5-string wizards.

Hornbuckle, like his Jaybird compatriots, is not nearly as linear as I am. Their approach to bluegrass has consistently been expansive-delving deep into its old-time, Celtic, and folk foundations, they mine the traditions of bluegrass while leading it forward for contemporary audiences to appreciate.

Hornbuckle's solo debut takes a similar tact, with an emphasis on the interplay of banjo and an accompanying stringed companion-fiddle, mandolin, mandola, cello, bass, and banjo played in the clawhammer style. In a couple places, Hornbuckle has his hands fully occupied, playing piano as well as banjo.

Some may prejudge the album to be a bit 'high concept' for a bluegrass banjo player to attempt. They would be wrong. There is nothing about this 35-minute recording to suggests that it misses its mark in attempting to create a juxtaposed image of how the 5-string can be used to artfully craft a modern interpretation of old-time music. Much like Noam Pikelny's "Plays Kenny Baker Plays Bill Monroe" of last year, "12X2(+/-1)" bridges generations of banjo influence into a cohesive, amiable artistic creation.

It just sounds so darned good.

"Sail Away Ladies," featuring the dynamic duo of Emma Beaton (cello) and Miriam Sonstenes (fiddle), is one of the album's immediate highpoints. The cello captures the depth this tune possess, while the fiddle communicates its more high-spirited aspect. All through, Hornbuckle's right hand provides the melody that envelops the wistful atmosphere created. Elsewhere, another old fiddle tune "Julianne Johnson" is performed with Hornbuckle joined by clawhammer-style player Shanti Bremer; this rendition has just the right amount of 'pop' to stand out in a favourable manner.

"Lost Girl" is given a beautiful arrangement, with deep brooding bass notes from Marisha Devoin. More familiar tunes are also delightfully rendered, among them "Virginia Reel," "Too Young To Marry," and "Cumberland Gap," the last of which features Reischman. The Jaybirds' leader is also featured on "Yell in the Shoats" and "Ninety Degrees;" his and Hornbuckle's chemistry is obvious. The old Scottish tune "Cold Frosty Morning" closes the album, and features Hornbuckle doing double duty on banjo and piano bringing the disc to a rather pensive conclusion.

The album jumps around a bit, providing a pleasing listening experience, evidence that Hornbuckle considered the flow of tunes when sequencing the disc. The album packaging is also nice, containing an abundance of information within tight quarters while considering the aesthetics of appealing layout.

Nick Hornbuckle is one of the more unassuming musicians you are likely to encounter. His non-musical personality is only gradually exposed, and with the release of "12X2(+/-1)" here is hoping more folks stop by the band table and take the time to get to know this extremely talented and still under-rated bluegrass banjo player.