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| courtesy of Joe Page |
 Meet the gang: Mandolinist Joe Page, middle left, will visit Juneau with Joel Kadarauch, Greg Booth, Angela Oudean and Dan Booth. |
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Those with a rigid attitude about what qualifies as bluegrass don't have to worry about longtime mandolinist Joe Page's debut album. He doesn't think it fits the definition either, even if his resume and a casual listen suggest otherwise.
"It has jazz and Latin," said the Anchorage resident, who has played with David Grisman and cites him as an influence. "The chord structures are more complex, it's primarily instrumental ... and there's a lot more rhythmic complexity that takes it away from the bluegrass format."
An album release party is scheduled for 5-7 p.m. Friday at The Alaskan for "Alaska Mando," a collection of 12 songs Page has written since moving to The Last Frontier in 1976. He will also perform at 10:30 p.m. Saturday in his 30th Alaska Folk Festival, an anniversary he said motivated him to undertake a project that has been on the back burner for years.
"I just really didn't have the money for a project like this," he said in a phone interview. "If I was going to do it I wanted it to be as good as it could be. There's also the problem of the right people being in the right place at the right time."
Page begin playing in bands with his brother, George, after moving to Fairbanks in 1976. The groups included the five-piece bluegrass band Tanana Grass, which debuted in Juneau during the fourth annual folk festival in 1978.
He moved to Anchorage in 1982, which was also the last time he played with his brother for many years, as George traded his banjo for a career as an engineering consultant.
Joe Page has shown a consistent flair for progressive bluegrass, friends say.
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Album Release
Who: Joe Page's "Alaska Mando" release party.
When: 5-7 p.m. Friday, April 13.
Where: The Alaskan.
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He's applied his talent for recognizing talent by bringing in young players Dan Booth (bass) and Angela Oudean (fiddle) to complement longtime friends Joel Kadarauch (guitar/banjo) and Greg Booth (dobro) on his album. Guitarist Mike Mickelson and electric bassist Dave Arrowsmith also appear on three songs apiece.
"Greg's innovative, expressive dobro playing is even more remarkable when you consider that he employs no 'licks,'" writes Joe Karson, a guitarist and friend of Page, in the album's liner notes.
"As with Angela's violin playing, he must rely strictly on his musical knowledge and creativity to interpret the material Joe has provided."
The results aren't undisciplined, however, at least according to friend and fellow musician Robin Dale Ford, whose notes state, "Joe has always believed that melody is the supreme fundamental in a great song and, with this collection, he has stayed true to that philosophy."
"What I'm trying to achieve is trying to make a CD that's very listenable and pleasing for someone to listen to, as opposed to trying to make it a showcase of my talents," Page said. "The other players had the same attitude."
Page said the band will play a set during the release party for the album, which actually went on sale in March, but mostly it will be an informal gathering.
"Other than that, my 15 minutes of fame on the main stage Saturday night is it," he wrote in an e-mail promoting the event.
"I don't, as a rule, like to do gigs during Folk Fest as I want to be a free spirit and mingle/jam/listen/party wherever whenever with whomever." Samples of Page's work can be heard at www.alaskamando.com.
