Joey Wright

Ask Joey Wright to describe the music on his new album Jalopy, and he'll tell you
"cinematic quasi bluegrass jazz compositions". That description is hard to argue with.
The follow up to 2003’s “Camp” Joey’s Black Hen Music debut is indeed a collection of
gorgeous acoustic instrumentals that draw on bluegrass, jazz, blues and world music to
create something beautifully unique yet wonderfully familiar. A warm and captivating
ambience that closes your eyes as you breathe a little more deeply.

Somewhere between the 150 dates a year Joey plays as the guitar/mandolin player with
Sarah Harmer and the now legendary Toronto bluegrass ensemble, “Crazy Strings” and
co-writing and playing songs with his Juno Award winning wife Jenny Whiteley, Joey
found the time to write a plethora of music for his new album. This one, he decided, was
going to be all instrumental, and he picked 12 of his favorites for the project. He also
chose the material based on knowing the playing of the band he had envisioned. The
Elphin Ontario and sometimes Toronto resident knew exactly who he wanted and he
gathered an elite group of musicians from across Canada. He started with the one-two
punch of Steve Dawson (Weisenborn, resonator guitar and ukulele) and Jesse Zubot
(fiddle, fiddle and fiddle), imported from the left coast. He then included the locally
homegrown organic gourmet ingredients of Dan Whiteley on the mandolin and added all
of this to the perfect base, the bass, of Joe Phillips. In the role of chef and concert master,
Joey played guitar, slide resonator guitar, mandolin, slide resonator mandolin and tenor
banjo.

The album starts with the catchy, and extremely humable title track; a banjo-infused poke
at the bluegrass tradition. Next is the record’s only cover tune, the famous “Come
Sunday” like you've never heard it before, think less jazz club and more luau. From there,
Wright takes you on a journey through the Appalachian mountains, to the Victorian parlour
room and even to the ball, all in the back of a Gypsy wagon. The magic of the mix and
blend of the fine musicians gathered around microphones to capture the essence of Joey's
writing, is what gives Jalopy its thread and its unity. Jalopy might just save the world,
one note at a time.

Besides accompanying Sarah Harmer and Jenny Whiteley both on record and live and
playing in his bluegrass band Joey has appeared as a studio musician on recordings by
Amy Millan, Oh Susanna, Pierre Schryer, The Banjo Special, Ron Hynes and John
Southworth to name a few as well as composing for television and film. Joey is also dad
and a husband and lives in small town southern Ontario and as a long-time member of the
Toronto bluegrass mafia, he is helping to define a new era of roots music in this country,
and beyond.