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"What may appear to be rather basic melodies can in fact express unspeakable emotions and evoke the experiences of generations past. Music on the gourd banjo offers a glimpse into another time." Adam Hurt

A world-class banjo stylist, Adam Hurt's groundbreaking solo gourd banjo CD "Earth Tones" is a daring foray into the mysterious world of the gourd banjo, a little known and extremely difficult to play instrument. The artistic level to which Adam Hurt takes the gourd banjo on "Earth Tones" is stunning. The celebrated banjo virtuoso's first solo album "Earth Tones" is available on bandcamp https://adamhurt.bandcamp.com/album/earth-tones
His many other albums are available at https://www.adamhurt.com/listenbuy

This video was taken at an Adam Hurt concert, which produced by Paul Roberts in Pagosa Springs, Colorado in April of 2009. The concert was Adam's first solo performance and also the first time he performed with a gourd banjo. This landmark concert segued into the recording of "Earth Tones," which, since its 2010 release, has had an enormous influence on banjo players and old-music lovers worldwide. Paul Roberts initiated the concept for the album, and was recording engineer and co-producer for the historic project.

The gourd banjo that Adam is playing, on "Earth Tones," was made by the man perhaps most responsible for re-introducing gourd banjos into the modern world, David G. Hyatt http://www.dhyatt.com/. David Hyatt generously provided his personal gourd banjo for Adam to play at his seminal Pagosa concert. Adam then played Hyatt's gourd banjo on the "Earth Tones" recording, and continues to play it, to this day, including on his recent album, "Back to the Earth" https://adamhurt.bandcamp.com/album/back-to-the-earth

David Hyatt's important work in educating modern banjo players and banjo makers about the gourd banjo has been a central influence in the emerging awareness of the actual history of the banjo. Besides having an unrelated job as dean at the University of Arkansas, Hyatt has a mission, vis-à-vis gourd banjos: to teach people about their place in banjo history and to teach instrument builders how to make them so musicians will keep the history alive.

Gourd banjos were brought to the colonies by African slaves hundreds of years ago. The African gourd banjo is the prototype for what we now think of as the American banjo -- an important element of American musical history that is only recently becoming more widely known.

Adam Hurt. https://www.adamhurt.com/
David Hyatt http://www.dhyatt.com/
Paul Roberts. https://www.banjocrazy.com/