Strength in Numbers

by Johnny LoftusStrength in Numbers was an all-star side project comprised of Sam Bush (fiddle/mandolin), Jerry Douglas (dobro), Béla Fleck (guitar/banjo), Mark OConnor (fiddle/guitar/mandolin), and Edgar Meyer (bass). The artists were familiar with one another, having performed in the same circles for years, as well as on the same stage — in numerous incarnations — at the annual Telluride Bluegrass Festival. Strength in Numbers grew out of appearances by the group as sort of the de facto house band at the Colorado festival; Telluride Sessions, its only album, ed the easygoing newgrass fusion that Strength in Numbers would often perform there. Accomplished bluegrass musicians all, the members of Strength in Numbers were also steeped in the jazz and classical traditions, which found their way into the arrangements on Telluride Sessions. Most of the bandmembers said there would never be another Strength in Numbers album after the first. But since each musician continued to play on the others albums and appear at festivals such as Telluride, the potential for more genius was there.