Surely Will Be Singing (Mountain Fever, 2022)

When German-born Thomm Jutz first landed in Nashville, he built his reputation as one of the best acoustic guitarists in town, but his since blossomed into a terrific songwriter, producer and capable singer. Tammy Rogers first started appearing on early great Buddy Miller Americana albums and then became co-founder of the successful bluegrass band, The SteelDrivers. So, neither initially made their reputation as a vocalist. Now they collaborate for the first time, delivering an album of Appalachian styled music, "Surely Will Be Singing," with eight of Jutz's and four of Rogers' tunes, the dozen culled from 140 that they wrote in songwriting sessions.

These two fine musicians tap the acclaimed Justin Moses (banjo and Dobro), Mark Fain (upright bass) and for two cuts, drummer Lynn Williams. Rogers handles fiddle, mandolin, banjo and viola while Jutz plays various guitars.

The title track kicks it off, the uplift inspired by the blossoming of birds during the pandemic, due supposedly to less traffic. Jutz also claims that it's about playing music for the joy of it, not a career obligation. The tone shifts for Rogers' vocal lead on "On Your Own," a song she wrote offering her parental viewpoint on her daughter. Jutz's "All Around My Cabin Door" is rife with Appalachian imagery and feel. They harmonize again in classic bluegrass mode on Rogers' train-inspired "Long Gone" and Jutz's "Mountain Angel," based on a story from the 1700s.

Jutz's strength as a songwriter shows through in the next stretch of songs, from "A Writer's Tear" to the '20s-'30s era of "Speakeasy Blues" to the regret and remorse of "About Last Night" to the visual details in "Five Winters More to Come." They return to glorious, albeit mournful harmonies in "There Ain't Enough Time" with Rogers' fiddle also key to the solemn tone in "The Tree of Life." Their mature perspective colors a tough closing subject in the Rogers' penned, Jutz vocal lead in "The Door," about losing a parent who struggled with dementia at the end of life. Only two superior musicians of their ilk could carry this off authentically and with the right measure of emotion. Those traits serve them well throughout these well-crafted songs, which they play impeccably.