The posthumous release of Jack Rose's Luck in the Valley is a return to American roots music. Made up of Cajun, country, blues, and jazz influences, Rose's album is characterized by acoustic fingerpicking and ample use of slide. Guest artists on the album (including a banjo player, junkyard percussionist, and harmonica player) seem superfluous when [...]

Philadelphia-based acoustic guitarist Jack Rose died Sunday morning of a heart attack. He was 38 years old.
Rose was a traditional musician with a flare for the experimental. A Virginia native, he got his start during the mid-'90s performing with the Richmond-based avant-folk group Pelt. A few years later, Rose went solo. Inspired by American primitive [...]