***1/2 David Grisman Quintet

DGQ-20

(3-CD Acoustic Disc)

Grisman began his musical career alongside Jerry Garcia in the Great American Music Band, injecting jazz-like improvisation into the bluegrass they had grown up with. In a subsequent quintet, this so-called "Dawg music" -- combining elements of bluegrass, jazz, and funk -- fully took shape. Disc one (1976-1981) is pure Dawg: traditional bluegrass, except that extended mandolin, guitar, and fiddle solos replace the customary harmonized, twangy vocals. On disc two (1982-1988), Grisman adds swing drums and Wes Montgomery-like electric guitar, redefining the quintet in jazz and funk environments. The third disc (1989-1996) incorporates jazz chords and walking-bass lines into standard bluegrass instrumentation.

Grisman's virtuoso picking and melodic imagination is at the forefront of every song, and the quintet is tight, intense, and empathetic. Upbeat pieces like "Free Dawg Night," "Telluride," and "Swing '39" (with violinist Stephane Grappelli) are the greatest here, but slower pieces -- "Shalom Alechem" and the John Lennon tribute "Because" -- are equally affecting. Only a few experiments, like the twangy version of Chopin's "Prelude in C Minor," go awry. It's one of the few times Grisman's style-jumping feels forced.

-- Dan Tobin