Serenity Knolls is an album by guitarists Bill Brovold and Jamie Saft released on the RareNoise label in 2017.[1]

Serenity Knolls
Studio album by
Bill Brovold & Jamie Saft
Released2017
RecordedMarch 31, 2017
StudioPotterville International Sound, Kingston, NY
GenreJazz
Length76:28
LabelRareNoise RNR076
ProducerJamie Saft
Jamie Saft chronology
Strength & Power
(2016)
Serenity Knolls
(2017)
Loneliness Road
(2017)

Reception

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Professional ratings
Review scores
SourceRating
All About Jazz     [2]

On All About Jazz, Dan Bilawsky called it "an album of front porch twang-and-strum, evoking peacefulness on the prairies and offering one American idyll after another" noting "Bill Brovold and Jamie Saft have managed to capture the heart, spirit, and sound of a country day in their duo explorations. Heartland, hearth, and home sweet home are well-represented on Serenity Knolls".[2] Chronogram's James Keepnews wrote "Although Kingston-based Rasta polymath Jamie Saft is best known as an accomplished keyboardist and studio maven, his recorded work as a guitarist dates as far back as two decades ... His dobro and lap steel skills get a rare, ample, and ravishing workout in this new collaboration with his fellow local multi-instrumentalist, guitarist Bill Brovold. The album title references the rehab center where Jerry Garcia died, striking a fitting balance for these 12 often stark tone poems—some warm and serene, others as dark and searching as the emotions upon the loss of a loved one. Much of the darkness comes from Brovold's chimes-at-midnight, dirge-y chordal atmospheres enveloping Saft's adept, pealing slide chorales".[3]

Track listing

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All compositions by Bill Brovold and Jamie Saft

  1. "Sweet Grass" – 8:33
  2. "Mitchimakinak" – 7:25
  3. "Saddle Horn" – 4:58
  4. "Wendigo" – 4:23
  5. "Thermopolis" – 8:46
  6. "The Great American Bison" – 6:08
  7. "Bemidji" – 5:42
  8. "No Horse Seen" – 5:02
  9. "Splintering Wind" – 5:02
  10. "Greybuli" – 6:54
  11. "Serenity Knolls" – 6:35
  12. "Silent Midpoint" – 7:00

Personnel

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References

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  1. ^ RareNoise Records album details, accessed February 22, 2018
  2. ^ a b Bilawsky, D., All About Jazz Review , March 14, 2017
  3. ^ Keepnews, J. Chronogram Review, November 1, 2017