Glenn Jones: Tiny Desk Concert

Glenn Jones has only taken up the banjo recently, but it's as if he's been inside the instrument for a lifetime. At least that's how it felt when he opened his set with a modal piece that might have felt more appropriate played next to a quiet creek than behind our desks at the NPR Music offices.

Jones' most recent album, The Wanting, is a compelling work of American folk music that tells stories without a single word. When he introduced "The Great Pacific Northwest," he said that if he played it right, "Mt. Rainier should burst right through the floor of this room." Heaven help us if it didn't seem like it might.

There's a genteel physicality to Jones' playing that counters the raw, bear-trap-like style of his old friend and collaborator, the late Jack Rose. That comes out in the closing song, "Of Its Own Kind," which captures the kind of faraway melody that'll have you humming for days.

Set List:

"Tinka Marie"

"The Great Pacific Northwest"

"Of Its Own Kind"

Credits:

Producer: Lars Gotrich; Editor and Videographer: Michael Katzif; Audio Engineer: Kevin Wait; photo by Mallory Benedict/NPR