Jerry Douglas

The soundtrack for Get Low, a low-key 1930s dramedy starring Bill Murray and Robert Duvall, relies heavily on one of modern country/folk music’s biggest names, Dobro player Jerry Douglas. Douglas and Polish composer Jan A.P. Kaczmarek provide the score, which is supported by tracks from Alison Krauss, the Ink Spots, Bix Beiderbecke, Gene Austin, Paul Whiteman, and contemporary bluegrass outfit the Steeldrivers. Krauss holds her own (as usual) on the traditional gospel number “Lay My Burden Down,” managing to sound both reverent and contemporary, while veteran Nashville session players the Steeldrivers are allotted four slots to let loose some truly authentic, old-timey, bluegrass soul. Douglas’ score is impeccable, especially on tracks like “No Haircut” (with fiddler Stuart Duncan) and the bluesy “Sitting Mule/Drive to Town,” while Kaczmarek provides the kind of rich, sentimental orchestral cues that won him acclaim on 2004’s Finding Neverland. ~ James Christopher Monger, Rovi