Yo-Yo Ma, Stuart Duncan, Edgar Meyer, Chris Thile The Goat Rodeo Sessions on 180g 2LP + Download

Legendary cellist Yo-Yo Ma is known for his superb musicianship and his driving curiosity which sends him searching for new musical traditions in which to participate. In 2011, Ma joined forces with four bluegrass virtuosos: Stuart Duncan (fiddle), Edgar Meyer (bassist), Chris Thile (mandolin), and guest vocalist Aoife O'Donovan to create a new brand of string ensemble.

While each artist is a prominent figure in his own musical sphere, they came together as a unified band on a remarkable cross-genre project and in the process created a Grammy Award-winning album, The Goat Rodeo Sessions, a testimony to the success of the collaboration. The four string musicians had played together in various combinations but never all together.

One of the frequently asked questions is how the ensemble came up with the humorous title. Many of their songs had working titles using the word "rodeo." One of the definitions of a goat rodeo is a chaotic situation, often one that involves several people, each with a different agenda/vision/perception of what's going on. The group thought that described their collaborative style.

"Everybody could be a leader or everybody could be a follower at various times," Ma says. "How can we ever get any work done when we're laughing all of the time...for me, that's the goat rodeo part..."