Kaz Inaba enjoys the distinction of being one of the most popular and respected bluegrass musicians in his native Japan. For nearly 20 years, he has been active as a performer, recording artist and a concert promoter. His primary instrument is the banjo but he is comfortable with a variety of instruments. Kaz’s fascination with bluegrass has brought him to the States for numerous musical excursions. Consequently, he has a solid network of musical friends and fans here in the US. He has three previous recordings to his credit, two on the Japanese-based Red Clay label and one on the excellent Hay Holler label of Virginia. Dixie Dream represents his fourth recording project to be released.

Kaz created Dixie Dream as a “point of contact between the ordinary music fans who loved country music years ago and the present country/bluegrass music fans…and hopefully, for very new fans, too.” He notes, “In Japan, country music was very popular some 35 to 40 years ago. But now, unfortunately, it is not like it used to be. People still love it and have missed it badly; they just don’t have an opportunity to come in contact with the music. I thought I could make a recording that would work for them.”

Although Kaz’s primary focus is bluegrass, Dixie Dream is a combination of roots-based American music. He says, “While I have been playing bluegrass, I’ve learned to seek the roots. Everybody knows that when Bill Monroe created bluegrass, he was influenced by quite a few different styles of music. I wanted to combine those styles of music on one album as a sampler of American acoustic music.” A broad sampling of country-oriented roots musics are featured on “Dixie Dream” including songs from Stephen Foster, Jimmie Rodgers, blues, old-time hymns, Hank Williams and bluegrass. And, with a stellar cast of pickers and singers (Don Rigsby, Ronnie McCoury, Buddy Spicher, Mike Compton, Gene Wooten, Gene Libbea, Bobby Hicks, Roland White, Randy Howard and Keith Little) “Dixie Dream” should prove to be popular with all fans of acoustic roots music.