(WILLIAMSTOWN, Mass., March 6, 1998) -- Imagine in the future a style of music that blends the emotional impact of Bill Monroe's "high lonesome" bluegrass, the improvisational virtuosity of jazz, the rhythmic twist of swing, the lyrical and melodic beauty of traditional folk and the Old World spirituality of klezmer.

Imagine these different elements and influences combined in such a manner to create an entirely new idiom -- a new, acoustic folk-fusion for the 21st century.

Imagine this music played by an all-star collective of musicians who are tops in their respective fields, coming together as a sort of post-modern, musical supergroup.

This fantasy will tempt reality on Sunday, March 8, at 7 at the Clark Art Institute, when the ensemble Wayfaring Strangers performs in the second concert of the Clark's month-long "From the Old World to the New" world-folk series. Call 458-2303, ext. 324, for ticket information and reservations.

The brainchild of violinist Matt Glaser, the chairman of the string department at Berklee College of Music, Wayfaring Strangers attempts to go beyond previous efforts at fusing bluegrass and jazz.

"For a long time I've been obsessed with the deeper connections among American music styles," said Glaser in a recent phone interview from his Boston home. "There have been a lot of attempts to fuse bluegrass and jazz on the level of hot licks, but I've always felt that there was some kind of emotional connection between the music of Billie Holiday and the music of Bill Monroe." v In Wayfaring Strangers, Glaser has assembled a veritable supergroup of acoustic-music talent from the worlds of bluegrass, jazz, folk and ethnic music. v Members include Andy Statman, commonly acknowledged as the premiere clarinetist and single most important figure of the contemporary klezmer revival. But before making his mark in klezmer, Statman had already established a reputation as the greatest mandolinist in the bluegrass world and as an innovative jazz musician. Statman brings all these influences together in Wayfaring Strangers.

Likewise, banjoist Tony Trischka is considered tops in his field, as the father of the contemporary banjo style, and -- as the mentor of Bela Fleck -- a seminal influence on progressive bluegrass, or newgrass, who also brings a facility with classical, jazz, rock and African music to his playing. v As a member of The Story in the early-'90s, Jennifer Kimball contributed to that group's signature vocal style, which made the folk-pop duo one of the foundations of the new, so-called Triple A (adult album alternative) radio format, now epitomized by Lilith Fair acts such as the recent Grammy winners Shawn Colvin, Sarah McLachlan and Paula Cole. (See The Beat, 3/6/98, for more on Kimball.)

John McGann is a multi-instrumentalist who is widely respected in bluegrass and Celtic music circles, both as a solo artist -- he has his own album, "Upside" (Green Linnet) -- and as a sideman accompanying the likes of John Whelan, the Celtic Fiddle Festival, the Kips Bay Ceili Band and Blood Oranges. Jim Whitney straddles jazz and bluegrass, and Bruce Barth is a renowned jazz pianist.

While Wayfaring Strangers brings all these musicians together in one group for the first time, many have played with each other previously. Among those reunited in the current ensemble are Statman and Trischka, who toured the country together in the '70s as members of the bluegrass supergroup Breakfast Special. Glaser played with the two of them in a band called the New York All-Stars, and with Trischka in Heart Lands and a classical ensemble, the Waverly Consort. Statman and Glaser played together in East Wind, McGann guested on Glaser's solo album, "Play Fiddle Play" (Flying Fish), and Glaser, Whitney and McGann are bandmates in the Boston-based, progressive bluegrass outfit, Beacon Hillbillies, with which Trischka has recorded. Kimball has performed in a trio with Glaser and former Wayfaring Strangers vocalist Lucy Kaplansky, who lends backup vocals to Kimball's upcoming CD.

Put all these musicians together and you get one of the most experienced and versatile acoustic music ensembles imaginable. "We use as our basis predominantly American folk songs, in an open-ended format allowing for deeper levels of interaction and improvisation among the musicians," said Glaser.

Glaser illustrated how this might work. In the context of one tune, a listener might recognize several different idioms. The group might tackle a Bill Monroe song, but instead of playing with a bluegrass feel, they might begin it as a jazz waltz. At a certain point, Statman might play a clarinet solo, taking the tune into Hasidic territory. The song might then segue into an African-American spiritual like "Motherless Child" played as a bluegrass waltz, with Glaser turning it into a fiddle tune, followed by an introspective piano solo by Barth. The initial Bill Monroe melody might resurface at the end, played as a jazz ballad.

For many of the musicians in Wayfaring Strangers, the ensemble is a culmination of the sort of genre-fusing work they've been experimenting with for years or decades.

For some, it's an opportunity to rekindle old friendships. "It's a real treat to be playing together again and spending time together," said Statman.

For Kimball, "It's thoroughly humbling to be on stage with those gentlemen and their instruments. It's inspiring. It's hard to concentrate on what I'm doing. I just want to sit down and let my jaw drop and watch them all."

For Glaser, "I wanted to be in a band that was very powerful emotionally. That was my initial impetus -- the emotional power. The music is an experiment. The jury's still out on it. But it's been very exciting for all of us to do this."

[This article originally appeared in the Berkshire Eagle on March 6, 1998. Copyright Seth Rogovoy 1998. All rights reserved.]