Legendary fiddle and guitar icons Jay Ungar and Molly Mason share a passion for finding and creating American musical gems and performing them for contemporary audiences.

As Jay puts it, "We love to dig through the roots of American popular music and find the gold—the music that calls out to us, that we just can't help wanting to play." Molly adds, "But rather than trying to recreate the past, we play the music in a way that's meaningful for audiences today."

Their latest CD, Relax Your Mind, is a special collection of Jay and Molly's longtime favorites and most requested songs by fans. "Some are songs we've known since childhood," says Molly, "and some are creations of our own." Old or new, each selection is deeply rooted in American dance, and delivered with a pure passion for acoustic music.

Effortlessly crossing diverse genres, all the tracks flow as naturally as the Mississippi flows to the sea. There is an easy blend, from the buoyant Western Swing of Woody Guthrie's "Oklahoma Hills," the Cajun dip-and-slide of "Backyard Symphony," and the sentimental sway of "The Ookpik Waltz," to the Dixie sizzle of Leadbelly's "Relax Your Mind," and the saucy silliness of Guy Clark's "Homegrown Tomatoes."

Acclaimed internationally for "Ashokan Farewell," Jay's Grammy-winning, Emmy-nominated theme for the Ken Burns/PBS miniseries The Civil War, the duo soon became frequent guests on public radio and TV and released a series of albums on Angel Records.

Now, with Relax Your Mind, Jay and Molly introduce us to another side of their musical lives and to their band Swingology. Jay tells us: "The band came together at the Ashokan Fiddle & Dance Camps that Molly and I run near Woodstock, New York. We soon began playing festivals, dances and community events. After playing together for years we can read each other’s minds and have fun with the music. I think this really comes across on the new recording."

Relax Your Mind also features several special guest artists, including B52’s singer Kate Pierson and acoustic guitar standout David Bromberg, who both perform on the song, “Bad Attitude.” This recording marks Bromberg’s return to music following a ten year retirement.

It's true, although carefully crafted in the studio, Relax Your Mind has all the life and spontaneity of a live performance. It's laid-back "American acoustic groove music" of the highest order. "For some this will be an album to play after a long day at work," Molly says, "or when you have friends over and all you want to do is "relax your mind."