MAN OF STEEL

He brought the Dobro to centerstage with his dazzling talent. As he drops his first album in seven years, Jerry Douglas reflects on his gear, career and induction in the Bluegrass Hall of Fame.

- JIMMY LESLIE

ONCE IN A blue moon a player's name becomes synonymous with an instrument for an era, and Jerry Douglas is on that extremely short list. He is to Dobro what Béla Fleck is to banjo, David Grisman is to mandolin, Ron Carter is to upright bass and Leo Kottke is to steel-string acoustic. Douglas is the modern standard, and he suddenly made history this summer when he was enshrined in the Bluegrass Hall of Fame.

Douglas has the requisite technical expertise in spades, but he didn't earn his status simply by shredding. Douglas made his bones by being everyone's first call and answering it with impeccable accompaniment instincts developed via a wealth of experience. His ability to play virtually anything earned him the nickname Flux, as reflected in the titles of his first two albums, 1979's Fluxology and 1982's Fluxedo.

Although the 16-time Grammy winner is best known for his longstanding gig with Alison Krauss & Union Station (he confirms that a finished new album is scheduled for a spring release), it's estimated that Douglas has a whopping 2,000 album sessions under his belt, including a ridiculously long and varied list of releases by legends like Chet Atkins, Ray Charles, Phish, Johnny Mathis, Ricky Skaggs, Brad Paisley, Paul Simon and James Taylor. Douglas's Dobro is now in demand more than ever and is featured on Billy Strings' 2023 release, Me/And/Dad. He's also come into his own as a producer, handling John Hiatt's 2021 album, Leftover Feelings, which inspired Douglas to go drummerless, as well as the past two Molly Tuttle & Golden Highway releases, including City of Gold, the Grammy-winning Bluegrass Album of the Year for 2023.