Nate Sabat and Mile Twelve Release “Close Enough to Hear”

by Kevin Johnson Tuesday, February 14th, 2023

Modern bluegrass band Mile Twelve has just dropped their third album, Close Enough to Hear, and it is gorgeous. The effort may be more intimate and softer than their previous work, but it showcases the maturity and delicacy they’ve attained.

This is the first album to feature new members Ella Jordan on fiddle and Korey Brodsky on mandolin, who joined the founding members Evan Murphy, Catherine Bowness, and bassist Nate Sabat.

“I’m more proud of this album than anything else I’ve done to date,” says Sabat. “Listening back, I feel an undeniable urgency in the music. A fresh sound rushing out, wanting to be heard. The songwriting, arrangements, execution, and aesthetic are all bullseye, and I couldn’t be more excited to share this music with our fans.”

Sabat is a well-rounded player who has studied jazz with Scott Lee and classical with Susan Hagen as well as old-time music with fiddle legend Bruce Molsky. The bassist uses his 2017 New Standard Ruggeri Bass (complete with a C-extension) to support the music with an array of textures, wonderful tone, and solid time. He also gets a moment in the spotlight with an Arco solo on “Anywhere Town.”

“As this was my lone solo on the record, I really wanted it to shine,” he tells us. “Since the rest of the bass part is played with the bow, it was a no-brainer to keep that going for the solo, and naturally I decided to head into the higher octave of the instrument to have it cut more. When we were tracking as a band I played a bunch of improvised solos, and then took a bunch of passes at a composed solo after the fact. The solo I ended up with is more-or-less one full, improvised take, with one of the phrases in the middle punched in. I’m super happy with how it turned out, and especially happy with the tone. It captures the sound of my instrument to the fullest.”

Listen to “Anywhere Town” with Sabat’s melodious solo at the 1:53 mark.