Trout Fishing in America — the long-standing musical partnership between 5-foot-5-inch bass player Keith Grimwood and 6-foot-9-inch guitarist Ezra Idlet — brings its infectious blend of folk, pop and family-friendly music to Edison Theatre at 11 a.m. May 5.
Grimwood and Idlet have been praised by the Los Angeles Times as “some of the most lyrically creative, musically sophisticated, vocally muscular music-makers in the family-music business.”
The pair met in 1976. Grimwood had earned a music degree from the University of Houston and spent two years with the Houston Symphony.
Idlet had left junior college — and the school’s basketball team — to join the eclectic folk/rock band St. Elmo’s Fire.
When the Houston Symphony members went on strike, Grimwood joined St. Elmo’s Fire and struck up an immediate friendship with the lanky guitarist.
St. Elmo’s Fire broke up after a West Coast tour, but Grimwood and Idlet continued performing together on the streets of Santa Cruz, Calif.
In 1979, they launched Trout Fishing in America, taking their name from an early Richard Brautigan novel.
Though at times performing as a four- or five-piece band, the group’s acoustic guitar and bass remain the core of its sound and live shows, which combine energetic folk and sly country with touches of reggae, Latin, blues, jazz, classical music and even absurdist vaudeville-style humor.
Trout Fishing in America has released more than a dozen albums on its Trout Records, one of the first successful artist-owned labels.
The latest release, “My Best Day” (2006), was recorded live at a show sponsored by the Arkansas Educational Television Network. The 15 songs range from odes to overly talkative friends to alien nose invasions and snowflakes named “Bob.”
The album was nominated for a 2007 Grammy Award for Best Musical Album For Children. It was the group’s third nomination in the category, following “Merry Fishes to All” (2004) and “inFINity” (2001). Among other honors, the group has received several Parents’ Choice Awards.
The special all-ages show is part of the ovations! for young people series. Tickets are $7.
For more information, call 935-6543 or visit edisontheatre.wustl.edu.