County Road X

Eclectic jazz ensemble County Road X originated in 2001 when pianist Erik Deutsch assembled the project in Boulder, Colorado. Born in Washington, D.C., during 1976, Deutsch had commenced piano lessons at age six at Vanderbilt University. He relocated to Boulder in 1996 for studies at the University of Colorado, where he joined the jazz outfit Fat Mama; that group issued three albums and composed the soundtrack for the 1999 motion picture Trans. After earning his piano performance degree from the University of Colorado, Deutsch joined the adjunct faculty at Naropa Institute while also teaching piano at Boulder Arts Academy.

For County Road X he chose an unconventional lineup featuring Glenn Taylor on pedal steel guitar, James Hoskins on cello, Doug Anderson handling both upright bass and accordion, and Tadd Vancil on percussion. The group issued its self-titled debut on Adventure Records in 2002. Shortly afterward the roster grew with the addition of reedist Jon Stewart and trumpeter Jon Gray. This expanded septet captured the follow-up album From Seed to Stone, which appeared on September 9, 2004.