Portland singer Colleen Raney is a rising star on the West Coast Irish music scene. (Previously reviewed HERE.) Her new record, titled Cuan, is a duo project with Seattle-based Colm MacCárthaigh, who plays guitar and cittern. Together they cover a nice range of Celtic material with style and grace, bringing a lovely lift to both old favorites and obscure gems that range from traditional to contemporary pieces. A strong contribution to the pantheon of Celtic song, Cuan will help to put Portland on the Irish music map! Enjoy these samples.
Today marks the release date of Skippin’ and Flyin’ from Laurie Lewis (Spruce and Maple Music). Yes, this is yet another Bill Monroe tribute record on the 100th anniversary of his birth. God knows there were enough of those this year (and every year, in the humble opinion of ole Fiddlefreak). The Father of Bluegrass continues to spawn oodles of traditional bluegrass bands that adhere strictly to his original formula, and even his repertoire. But not Laurie. With her musical partner Tom Rozum, she has established her own smooth-yet-rootsy style that integrates West Coast bluegrass, folk, swing, old-time country and her earth-friendly originals. Kinda like Bill Monroe did.
Says Laurie: “It’s an ongoing thread in my musical life. I fell in love not just with the music, but with the vehicle for the music. I just love a string band,” she adds with a laugh. “A string band of versatile players can do just about anything — they can follow me just about wherever I want to go.”
LISTEN: Carter’s Blues
LISTEN: A Lonesome Road
Skippin’ and Flyin’ is an amazing and satisfying listen, chock full of bluegrass classics as well as little-known chestnuts that deserve the exposure. The album’s title comes from Old Ten Broeck, a signature Bill Monroe piece that Laurie reworked from various sources, and the opening track. Extensive liner notes reveal an essay from Laurie on her inspiration for this project, as well as lyrics and some surprising guest appearances (from Linda Ronstadt to Nadine Landry of Foghorn fame). With sources that include Flatt and Scruggs, Jimmy Rodgers, Maybelle Carter, Utah Phillips, Bill Monroe, and herself, she has produced a fine bluegrass record by inspiring top shelf string players to a new level. Kinda like Bill Monroe did.
“This incredible mandolin came to me through my grandfather. I remember him playing it for me, my brother and sister, and my cousins when we were children. It was after he died that I picked it up and began to learn to play it, learning to play music at the same time. I have always played this mandolin — its voice is part and parcel of the thing that is my music — its sound is my sound.” –Marla Fibish
Irish mandolin genius Marla Fibish may be relatively unknown outside California, but she certainly deserves fame for the warm, lilting lift she gives to traditional tunes. In recent years she has been playing out more, performing with her trio Three Mile Stone and teaching classes and workshops. Her new release “The Morning Star” finds Marla and her old Gibson mando taking a joyful romp through traditional tunes that include slip jigs, reels, polkas, waltzes, and planxties. The breadth and depth of this collection should finally bring Marla the recognition she deserves as a master of Irish-style mandolin.
Jimmy Crowley
Marla teamed up with the legendary Jimmy Crowley to create this unique and delightful recording of Irish music played only on double-strung instruments. Though the world knows Jimmy as a great singer, this is an all instrumental album featuring traditional tunes of all sorts, along with an original or two from each of them, played on mandolin, mandola, mandocello, bouzouki, and a big bass bouzouki called a dordán. The project was hatched over an evening of playing tunes together at Marla’s house on one of Jimmy’s trips through the Bay Area back in 2009, and recorded in three busy days in April 2010. Fiddlefreak recommended!
LISTEN:
The Humors Of Bandon / A Fig For A Kiss / The Dusty Miller
LISTEN:
The Rocky Road To Dublin / Comb Your Hair And Curl It / The New Mown Meadow
As the summer travel season winds down here at Fiddlefreak World Headquarters, the time comes to buckle down and catch up on reviewing some of the lovely and wonderful new recordings that have piled up on my desk. First up: Pharis and Jason Romero’s new release titled “A Passing Glimpse” (Lula Records). I fell for this one immediately. With its low-key old-timey feel and a mix of original and traditional material, A Passing Glimpse delivers a mellow Sunday-morning buzz that falls somewhere between Gillan/Rawlings and Jenny & Billy. Close harmonies blend smoothly with guitar and banjo to create their warm, homegrown sound.
Jason and Pharis Romero
Jason Romero first came to my attention through his artisan banjos, and Pharis through her membership in her oldtime band Outlaw Social Club. After stints in Chico and Arcata, CA, Jason migrated northward though Portland and settled with Pharis in the remote outpost of Horsefly, BC, where they create beautiful instruments and music. Their previous releases include Shout Monah from The Haints Oldtime Stringband and Back Up and Push, an ambitious collection of fiddle tunes from sawyers all over the West Coast, previously reviewed here.
Chris Mateer just published an in-depth interview with the couple on his blog Uprooted Music Review. From that interview:
‘We didn’t really plan out complementary tunes on the album, but we both seem to have a sense of songs that needed learning or writing to fill what might have been otherwise a gap. A good example would be “My Flowers, My Companions, and Me” — that was the last song we learned before we recorded the album, because we realized that a vocal duet with just banjo accompaniment would be a great contrast to much of the other material.’
A Passing Glimpse
Here’s that song, and another. Hope you enjoy this listen!
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