Bua

Another Victory for Bua. Guest review by Patrick Fitzell, Program Director at AccuRadio, an Internet radio station based in Chicago.

In the spring of their musical careers, Chicago-based trad group Bua is in full bloom. After a hectic summer festival tour schedule, it’s amazing they somehow found time to spend in the studio. The result, their sophomore release Down the Green Fields is a wonderful compilation exemplifying each musician’s years of dedication to their craft.

Down the Green Fields

Brían Ó hAirt provides pristine vocals on songs “shrouded in mystery” like “My Parents Reared Me Tenderly.” He is also a skilled sean-nós or “old style” Irish dancer and can liven up any crowd with a stomp of his foot. Séan Gavin breaths new life into “The Happy Days of Youth,” a tune popularized by flute player John McKenna back in the 20s. Brian Miller, whose picking skills are in high demand, executes perfect accompaniment on bouzouki to Ó hAirt’s vocals for the playful minstrel-like songs “Baba ‘con Raoi” and “Bó na Leath-Adhairce.” Just as Gavin plays a piper’s tune and shines, so too does Devin Shepherd on fiddle performing “Hughie Traver’s Jig.”

Having only released two full-length studio albums, Bua’s contributions to the trad scene are invaluable. (Previous Fiddlefreak review is here.)  The liner notes of Down the Green Fields list the origin of each song and tune. It’s a testament to their level of commitment to preserving and furthering traditional Irish music. Look for them on tour in 2012. –Patrick Fitzell

LISTEN: Eddie Maloney’s / Micho Russel’s (Mason’s Apron)

LISTEN: The Happy Days of Youth / Lucky in Love

BUA WEBSITE

LISTEN/BUY

Colleen Raney

Colm MacCárthaigh

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.

Cuan

LISTEN: Bound for Caledonia

LISTEN: Western Highway

Colleen Raney Website

Listen/Buy

Laurie Lewis & Tom Rozum

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.

Laurie Lewis Website

Listen/Buy

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.

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

Listen/Buy

Marla Fibish Website

Jimmy Crowley Website

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!

LISTEN: My Flowers, My Companions, and Me

LISTEN: Where Is the Gamblin’ Man?

Pharis and Jason Romero Website

UMR Interview