Performers include: Dave MacIsaac (guitar, fiddle); Howie MacDonald, John Morris Rankin (fiddle, piano); Jerry Holland, Buddy MacMaster, Natalie MacMaster, Carl MAcKenzie, Brenda Stubbert, Dougie MacDOnald (fiddle); Paul MacNeil, Jamie MacInnis (pipes); Tracey Dares, Hilda Chiasson (piano).
Recorded live at the 1993 Cork University Traditional Music Festival, Cork, Ireland. Includes liner notes by Liz Doherty.
Traditional Music From Cape Breton Island is a lively set of Scottish-influenced reels, jigs, and marches recorded before a live audience at the 1993 Cork University Traditional Music Festival. And while Cape Breton, Nova Scotia, is filled stem to stern with talented musicians, the array of talent here is nevertheless striking. Fiddlers John Rankin, Jerry Holland, Buddy MacMaster, and his niece Natalie MacMaster; Dave MacIsaac on guitar and fiddle; pianists Tracey Dares and Hilda Chiasson; and pipers Paul MacNeil and Jamie MacInnis all appear. They turn in a lively set dominated by the deliberate rhythm of the piano that runs almost constantly beneath the fiddle leads. Joined by foot-stomp percussion and acoustic guitar, Traditional Music is almost relentlessly energetic. The presence of MacNeil and MacInnis' Highland bagpipes offers a different, yet no less exciting sound. The live recording is pristine, the crowd attentive and appreciative, and the frequent whoops from the musicians lets you know just how good of a time everyone at the show was having. ~ Johnny Loftus
