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As
featured on NPR's The Thistle & Shamrock.
The
tunes "ride on precisely ornamented trills as fresh as a breeze
off the lake.... Irish music has no shortage of talented young fiddlers
these days, and with this release Magill can add his name to that
list."
-
Dirty Linen
"Listening
to him is like hearing 18th Century Scots-Irish music come full
circle. This is a stunning debut....the perfect balance of precision
and intensity."
-
Sing Out!
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The
great Chicago fiddler Liz Carroll says this recording by Irish fiddle phenomenon
Andrew Magill establishes him as "an innovator and composer with clearly
his own signature. This is just an awesome debut, which delights one more
on each listen." A four-time gold medalist at the New York Fleadh Cheoil,
and two-time competitor at the All-Ireland Championships, Andrew has studied
with such masters as Seamus Connolly, Liz Carroll, Tommy Peoples, Martin
Hayes, Brendan McGlinchey, James Kelly, Brian Conway and Brendan Bulger.
The result is a wholly distinctive style all his own, with echoes of the
flash and inventiveness of Liz Carroll, the sumptuous tone of Martin Hayes,
and the timeless traditional sound of Brian Conway, who calls Andrew "an
amazing young fiddle player.... just an absolute natural." The recording,
produced by Grammy-winning guitarist Al Petteway, features spare and tasteful
accompaniment by ex-Solas guitarist John Doyle, House Band flute player
John Skelton, and young bouzouki player William MacMorran, that perfectly
showcases a fiddle sound that is by turns dazzling, rich, complex, and soulful.
Drive & Lift features Andrew's fiddle in all its moods, from the bouncy
polkas that open the album, through the sets of hard-driving jigs and reels,
the gorgeous "Josefin's Waltz," a heart-breaking version of the
slow air, "Lament for Staker Wallace," to Andrew's "The Littlest
Doyle," one of several original compositions that are sure to find
their way into the repertoire of many an Irish musician. "Drive"
and "lift" are qualities Irish musicians use to describe the music's
full range of expression, and listeners will find that this recording rewards
them with an abundance of both. |
