JigTime International
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Mark O'Connor Grammy Nomination - by John Cutliffe
Mark O'Connor is the fiddle player's fiddle player. I don't know any fiddlers worth their salt who don't cite Mark as a huge influence. Plus with his fiddle camps and conferences he continues to mould young players from all over the world.
It was only a year or so ago that I reviewed Mark's Thirty Year Retrospective, a live album of music that Mark has been playing throughout his career. Rather than just release a "Best Of" compilation Mark collaborated with Chris Thile, Bryan Sutton and Byron House to bring a fresh sound to his repertoire.
I reviewed the CD last year and as you will read I found it to be an inspiring and brilliant set of tunes. REVIEW
So I am very pleased to say that a track on this release has been nominated for a Grammy. The tune, Bowtie has been nominated for "Country Instrumental Performance" and is indeed an incredible piece.
Mark has also just released another live recording with his Appalachia Waltz Trio which features cellist Natalie Haas and violist Carol Cook. The CD was recorded in Georgia last year and I was supposed to attend the two concerts but sadly I couldn't make it. So this CD is an excellent consolation prize.
The performance is a reworking of many of Mark's best pieces and shows how music can be given new life by some inspired arrangements and a very high level of musicianship. For me it is the sound of the cello in this musical context that makes all the difference. There is something about a cello in traditional music that gives it a resonance that can change the entire feel. I was lucky enough to work with Brian Mullan in London who has used his classical background in Cello to take his other love of traditional Irish music to a new level. Caroline Lavelle too has given bands like the Chieftains another layer and an injection of sex appeal for their recent tours.
So while it is not groundbreaking to set traditional sounding music against a more classical background, when it is done by the likes of Mark O'Connor it transcends mere experimentation and becomes another gem in a long and successful career.
This CD was the music of choice for our Thanksgiving dinner and will undoubtedly make another appearance at Christmas and I highly recommend it for any collection.
Find out more about Mark and his many projects at
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