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Folk, jazz, pipes, flute. 

Een ontdekking van het zuiverste water en een blijvertje in huize Mac. Drie albums dus. 

Of all the brilliant Scottish pipes and flutes masters, Fraser Fifield may be the most eager to explore the various possibilities of his instruments.

His previous deep dives into both world music and the inner life of bagpipes are now followed by the 2023-24 trilogy of trio albums, focusing very much, but not only, on the low whistle.

Three very different trios and releases, indeed. I will comment on each, in ascending order, with my least favorite first.

And that would be the last release in the trilogy: Second Sight, with jazz guitarist Graeme Stephen and bassist Elie Afif. Indeed: neither drums nor keyboards. Just the three instruments mentioned.

It sounds like a very interesting and intriguing concept and all three are incredible musicians. But I’m not too taken with the music itself. It’s very much early 1970’s jazz rock in its vibe; picture a bit more jazzy, drummerless version of Jethro Tull ca. 1970-71. I actually will probably try to play along with this album at home one day, doing the drum parts that are not there – it will be fun, I’m sure! So, not a bad album in any way, just not my hottest cup of tea.

Now on to the real jazz album in the trilogy. Secret Path is the project’s first release, with pianist Paul Harrison and drummer Tom Bancroft forming the trio here with Fraser. I was expecting something quite out there, but this is a very concise outing – only about half an hour – of mostly tightly composed and structured music in eight tracks.

I enjoyed this a lot; it’s not too challenging as jazz (for my non-connoisseur ears); there’s lots of groovy bits and some humour thrown in as well, re: Urgent Polka, and I really like the Eastern-influenced energy of East of Leith. Brilliant in its genre.

But this is a folk music blog for a reason, so my favorite in the trilogy is the middle release: One Great Circle. Here, Fraser is joined by two greats of modern Scottish folk: Chris Stout on the fiddle and Catriona McKay on the harp, of course.

It’s just an amazing album of acoustic music flowing freely and touching different bases along the way – and it was recorded in one day!

Fraser’s compositions are beautiful and beautifully realized throughout, and you can sense how naturally playing together comes to these three – check out, for example, An Owl at the Window, a busy but completely relaxed piece of enchanting music. Or the zen-like presence of Pilgrimage, a piece whose first section once again reminds me of how close Celtic music can sometimes come to Asian traditional music.

So, three approaches to the low whistle in different musical contexts. All in all, an artistic triumph for the adventurous Mr. Fifield, even if I personally liked some music more than some other – it’s a matter of taste, that’s all, and One Great Circle is the one album of the three I will come back to a lot.

Deze drie albums vormen de trilogie:
2023 - Secret Path (with Tom Bancroft & Paul Harrison)
2024 - Second Sight (with Graeme Stephen & Elie Afif) (24-48)
2024 - One Great Circle (feat. Chris Stout & Catriona McKay)

Staat er compleet op, 10% pars mee gepost. Met zeer veel dank aan de originele poster. Laat af en toe eens weten wat je van het album vindt. Altijd leuk, de mening van anderen. Oh ja, MP3 doe ik niet aan.