Brian Conway: Consider the Source

BRIAN CONWAY: CONSIDER THE SOURCE

Brian Conway: fiddle

Joanie Madden: flute

Billy McComiskey: accordion

John Nolan: accordion

Heather Bixler: violin, piano

Dan Milner: vocals

Niamh Parsons: vocals

Felix Dolan: piano

Brendan Dolan: piano, keyboards

Eamon O'Leary: guitar

Gabe Donohue: guitar

Brad Alberta: double bass

New York Sligo-style fiddle player Brian Conway has been quite active in the studio lately. After the recent release of "A Tribute to Andy McGann," an album celebrating one of Conway's mentors and recorded with famous Galway accordion player Joe Burke, Conway has just a released his second solo CD, with the help of a few friends--which is how the album was conceptualized from the start. Conway has been playing alongside musicians like Joanie Madden, Billy McComiskey, John Nolan, and both Dolans, father and son, for many years, and their musical rapport is quite evident on the group tracks, all terrific. Conway, who mentions a fondness for accompanying singers, has two of them participating here, with varying success. I confess feeling rather underwhelmed by the fiddle's contribution to Dan Milner's otherwise solid "Matt Hyland." On the other hand, the "Highland Mary" track is one of the high points of the album, thanks to Niamh Parsons' singing of course, but also to an original way of integrating the fiddle into the arrangement. In that regard, Conway's rendition of the air "The Wounded Hussar," with Heather Bixler playing second violin and piano, is also one of the great tracks here with an original approach to air playing. But Conway's fiddle playing sounds at its most eloquent perhaps on those great reels and jigs one associates more particularly with the Sligo tradition

Rating: ****

Price: $27.99