What’s New for the 15th of March: some DeLint stories for early spring; lots of polskas, Serbian folk rock, progressive jazz, and Nordic music from the archives

Maybe there’s something you can learn from being a cat instead of a little girl. — Charles de Lint’s The Cats of Tanglewood Forest

Iain here. So winter ends in just six days; sure, tell that to the weather outside. It’s been warm with temperatures being 10°C for our high and -3°C for our low high as well; we had major snow storms as well this month, so the heat is still being kept on in Kinrowam Hall for obvious reasons.

I’ve been enjoying the work of one of my favourite writers this month, that being Charles de Lint. The work of his that I’m reading right now is one of his more folkloric ones, The Cats of Tanglewood Forest with its cats, a transformation and the ancient forest.

It’s about a girl named Lillian who may or may not have been turned into a kitten — her reflection in water is human while everyone else says sees her as a kitten — the odyssey she undertakes in the ancient forest near her home, and the magical creatures she meets. It’s absoulutely charming. Did I mention it is illustrated by Charles Vess?

It has a sort of prequel in A Circle of Cats. Though that was intended to be the prequel to the de Lint/Vess collaboration Seven Wild Sisters, it can also be considered a prequel to this work in my view. It gets complicated. Really. It does. Some of the characters will that show up in Seven Wild Sisters will be in Medicine Road which is also a remarkable work indeed.

Now I need coffee and a late morning snack. I hear that eleveneses are still going. Shall we join those who are there?

Gary here. In new music let me tell you about an album called The Power of Polska, by Swedish fiddling icon Lena Jonsson and Finnish accordion innovator Johanna Juhola. ‘This album finds them delving into their own personal takes on the dance music that crosses borders throughout the northern lands, from Estonia to Norway.’

I also review two new albums of progressive jazz, Jon Irabagon’s Focus Out, and Jon Irabagon and Dan Oestreicher’s Saturday’s Child. ‘American saxophonist, composer and band leader Jon Irabagon (a Down Beat certified rising star) gathered members of his quartet to lay down a wide ranging set of modern jazz that reflects his current reality as a working musician and parent of a young family. It’s an album that, despite some initial misgivings, continues to grow on me.

Finally, here are a couple of entertaining EPs of Serbian folk rock world music, Sekvoya’s Gathering of Enchanted Herbs, and The Magic of Slavic Rituals. ‘The music of Sekvoya seems to use Balkan folk and dance music as a starting place which Krstićs has turned into a rock-based world music. To my ear the Turkish psych influence is strong, with some of the guitars mimicking the electric oud, and the dub bass lines pushing into Baba Zula territory.’

From the Archive, I thought I’d offer up some classic revieows of Nordic recordings to complement that new disc from Lena Jonsson & Johanna Juhola. Big Earl turned in an enthusiastic review of Hardanger fiddler Anon Egeland’s Ånon: ‘As a collector of traditional songs from his area, Egeland is noted for keeping the traditions of the north alive. On this, his first solo album of his twenty-plus year career, he brings forth a beautiful collection of dances from Sweden and Norway, some learnt from the great masters of the idiom.’

Cat’s long been a fan of Aly Bain and Ale Möller, and their duo album Beyond the Stacks was no exception. ‘Simply put, they’re brilliant. The intertwining of the Shetland sound of fiddler Aly Bain meets the varied instruments (mandola, harmonica, Jew’s harp) of Swede Möller in a way which few duos I’ve ever heard match.’

The first time I saw or heard the Nordic Fiddlers Bloc was at a superb show called “Far Flung Fiddles” at the Judique Community Center in Judique, Nova Scotia, as part of the 2013 version of Celtic Colours. The show also featured local band Beòlach and American Irish fiddler Liz Carrol. I noted that the Bloc comprises Olav Luksegård Mjelva of Norway, Anders Hall of Sweden and Kevin Henderson of the Shetland Islands. ‘As is typical for an opening act here, they played four suites of tunes that included many jigs and reels but also some polskas and more.’

So let’s finish off with Garmarna, a Swedish group founded in 1990 after several of them who were friends saw traditional Swedish music performed in a film. Yes that’s what they claim happened. Emma Härdelin, their vocalist, would join them several years after that. ‘Vedergällningen is from a Swedish concert they did some 25 years ago.

Reynard

I'm the Pub Manager for the Green Man Pub which is located at the KInrowan Estate. I'm married to Ingrid, our Steward who's also the Estate Buyer. If I'm off duty and in a mood for a drink, it'll be a single malt, either Irish or Scottish, no water or ice, or possibly an Estate ale or cider. I'm a concertina player, and unlike my wife who has a fine singing voice, I do not have anything of a singing voice anyone want to hear!

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