[Harp-L] RE: Harp-L Digest, Vol 24, Issue 50

["Henderson, Peter" <Henderson@xxxxxxxxxxxx>]

"Donald has a track on the second "Inspirations" compilation.  Report
back on 
what he was like, Trip, if you're going! ~ Steve"

Wow!  What a treat it was to have Donald Black and his wonderful
Scottish guitarist Donnie MacKenzie here last night.  For those of you
that haven't yet heard his music, Donald has recorded two CDs of
traditional Scottish music that are a joy to listen to.  He approaches
the tunes like a box player would, using tremolo harps for the fast
tunes and diatonics for the slow airs. But the CD's are neither fussy
nor overly reverential.  "Close To Home" the album he recorded with
Malcolm Jones features Scottish Celtic music drawn mostly from the West
Coast pipe and Gaelic traditions, with a unique combination of
instruments including various harmonicas, acoustic & electric stringed
as well as other free reed instruments.

http://www.dblack-scotharmonica.fsnet.co.uk/

After the show we sat outside with New York's Donald Meade, another
superb Celtic player (chromatic) who's repertoire is primarily Irish and
traded tunes well into the wee hours.  Donald and Donnie are staying
with me while in New York and tonight they are anxious to hear what we
Americans have done with the Celtic music that has percolated through
the American Southern Appalachians.  Many of the Old Time tunes I play
like Red Haired Boy, Hop High Ladies, Off To California, Solders
Joy...have their roots on the other side of the pond but over the past
couple of hundred years have been turned into breakdowns.  It's funny,
we call this Old Time Music but what Donald plays is REALLY OLD TIME!

Trip