THE MOVING VIOLATIONS - Elasticity
Private Label
Something a bit different: a New England band who play concerts and dances in a distinctly non-standard way, but still manage to be loosely traditional. Two fiddles, piano and bass give them a flexible core which fits American, Celtic, Scandinavian and Eastern European music. Almost half of this, their third recording, is their own compositions. The rest is a mix and match of music from fiddle meccas as diverse as Venice and Venezuela, Cork and Cape Breton. The general feel is probably American swing, leaning towards jazz and classical, rather than the European traditions. There are some convincing Klezmer and bouncy Balkan numbers here and a fair crack at both the Scots and Irish styles, at least as played in Canada. But my money here is on the Americana and the band's own pieces in that genre.
18th Anniversary Jig is a great opener, composed by fiddler-tunesmith Van Kaynor and introduced by the flying fingers of pianist Eric Eid-Reiner. Ron Grosslein's fiddle fits right in on the low growling breakdown Gondolin, but in fact these two fiddlers have very different styles and don't always meld perfectly. Fiddling Around and Beaumont Rag are two old swinging country fiddle showpieces which suit this line-up perfectly, great tunes with plenty of scope for invention and irreverence. Lowdown Hoedown is a more recent example of the same type, fancy fiddling and chicken sounds galore. Fiddle Bottle Waltz, another of Eric's own, is a beautiful old time waltz on piano and fiddle, a moment of serenity in a frenzied hour of music. Bassist Chuck Corman provides varied accompaniment throughout. The Moving Violations have been on the go for at least a decade and a half and, assuming they're not incarcerated for breaking the swings in the park, they should be good for a while yet. It is ten years since their previous album, so don't hold your breath, but do check them out online or if you happen to be in New England.
www.themovingviolations.com
Alex Monaghan
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this CD online from The Listening Post The Listening Post is the CD mailorder service of The Living Tradition magazine. This album was reviewed in Issue 105 of The Living Tradition magazine. |