
The River Singers – 25th Anniversary CD
17 songs in 10 languages collected from our 25 years of singing together!
17 songs in 10 languages collected from our 25 years of singing together!
This CD is available with a Songbook, as a Digital Download, or here, as just the CD.
Save on shipping! Purchase this Digital Download and get a zipped folder of all 19 mp3 files of the Balkan Bridges CD. See full description and listen to samples.
Also available with a Songbook or just the CD.
AIRDANCE recalls the musical explosion of Rodney Miller’s original Airplang albums which inspired the New England contra music revolution. Celtic, traditional and even jazz tunes flower on strong contra dance roots, and reflect the continuing vitality and vibrancy of the New England contra scene. Rodney’s famous fiddle is featured, but each member of the band has time in the spotlight. Each musician is a leading New England exponent of his or her instrument. The fusion of these talents creates musical magic.
RODNEY MILLER and AIRDANCE
Rodney Miller-Fiddle, David Surette – Guitar and Mandolin, Mary Cay Brass – Piano, Stuart Kenney – Upright Bass, Sam Zucchini – Percussion
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Gypsy Stomp / In Walked Bud
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Kilcommon / The Volunteer
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Da Trowy Burn / Da Crofters Wife / Da Fisher’s Foy / Da Bonxie
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Förväntan / Elaine’s Hambo
Airdance continues to explore the richness and diversity of New England dance music in this, their second recording. Elements of Celtic, French-Canadian and American roots music rub shoulders with more modern sounds in a unique blend that has delighted listeners and dancers across America and in Europe. Britain’s Folk Roots magazine lauded their first release saying “It’s extremely rare to find a band that can make dance music so great to listen to without losing some danceability, and this lot succeeds wonderfully.”.
AIRDANCE
Rodney Miller – fiddle
Mary Cay Brass – piano, accordion
Stuart Kenney – upright bass, banjo
David Surette – guitar, mandolin, bouzouki
Sam Zucchini – percussion
Guest musician – Marko Packard – flute
Tamlin / Devil in the Strawsack / Farewell to Tchernobyl
Green Isle
Ontario Swing / Bowin’ the Strings
The Napkin Tune / Flying Home to Shelly
Contra dances throughout the country are experiencing an influx of young dancers who are drawn to the energy and sociability of the dances. They are sophisticated consumers of music and they are the new generation of “Air-dancers” who love both to dance and appreciate the complexity and spontaneity of this music. As one fan said recently, “This is dance nirvana!” Cloud Nine, indeed.
AIRDANCE
Rodney Miller – fiddle
Mary Cay Brass – piano, accordion
Stuart Kenney – upright bass, banjo
David Surette – guitar, mandolin, bouzouki
Marko Packard – flute
Sam Zucchini – percussion
Cloud Nine / Broken Heart / Cloud Nine
MacArthur Road / Gravel Walk / Shirley’s Reel
Rogue Wave
Hull’s Reel
A frosty October moon shines over Pierce’s Hall in Putney, Vermont. It is Saturday night. The contra dancers are in full swing. Some of the best contra musicians in the Green Mountain area are playing. That great music is here, in “dance length” cuts. Hold your own barn dance or kitchen junket to the sounds of jigs and reels, Irish, Quebecois and Cape Breton tunes. You will also find “chestnuts,” enduring tunes first popular when America was young. Square dance tunes, both New England and Southern style, are on the recording. Internationally known Vermont caller, Susan Kevra, calls the dance figures on several cuts and has written a complete caller and dancer instruction booklet, which is included with the CD. A diverse sampling of contra tunes is offered here, played with high spirits and superb musicianship.
SUSAN KEVRA’S FULL SWING
Susan Kevra – Caller
Mary Cay Brass – Piano
Sara Blair – Fiddle
Mary Lea – Fiddle
Becky Tracy – Fiddle
Stuart Kenney – Upright Bass
Mary Cay Brass’s piano flair is renowned in the thriving contra dance community of Northern New England. She is joined here by the best women musicians from the Connecticut Valley dance scene. The result is exhilaratingly melodic and merrily pulsing contra music at its best. Playing tunes from Irish and Quebecois reels to a Scandinavian snoa and a Bulgarian kopanica, they celebrate the joy, vitality and diveristy of New England contra music.
THE BAND
Mary Cay Brass – piano, accordion
Becky Ashendon – upright bass
Sarah Blair – fiddle
Susan Conger – fiddle
Mary Lea – fiddle
Ann Percival – guitar
Becky Tracy – fiddle
Audio Clips
Cook in the Kitchen / Dusty Windowsills / Mooncoin
Iles de la Madeleine
The Green Mountain, Tarboltan, Siobhan O’Donnell’s
New Delhi (Perik Moraeus)
David Kaynor’s Greenfield dance Band has been one of the strongest influences on the revolution in New England contra music over the last 25 years. Recorded here for the first time, the joy and vitality of their music reaches out to you, just as it does when you are on the dance floor.
Band Members: David Kaynor, Mary Cay Brass, Peter Siegel, Stuart Kenney
Special Guests: Mary Lea, susan Conger, Van Kaynor, Michael Kerry
Foxy Mary/Loch Laven Castle/Da Tushker
Bonnie Isabel Robertson/John Howat’s
Waltz in D Minor
Cooley’s Return to Miltown/Reel/The Gale