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Northern California Bluegrass Society provides this CD review. You can find our most current reviews on our Message Board, where you can comment or query the author directly. Our monthly magazine, Bluegrass By the Bay also publishes them. Return to CD Reviews. |
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| Mike Marshall and Chile Thile | Into the Cauldron |
| Review by Brenda Hough | |
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Songs: Desvairada The Goldberg Variations #1 Scrapple From The Apple Fisher's Hornpipe Stranded in Kodiak Saga of Harrison Crabfeathers Hey Ho! Something Quite Trifling What A Blast! Shamrock Shore |
Sugar Hill Records CD 3967 |
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Chris Thile and Mike Marshall are two of the most creative and productive mandolin players and when these two mix talents, the result is a happy melange of flavors and textures that are reflected in the albums title, "In The Cauldron." Anne Hamersky's photographs of Chris and Mike midst a market basket of different peppers, corn, pears and pistachios is an added treat and a visual reminder that the music within has spice, crunch, sweetness and tangy flavor. Mike Marshall has been in the David Grisman Quintet and has recorded many projects with Stephane Grappelli, Tony Rice, Darol Anger, Sam Bush, Edgar Meyer and Bela Fleck. Chris Thile has already had several solo albums, a mandolin instruction video and is part of the Grammy-winning group Nickel Creek. The tunes are from many sources and this talented duo easily moves from classical to Brazilian to traditional fiddle tunes and jazz. Mike and Chris have collaborated on several tunes together as well. Desvairada has both mandolins intertwining themes and melodies with a quickness of notes that sometimes don't seem possible on only two mandolins. Bach's Goldberg Variations with Chris playing mandolin and Mike playing mandocello has a wonderful harpsichord flavor. Charlie Parker's "Scrapple From An Apple" is a five minute exchange of melodies and counterpoint rhythms. Chris Thile's "Stranded in Kodiak" also features Mike on mandocello adding a lower register answer to Chris' melodic meanderings. A bluegrass fan would be happiest listening to "Fisher's Hornpipe" with its cascading melodies and bouncy dance rhythm. "Shamrock Shore" has lovely harmonic overtones that give the mandolins an ethereal music box sound. This album will surely take its place as a classic mandolin duo to be played again and again. |
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