Session A9
Album: Session A9
Label: Raj
Tracks: 9
Website: https://www.sessiona9.com

The Scottish fiddle band, Session A9, comprise of Gordon Gunn, Adam Sutherland, Charlie McKerron and Kevin Henderson on Fiddles, Brian McAlpine on Piano and Piano Accordion, Marc Clement on Guitar and David Roberson on Percussion. They formed through the many sessions that occur along the road, the A9, which is where they get their name from. The band has been a, "Consistently evolving organism over the years with notable contributions from Kris Drever, Duncan Chisholm, Iain Copland, Tim Edey and Ross Martin".

A brilliant feature of this album that adds great interest is the choice of repertoire. The tunes range from older reels and strathspeys to tunes composed by members of the band, (like the opening track which is a set of polkas composed by Charlie McKerron), and from more contemporary tunes, like the Bellydancer by the piping god, Gordon Duncan to a Breton Ridee. There are also three brilliant songs on the album, sung by guitarist, Marc Clement.

The sound of multiple fiddles is a notable feature in Scottish traditional music and in recent years has come to the forefront of the folk music scene, through bands such as Blazin Fiddles and Fiddlers Bid. However, Session A9 have proved themselves as a band that not only are a tough group to match these other bands but also defiantly provide a fresh approach and sound to the concept of mass fiddles. If I had to brand them with a regional style, it would be the North East highland style of fiddle music. This is not to say that they are stuck within a certain style or formula, but they do fit the description of the North Easterly style of playing. The sound that band has moulded as a collective of musicians has been very traditional in basis but has left room for each member of the band to feed their own influences. When I say this, I mean that the grounding of their music is North Eastern Scottish Traditional music but the listener can hear outside influences such as Western Swing, Jazz and Eastern European forms of music.

The band has shown a clear progression from the last two albums that Session A9 have produced. This album is highly recommendable and is very appealing not only to fiddle players, but also to singers.

Matthew Tighe