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MOZAIK

The Long And The Short Of It

Philippe Cousin

Their previous album was from 2007. So it was time to set the stage again for Mozaik, a band that Andy Irvine initiated.

 

An inveterate musical traveller, Andy had always dreamed of forming a multicultural band. This was achieved in 2002, during an Australian tour in which he brought together American fiddler and banjo player Bruce Molsky, Irish friend Dónal Lunny on bouzouki, guitar and bodhrán, Bulgarian/Hungarian multi-instrumentalist Nikola Parov and Dutchman Rens van der Zalm on fiddle, mandolin, low whistle and uilleann pipes. On The Long And The Short Of It, their third album, they also have a special guest in the person of the traditional Greek singer Chrysoula Kechaglioglou who brought the warm wind and colours of her native Greece on three tracks.

Mozaik's music does not disappoint with such a line-up and it is almost unbelievable to see how easily it is arranged. Everyone has contributed in his own way. Andy delivers some beautiful ballads that he has the secret of: Houdini, Rainbow 'Mid The Willows and As Good As It Gets in which he humorously describes his experiences in the Balkans in the 60s. Bruce Molsky has brought two songs from America into his musette: My Little Carpenter and Old Virginia.

As for Dónal Lunny, he wrote The Blue Trouser Suit and The Long And The Short Of It, while Nikola Parov brought Gyimes, a Moldavian melody to which a second guest, Ágnes Herczku, adds a delicate touch of voice. Between original compositions and traditional pieces, we discover an abundance of scintillating arrangements and brilliant playing on everyone's part. When you realize that this superb album was recorded in 2015 near Budapest, you wonder why it took Andy and his friends so long to get it out to the general public. A real gem.

Autoproduit MOZCD03 - www.andyirvine.com