1) Drive ‘er like ya stole ‘er! alex maceachern’s – strathspey – dan hughie maceachern prince of wales – reel – Donald MacPhedran christy campbell’s – reel – traditional michael rankin’s – reel – john morris rankin (socan) edinburgh rock – reel – david lim adam young – piano jason murdock – guitar andrew tyne – banjo, mandolin This is a thank you set for the Celtic Colours Drivers Association, who made this album possible (no, they do not drive stolen cars). I learned the first tune from Howie MacDonald, and rearranged the second reel from its standard strathspey setting. The final tune was learned from the playing of Manchester flute player Michael McGoldrick. 2) Greenberg Jigs jackie and mamie’s jig – david greenberg (socan) F. X. Kennedy “Big Alex” MacDonald “Miramichi” – jig – david greenberg (socan) oh dear, what can the matter be? – (traditional) andrew tyne - guitar There’s something about David Greenberg’s tunes; they treat a listener to a melody that is technically complex, yet simple and lively. It might be attributed to his musical versatility not only as a wicked Cape Breton traditional fiddler, but as a classical and baroque player. The last tune is easily recognizable, but the variations were added by Angus Chisholm. The talented Andrew Tyne joins me on his shiny new Martin guitar (the poor instrument does not know what it is in for). 3) Newmill Brig newmill brig – strathspey – william macpherson sir john whiteford’s – strathspey – neil gow j. h. Alexander – reel – hector macandrew lady gordon of gordonstown – william Morrison jason kempt – piano jason murdock - guitar Thanks to the Elgin Strathspey and Reel society in northeastern Scotland, the music and compositions of William Morrison have been well preserved on CD and in a book titled “The Elgin Fiddler”. I found the second strathspey in one of Gow’s collections at Cape Breton University’s Beaton Institute. I found the first reel in the Winston Fitzgerald collection and the final tune I learned from my first fiddle teacher Sandy MacIntyre. 4) Les tounes acadiennes le reel de la baie sainte-marie (augustin robicheau) le reel à dan (daniel leblanc) big john macneil (peter milne) adam young – piano Jason Murdock – guitar christine doucet – feet As a student studying French at Université Sainte-Anne in Church Point, NS, I was extremely lucky to be introduced to the “style acadjonne” played by other up-and-coming Acadian fiddlers like Sebastien Dol, Christal Thibault and Natalie Saulnier. I’ve paired two tunes from “la Baie” by the late Augustin Robicheau and Grand Dérangement’s lead fiddler Daniel LeBlanc with the last tune, which is well known in both the Cape Breton and Acadian fiddling traditions. 5) Jerry Jigs traditional – jig jerry holland’s jig – howie macdonald (socan) jerry’s pipe jig – jerry holland (socan) adam young - piano I learned the first and last tunes while studying at the Gaelic College, the first tune from the playing of piper Bruce MacPhee. Howie’s compositions have a great feel for dancing, whether in a square set or in a skin-tight elvis costume. Howie, you whilll keep making those dyandy tunes. 6) Trolley’s reel trolley’s reel – colin grant (socan) balmoral castle – alexander walker ruidhlidh na colich dhubha – traditional adam young – piano jason Murdock – guitar andrew tyne – banjo For Jason, Adam, Tyne and I, this set turned out to be one of our favourites to record. These three guys put in a lot of time and hard work into making me sound good, and I appreciate it every time we play. I composed the first tune for Troy MacGillivray, a talented fiddler and piano player from Antigonish after an “O so slightly uncomfortable” gig in Halifax. I found the second tune in the Alexander Walker collection, and the final tune I learned from the playing of Mairi Rankin and Glenn Graham. Can anybody tell me how I pronounce that? My gaelic is a wee bit rusty. 7) There’s A Lady there’s a lady – march – colin grant and jason kempt (socan) jason kempt – piano & keyboards We composed this tune for Wendie Muise, a talented singer and actress with Cape Breton band The Accents who passed away from cancer in June, 2006. She was a lively and kind-hearted woman who will be remembered first and foremost for her boundless energy and wicked sense of humor, in addition to her innumerable contributions to the community of Glace Bay in music and theatre. The name of the tune is based on a song of the same name that was written for Wendy by close friend and Accents singer Jennifer Crocker. 8) JinGrant on the Sheepskin Fiddle old adam – jig – p/m donald shaw ramsay the price of a pig – jig – dr. angus macdonald the 3rd period – jig – john grant alex currie’s – jig – (trad. source alex currie) marie macinnis’ – jig – dan hughie maceachern john grant – highland pipes colin grant - guitar My father, John Grant, grew up in Halifax and was the middle of a family of three boys to take up playing the bagpipes. He has enjoyed forty years of piping both as an amateur solo player and with numerous pipe bands. The highlights were the years that he played with the Clan MacFarlane, a grade one band in St. Catharines, Onterio. Since moving to Cape Breton in 1998, he has appreciated the traditional Cape Breton style of piping. The third tune in this set is one that came to him while watching a hockey game that my sister Gillian was playing at the Mabou Arena. Other jigs in this set were found in the Gathering of the Clans piping collection, published by Barry Shears. 9) Bee Flat the bee’s wing – hornpipe – james hill lady madelina sinclair’s birthday – reel – traditional memories of dan beaton – reel – ronald gillis colonel mcbain – reel – 18th century scottish touch me if you dare – reel – traditional adam young – piano jason murdock – guitar andrew tyne – banjo Here are a few more from the repertoire of Winston “Scotty” Fitzgerald that seemed to fit well together. The final tune I learned from J.P. Cormier’s album “Now That The Work Is Done”. 10) From Glencoe to Skye a night in skye – march – colin grant (socan) lights out at glencoe – strathspey – colin grant (socan) welcome sara melaney – strathspey – david greenberg (socan) good boy yourself – reel - kinnon beaton (socan) the lion’s den – reel – ward allan macdonald (socan) the bride’s reel – j. scott skinner adam young – piano jason murdock – guitar The first two tunes in this set were composed after parties at Sabhal Mhor Ostaig in 2004, and at the Glencoe Mills hall in 2002, when a power outage didn’t deter some persistent dancers from continuing the square sets down on the low road in the beams of car headlights. I learned the third tune from David and Doug MacPhee’s recording Tunes Until Dawn. Besides being one of my favourite dance players, Kinnon Beaton happens to be a tunemaking machine, and this is one of his many great B minor tunes. I found Ward’s tune in Jerry Holland’s second collection, and the last reel is a Winston Fitzgerald corker. 11) Bobby Cuthbertson bobby cuthbertson – hornpipe – p/m john wilson the cottonwood reel – trad. the castle hornpipe – king colbath allie Bennett – guitar, upright bass adam young - piano I’m very fortunate to have my fiddle and guitar teacher Allie Bennett on guitar and upright bass for this set. The first and last tunes are Winston Fitzgerald standards and the second tune is a traditional American hornpipe that came to Cape Breton during the 1920s from the north-eastern States. 12) Off the Beaton Track Lady Charlotte Bruce – strathspey – William Shepherd Duchess of Athole – strathspey – Neil Gow Yester House – strathspey – traditional Lady Erskine – reel – James Walker Miss McLauchlan – reel – John Bowie Jenny Sutton’s – reel – Neil Gow Adam Young - piano The Beaton Institute at Cape Breton University in Sydney is home to a huge collection of Scottish and Cape Breton music; manuscripts, books, and recordings, and I was lucky to be able to find all the tunes used in this set in some of their old collections . A big thank you goes out to the staff members at the Beaton for their help; Anne Connell, Anne MacLean, and Sheldon MacInnes. Adam and I This track was also featured in Cape Breton Lyrics and Laughter, a music and comedy production I’ve been a part of for five summers now. This track can also be found on L&L’s self-titled CD, released in July 2006. Killiecrankie killiecrankie – march – traditional adam young – piano allie bennett – upright bass This tune commemorates the Battle of Killiecrankie… 14) Little Sara took the Model T up Anthony’s Hill the model t – jig – allie bennett/ashley macIsaac (socan) little sara – jig – dave panting (socan) anthony’s hill – jig – ian macdougall jason kempt – piano mike fougere - guitar Mike Fougere is a good friend and talented player from Truro who has put up with me through four years at Sainte-Anne. These are a few tunes we’ve always played at the Tuesday night jam sessions at the campus bar. I first heard the Model T jig on Mary Jane Lamond’s album Bho Thìr Nan Craobh (From the Land of the Trees) and later learned it from Allie. The second tune comes from the band Rawlins Cross and the last tune I learned from Ian’s debut CD “From Foot Cape”. Come to think of it, I think Ian was at that party in Glencoe too; but it was real dark, so I’m not sure. 15) The Bow and Arrow set (live) clochandicter – march – charlie sherrit daft willie dawson – strathspey – john lowe traditional strathspey iggie and squiggie – reel – jerry holland (socan) sir david davidson of cantray – reel – john lowe johnnie finlay – reel – donald r. riddell freddie’s reel – john morris rankin (socan) jeff gosse – fiddle adam young – piano jason murdock - guitar The Bow and Arrow pub on Yonge street in Toronto is where the family always went on Sunday afternoons for our weekly dose of Cape Breton tunes, songs and square sets (on a 5 x 10 foot dance floor?) with my fiddle teacher Sandy MacIntyre and the Steeped in Tradition band. I always aspired to play half as well as my buddy Jeff Gosse, who was ripping off Tulluchgorum at the ripe old age of 12. It was a privilege to play with this guy, and it still is – when he visits Cape Breton every summer. To this date he still doesn’t have a CD; hey Jeff, what’s up with that anyway?