Ben Miller is an American-born player of Scottish bagpipes, currently based in Edinburgh, Scotland and Lake George, New York. Ben’s interest in traditional music stems from his exposure to the bagpipes at a young age, in his home town of Queensbury, as well as his family’s strong connection to it’s Scots-Irish roots, through both his American mother and Canadian father. Influenced primarily by the Gaelic traditions of Western Scotland and the Canadian Maritimes, he has has travelled extensively to Scotland, Prince Edward Island, and Cape Breton, Nova Scotia to further develop his own unique style. Musicians: Anita MacDonald - fiddle (tracks 1, 3 & 5), step-dance (track 5) Tristan Henderson - bouzouki (track 1), 12-string guitar (tracks 3 & 5), jewsharp (track 3) Dominique Dodge -Scottish Harp (tracks 1, 2, 4 & 5), vocals (track 4) All tunes are traditional, arranged by Ben Miller, except where otherwise noted. 1. Home Again, Home Again, Jiggity-jig [The Highlander's Jig/The River Bend (Dan R. MacDonald)/Miss Margaret MacLachlan/ The Cook In the Kitchen/Joy Gae Wi' My Love/The Midlothian Pipe Band] A little verse my mother always sang as we pulled the car back into the driveway, when I was growing up. Since then, she has suppoorted me unconditionally throughout my musical journey. This one is for her! 2. Lowlands [The Sunderland Lasses/Unknown 3/2 in "A"/Jack's Gone A' Shearing/The Rusty Gully] A set of old 3/2 'hornpipes' from the Lowlands of Scotland - Dominique and I played this set the very first time we performed together, at my senior recital, during my music degree. It has been a favourite ever since. 3. Reel Oldies [Chuir I Gluin Air a' Bhodach (Slow Air)/Chuir I Gluin Air a' Bhodach (Reel)/ Ruidhleadh mo Nighean Donn/Willy MacKenzie/The Margaree Reel] This set begins with an old Gaelic tune, played as a slow air, then as a reel. I first heard this setting from the playing of legendary fiddler, Jerry Holland. Jerry said that he heard it from Bill Lamey, who would play the tune this way, while his wife sang in Gaelic. The set fires on with another popular puirt-à-beul and ends with two reels popular in Inverness County, Cape Breton. 4. Beinn Dòbhrain [Tha Sìor Chaoineadh air Beinn Dòbhrain] A hauntingly beautiful Gaelic song that I first heard Dominique sing while rehearsing in my living room one afternoon - The song is thought to tell the story of a woman who hears the cries of her love's death, in a massacre on a mountain - Ben Doran. It was a real pleasure to create this arrangement together for this recoiding. Our version is based on the variant found in Keith Norman MacDonald's collection of puirt-à-beul. 5. A Bigger Blast [An Cota Ruadh/Lucy Campbell/Calum Crùbach/The White Houses of Sheildaig/ Johnny Lad/The Night We Had the Goats/Roy's Wife] Starting off on pipes and fiddle, with an old Gaelic strathspey that I learned in Scotland, this set covers a few more Cape Breton classics, before finishing off with a cracking reel that I unearthed from a 19th century piping collection, and a few fine steps from Anita.