Half Day Road

Not for nothing is Liz Carroll routinely referred to as a fiddler-composer, because almost immediately after they're written, the Chicago-born musician of Irish stock's tunes are gathered into the repertoires of session players and concert performers alike. Another 19 prime contenders emerge here alongside Canadian Jake Charron's solo piano melody, ‘Last of the Leaves’, further confirming Carroll's talent for taking familiar musical language and rhythmical shapes on new adventures.

They're a formidable team, opening with a set showcasing Carroll's sinewy momentum and lithe expressiveness accompanied by Charron's judicious guitar and piano. Carroll plays with an inherent joyfulness, as illustrated by ‘As the Crow Flies’, but she can also suggest the moody phrasing of the uilleann pipes and inject blue notes into airs as well as capturing dawn chorus chittering on ‘The Bird/The Greek Petunia’.

Guests Chico Huff, John Anthony and Cherish the Ladies' Joanie Madden respectively contribute occasional electric bass, percussion and whistle but this is essentially Carroll and Charron at work, expertly reinvigorating Irish music and ushering Kerry and Donegal roots into Appalachian and Cape Breton strains.