Danny Diamond: Fiddle Music

Seldom does a musician utterly inhabit a tradition while still expressing him or herself with such originality. Danny Diamond has already cast his line with Mórga and with nykelharpa player Aki, and he now finds his own voice on this outstanding solo recording. The reach of Diamond's distinctive fiddle style (itself the product of a rich mix of influences, from Seán Keane and Tommie Potts to the lean and spare Donegal style) is ambitious and authoritative. His bare fiddle, accompanied by drone-based contributions on accordion, pipes, fiddle and nykelharpa, mines the further reaches of the familiar, but crucially, exposes fresh elements of the tunes with a low-key delight. His own tune set, Danny Diamond's Jigs, is a joy: richly melodic and musky, with Aki's nykelharpa and violincello accompaniment. Diamond's musical vision is a formidable one, and Fiddle Music articulates it with chutzpah. A definite contender for CD of the year. dannydiamond.ie