Review: Jenna Reid (Shetland fiddler)

Subject: Review: Jenna Reid (Shetland fiddler)
From: Paul Burke
Date: 22 Aug 06 - 03:50 AM

Last night was the first concert at the new mini-arena at the Heights of Abraham, Matlock Bath, Derbyshire UK. It's a tiny open- air amphitheatre with just 150 places, and that would be crowded. Built on a steep hillside, it has stunning views over the Matlock Gorge and Riber castle. And the weather proved very kind.

Which made it a real pity that the management had comprehensively screwed up the publicity for this inaugural event. If it hadn't been for my neighbour's son who works at the place, I'd never have heard about it, and I suspect that there were very few paying punters, most of the audience of 40 or so being employees of the site. The early (6.30) start didn't help either.

But Jenna(*) (and her Edinburgh- based guitarist, whose name wasn't on the ticket, probably Andrew Tulloch) put on a brilliant programme of virtuosity for us. Mostly Shetland music, obviously for a pupil of the late Willy Hunter (she must have started VERY young), with Irish, Scott Skinner, Swedish and Norwegian tunes as leavening, and played with that lift and change of lilt that I try so hard and fail to achieve. Several of the tunes were her own compositions, and deserve to pass into tradition. Slow airs with wonderfully graceful phrasing and intonation.

So despite the audience problems, and having to overcome out-of-rhythm winds in the trees, army helicopters passing over (well, just the two) and cold fingers as the sun went down, she and her accompaninst gave us a very enjoyable evening. A player to watch out for- and her band, Filska, too.

(*)Her server seems very slow

Subject: RE: Review: Jenna Reid (Shetland fiddler)
From: Paul Burke
Date: 22 Aug 06 - 03:55 AM

Sorry I'm told the Guitarist was Kevin Mackenzie.