Album Notes

New Celtic CD release from David Surette


Madrina Music is pleased to announce the release of The Green Mandolin, a new CD from David Surette. Widely acclaimed for his stringed-instrument artistry, Surette has assembled a new recording that focuses on the mandolin family of instruments, in a variety of settings, with a Celtic theme. There are a number of studio tracks featuring mandolins and cittern, one solo on each instrument, as well as a duet with Susie Burke from their latest duo CD, When the Small Birds Sweetly Sing. Additionally, there are four live tracks with Keith Murphy, taken from recordings made at the March Mandolin Festivals in 2007 and 2008.
As part of the project all the tunes will be transcribed, in music and mandolin tab. They will be posted for free download on the web (www.BurkeSurette.com), as both an aid to learning and as an incentive for pickers to buy the album, along the lines of the old Kicking Mule LPs that so many fingerstyle guitarists learned from back in the day.
Fluent in a variety of styles, comfortable in solo, duo, and band situations, and a strong multi-instrumentalist with an extensive background in traditional roots music, Surette has worked regularly with a who\'s who of New England folk musicians. His recent solo album Northern Roots drew strong praise from Sing Out Magazine, who wrote that \"Surette\'s playing is always inventive, and sets a new standard for traditional instrumentalists.\" His previous solo albums Back Roads and Trip to Kemper helped to establish him as a top player and arranger of Celtic fingerstyle guitar, yet his diverse repertoire also includes original compositions, blues and ragtime, traditional American roots music, and folk music from a variety of traditions, all played with finesse, taste, and virtuosity. He has performed throughout the country at festivals, concerts, coffeehouses and contra dances, and has also toured in England, France, and Quebec.
The Green Mandolin is an obvious nod to the Celtic provenance of this repertoire, but also represents a wink and a nudge in the direction of the Green Man, that mythical medieval figure of the woods and trees.