Album Notes

The Great Bear Trio is an exciting and energetic family band from Fulton, NY. Since the spring of 2000 these three talented musicians have been performing their unique blend of Celtic, French-Canadian, Scandinavian and Appalachian music at concerts, festivals, schools, workshops and dance halls across the state. Brothers Andrew and Noah VanNorstrand are already well-known and respected musicians at the impressive ages of seventeen and fifteen respectively. Andrew often takes the lead on fiddle but also plays accompaniment on guitar, bouzouki, mandolin and bodhran. Noah is a gifted fiddler as well but he adds a powerful groove to Great Bear on an assortment of world-beat percussion instruments including the African djembe and the Australian didgeridoo. The boys are joined by their mother Kim, playing a solid and inventive style of piano all her own. In the spring of 2003 the trio released their debut CD, a fantastic mix of primarily dance-oriented music featuring twin fiddles, piano and percussion. Now, a year later, Andrew and Noah have just released Driftage, their incredible brand new recording comprised of many original tunes and ground-breaking arrangements.