SARA MILONOVICH & GREG ANDERSON
An exciting new duo that features two of contemporary folk music's most gifted musicians. Award-winning fiddler and singer Sara Milonovich, formerly of The McKrells, is joined by masterful multi-instrumentalist Greg Anderson, founder of the acclaimed Celtic-fusion group Whirligig and member of The Cathie Ryan Band.
Performing a vibrant mix of traditional and contemporary tunes and songs from all across the musical spectrum, their fiery and poignant music is founded largely in the Celtic and American traditions, incorporating eclectic tunes from other countries and planets, as well as soulful compositions of their own, along with original pieces by many of their well-known friends and contemporaries. Both Sara and Greg have become respected in a variety of musical circles as players adept at crossing the boundaries that separate many different styles, combining a firm grounding in a wide range of folk forms with a rich palette of modern and world music influences.
SARA MILONOVICH
Sara has been playing the violin since she was four years old. She joined The Adirondack Fiddlers at age seven, and at age twelve released her first cassette of traditional fiddle tunes, Traditionally, Sara. She has performed with various classical ensembles throughout New York State, including the Empire State Youth and Repertory Orchestras, several string quartets, and with members of the Albany, Glens Falls, and Schenectady Symphonies. In 1998 she released the CD Mrs. Ippy Fiddle, under the name Sara Miles (as her last name was often mispronounced), which was a nominated semifinalist for the 1999 Grammy awards.
She spent the last three years touring the US and Ireland as a member of the Celtic/bluegrass/roots band The McKrells. Her tune, Cead Caloigne Sneachta (The First Snowfall), from the McKrell's holiday album Merry Christmas, placed 6th in the 2001 Just Plain Folks Awards for best holiday song. Her fiddle and voice (and flute and whistles) were also featured on their 2002 CD Hit The Ground Running. In June 2001, Sara traveled to Mt. Airy, North Carolina with John Kirk & Trish Miller, where she competed in both the Bluegrass Fiddle and Folk Song contests, placing first and second, respectively. She continues to actively perform around the Northeast US, both as a solo artist, and in various collaborations, having worked with artists such as Cathie Ryan, and Leslie Ritter & Scott Petito, among others.
GREG ANDERSON
As a multi-instrumentalist playing in a variety of musical genres, Greg has performed and recorded with a long list of artists in the folk and traditional music worlds, as well as with many in the fields of rock, jazz, and contemporary music, including Eileen Ivers, Cathie Ryan, Susan McKeown, Richard Shindell, Tommy Sands, Seán Tyrrell, Steeleye Span fiddler Peter Knight, folk-blues singer Dave Moore, Irish flute sensation Emer Mayock, and button accordion greats James Keane and John Whelan. His contributions can be heard on many of these artists' recent CDs.
He has been the bassist for 14 years with the avant-rock band Doctor Nerve, with whom he has recorded 8 albums. He played with the progressive Klezmer-jazz group The Klezmatics, and accompanied them on tours of Itzhak Perlman's In The Fiddler's House. In the 1980s, he worked with renowned Indian violinist L. Shanker, and also played bass and keyboards in the seminal post-punk new wave band ibm. Most recently, he led the celtic fusion group Whirligig. Also a much sought after producer and arranger, Greg is considered to be an expert at blending traditional music with contemporary sounds and production values.
A review of Forward in all Directions by Kerry Dexter, Folkwax.com.
Forward in all Directions of Acoustic Journey
Sara Milonovich and Greg Anderson manage to keep material ranging from Richard Shindell's reflective ballad "Reunion Hill" to Hanneke Cassel's Celtic-based "Tannen's Wedding March," from the middle European "Mazurka a Rigal" to a handful of lively, moving originals that are led forward, rather than going off in all directions, by the clarity of their playing and the creativity of their musical dialogue.
Though this is their first recording as a duo, Milonovich (fiddle, whistle, voice) and Anderson (guitar, bouzouki, mandolin, bass, voice) each have a stack of credits in other musical configurations, among them the avant-rock band Doctor Nerve, The Schenectady Symphony, The Klezmatics, The McKrells, Whirligig, and The Cathie Ryan Band. For this project they've focused, albeit somewhat loosely, on Celtic roots and acoustic textures. Outstanding tracks include a medley of "Tannen's Wedding March" with Ian Carr's "Bigger House" and Anderson's "Left at the Bridge," Milonovich's original instrumental "The Cold Nightfall," and the sparkling live cut that concludes the disc, Liz Carroll's "Sevens" into Chris Thile's "House of Tom Bombadil." It's a refreshing and creative snapshot of where this pair stands at this moment in their musical journey.
11/15/04
Kerry Dexter is a senior contributing editor at FolkWax.
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