Fire & Water

Fire & Water is bold and new, intimate and evocative. It crosses genres and employs jazz elements and modern harmonies. Yet it is amazingly true to the several roots it springs from: Scandinavian, southern Appalachian, and Celtic traditions, English country dance music, and blues. Hoag is a passionate and lyrical fiddle player, with a rich tonal palette and a complex rhythm sense. She is also a talented composer and vocalist, full of surprises like "Dewey's Blues", a sexily hilarious ode to the library. Fire & Water's moods range from quiet, deeply emotional moments to full-out rhythmic exuberance to open, transcendent journeys.

Andrea Hoag is joined on Fire & Water by a consort of powerful, creative musicians. Pianist Jacqueline Schwab is known for her expressive playing in The Civil War and other films. Bruce Molsky, old-time fiddle and banjo master, is also the CD's producer. Jeremiah McLane (of Nightingale, Clayfoot Strutters) on accordion and Keith Murphy (Nightingale, Popcorn Behavior) on guitar add depth and rhythmic power to the mix. The team is rounded out by Belgian-born Paul Oorts on mandolin and guitar, and Ralph Gordon (Magpie, Trapezoid) on cello and bass.

Find out more about the musicians of the Fire & Water Consort

TRACK LISTING

1. Improlska A soaring fiddle/piano improvisationon a sprightly western-Swedish tune.

2. Rockin' Reel/ The Other Side of the Island New England dance tradition meets Caribbebop in this rhythmic revel.

3. Radiant Night Lights/ Old Man Winter Jazz jigs flow from the ethereal to the volcanic.

4. Lonesome Dove Tale Southern Appalachian and southern Swedish fiddles meet and make merry.

5. Offutt's A deep, haunting mood with roots in eastern Kentucky and Norway.

6. Snow to Newcastle A cinematic fiddle/piano rompthrough the edges of triple and duple meter.

7. Appomattox River Fiddle/banjo duet rich in momentum and mystery.

8. Bob Wine's Tune/ The One Old Remembered Solo fiddle tunes from two complex traditions, West Virginia and the Swedish village of Bingsjö, share surprising commonalities.

9. Dewey's Blues The library has never sounded so sexy! Laugh and learn.

10. Rose by the Door A lusciously romantic waltz with Celtic and American ancestry.

11. The Sweeter the Juice Southern fiddle meets Celtic guitar in a draught that's warm and sweet with poignant undertones.

12. Frank and Easy An English dance tune from 1710, fresh and rich on fiddle and piano.

13. Evil Improlska A dark roiling fiddle tune from Swedish Småland meets Round Peak banjo and Celtic guitar to find rhythmic intensity and improvisatory glee.

14. The Picnic All come home to a new place, as a cheery Swedish slängpolska plays with its many American friends.

15. (hidden track) The Lonesome Dove and its pal dance away into the distance.

Fire & water. A hot desert canyon and a fast green river. A quick eye and a slow embace. A welcoming hearth and a siren song. Different temperaments meeting in uncommon time to form something new.

The last time I was in New Mexico, I got to go for a hike in the redrock country with Bob, A Dog. Yes, you're right, his name has too many capitals; but just try telling Bob that. Bob is very much his own dog: he presents a quiet force of personality that makes him seem even larger than he is. He can be as playful and goofy as any human might wish of him, byt he's happiest when he's out on the move, exploring. Recognizing my esteem for Bob, my friends Carl and Romany offered me his company, their car, and a map to one of their favorite places.

On our hike, I practiced Dog Mind: I'm alive, the world is full of interesting details, there s no moment by this. Bob and I took turns following each other's lead. We found a cattle trail down to a rushing green river, and poked around there for a while. We enjoyed our momentum (I strode, he trotted) on a wide road. We rounded a bend and suddenly the canyon opened up in front of us, red and gold and full of edges and distances tat made my heart leap.

"It's beautiful, Bob!" I sang out.

"...?..." replied Bob in his Zen sort of way.

Much as I love Bob's company, in this moment I appreciated something about being human. A human companion would have partnered me in my awe, answering it with graceful words or, perhaps, a melody.

Making music is much like that redrock hike. You get there by the generosity of those who've gone that way before. You travel on your own feet, moving outside of ordinary time in a world unbelievably rich in detail. You choose your companions and honor their ways of moving through the world. With deep attention, you follow each other and find subtle ways to communicate. You get more honest. You take chances. You enjoy each others' sense of humor. Then you round some bend, and find yourselves and lose yourselves in place where beauty and intimacy and openess meet. Where, for a timeless moment, the world s larger and better than you had imagined, and creating together is the only possible response.

A music partner is a companion for exploring an appealing terrain; likewise, music is a vehicle for exploringthe terrain of another person. This album is composed of musical conversations with some of my very favorite partners, old and new: wonderfully imaginative, adventurous folks. Each of us has a long history of playing one or more forms of traditional music, and these forms, also, converse with each other, and with modern musical elements. There are unseen partners in the conversation, too: constant influences from older tradition bearers, other musicians, dancers and listeners. There is Bruce's steady and inspiring voice as producer, Heidi's warmth coming form the control room, Charlie peeking from his studio across the hall.

Thanks for joining us. I hope you'll enjoy the music.

- Andrea Hoag

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Azalea City Recordings