R2 - Rock'n'Reel [Website link]
November 2009
In Transit
(WHITE  FALL RECORDS) www.whitefallrecords.com

Familiar to UK audiences as guitar accompanist to Scottish singer Emily Smith, talented native New Zealander Jamie McClennan originally joined her band as fiddle and whistle player, and it’s to those instruments that he returns on this, his solo debut.

Taking its title from the fact that he seems to spend most of his time travelling between his homes in NZ and the UK, In Transitis a collection of Jamie’s instrumental compositions that take their inspiration from the traditional fiddle music of his Scottish and Irish ancestry. Clearly well versed in and respectful of those traditions, he’s not afraid to add his own spin to proceedings, as with the inclusion of some tasteful electric guitar interventions on ‘Emily’s Wee Tune’ and ‘Little Red’, and especially in the funky ‘Demon Ducks Of Doom’ set.

Joined by fellow Kiwi, Gerry Paul, on guitars, Irish flute player Alan Doherty, drummer Fraser Stone and double bassist Duncan Lyall, together with some telling contributions from Canadian bluegrass mandolin player Andrew Collins and cellist Adelaide Carlow, McClennan has produced a varied collection of waltzes, jigs, slow airs and full-on band workouts that show him to be a talented and intuitive musician and composer.

Dave Haslam