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Dragon Reels Roger Landes Dirian Recordings (DOR-93238) Traditional music, by its very name, often implies stasis and lack of change. But Dragon Reels, a new CD of Celtic music, is a potent reminder that the traditional music of today was once the innovation of the musicians of yesterday. This CD features performances on the Celtic bouzouki, an adaptation of the traditional Greek lute-like instrument that dates back 4,000 years. Its rich cultural history took an unusual turn in the 1960s, however, when Irish musicians traveling on the Continent discovered its potential to enrich their own performances. Further adaptations in tuning and reshaping the instrument resulted in the Celtic bouzouki, which is uniquely suited to accompany fiddles, guitars, pipes, and bodhrans, such as on the tune "A Barrel of Knives" and on the set composed by fiddler Jerry Holland. Much of the CD is comprised of traditional dances, jigs, and reels, many of which are adapted and combined by the performers, who put their own musical signatures on the past. This is particularly evident on the jigs "Slopes of Sliabh Luachra", "Price of the Pig", and "Kitty's Wedding." Additionally, virtually every piece on Dragon Reels is an instrumental, which makes the ballad "The Devil and the Farmer's Wife" all the more notable. With its haunting and sometimes wry vocals, it proves that the bouzouki is just as suited to accompanying ballads as it is to reels and other dances. Traditional music is a living art form, endlessly growing and renewing itself, and Dragon Reels is a fine tribute to the creativity of musicians, both past and present. — Richard Mackenzie

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