[.ca] Mike Marshall and Darol Anger with Vasen

From Amazon.com:
Mandolinist Mike Marshall and violinist Darol Anger are musicians who have no respect for boundaries. Former members of the fusion group, Montreux, they've each recorded in wide ranging settings from classical to jazz, South American music to bluegrass. Marshall's Modern Mandolin Quartet and Anger's Turtle Island String Quartet were paragons of eclectic folk classicism. On this album, they team up with Väsen, the equally eclectic Swedish folk band. Collectively, they chart a new kind of folk music that draws on tradition, but finds new trajectories that posit a neoclassical world where bluegrass and polskas (not polkas) dance in aerial pirouettes. The grind of Väsen's nyckelharpa, a Swedish keyed fiddle, against the arcing flights of Anger's violin is a stunning combination. The album mixes tunes from the American duo and Swedish trio in delirious forays that feature intricate ensemble playing and unbridled improvisations. It's a study in contrasts to hear Olov Johansson's nyckelharpa trying to negotiate the swing of "Yew Piney Mt," while Anger and Marshall inject a bit of Appalachia into the Swedish tune, "Penknife Killer," trading riffs with guitarist Roger Tallroth. Anger is part Heifetz, part gypsy, and part Ponty in his improvisations, while Marshall manages an unusually introspective serenity on mandolin. Together with Väsen, they've made a CD that should be a cross-over classic. --John Diliberto

• Loke's Troubles
• Skridskolåten
• Couscous
• Timo's Jig
• Penknife Killer
• Egypt
• Yew Piney Mt
• Forslund
• Misch Masch
• Os Pintinhos