|
“There’s a teardrop in every movement of the bow. What stories his violin has to tell through his heartfelt playing! This is a virtuoso who understands the beauty of nuance.” -The Mercury News 6/29/11
“Laval is one of the hottest fiddlers out there...this act has been
turning heads wherever it plays.” -Asheville Citizen-Times Take 5
“Armed with superb technique, fluid dexterity, and subtle bowing
techniques, Laval brings a purity of tone that is unparalleled.”
-Dirty Linen Magazine
“Subtle and energetic at the same time...One can only gasp in admiration.”
-Sing Out! Magazine
“The next Alasdair Fraser.” -Scotland Press and Post
“Laval captures the essence of Celtic Tradition, both the heartbreak
and the grizzled wisdom, making music out of the banshee wails that are
forgotten in time.” -Knoxville Metro Pulse
“A fantastic fiddler…Laval captures the essence of Celtic
sentiment and yearning.” -The Olympian Weekender, Olympia, WA
“One of the greatest talents in these parts.” -Tony Kiss, Editor, Asheville Citizen-Times
“I was among the crowd of amazed fans. Laval's set was spectacular!” [Yachats Celtic Festival 2005] -Mike Meyers, concert promoter, Eugene, OR
“The most amazing example of fiddle and guitar playing we have ever
seen - the tightest group to play at Sutter Creek Theatre!” -Laura
Hardcastle, promoter, Sutter Creek, CA
“The amount of energy and sound that belts out from just the two
musicians [Laval and Broder] is mesmerizing. And while their chemistry is apparent on their
recently released album Zephyr In The Confetti Factory, the real
magic happens during their live performances. This is roots-based progressive
acoustic string music that inspires, intrigues, and above all else, entertains.”
-Knoxville Metro Pulse, 9/30/07
“One of the best Celtic duos to play at the Freight and Salvage
[Berkeley, CA]. They take the form and stretch it into new styles, weaving
in and out of each other in delightful duets.” -East Bay Express,
9/5/07
“One of North America's finest practitioners of traditional Scottish
music.” -San Jose Mercury News, CA
“I saw Jamie and Ashley in a concert in California and it was one
of the best live performances of any type I've seen. The music is original
and unusual, the chemistry between the two is captivating and the performances
were virtuoso.” -Terry South, Walnut Creek, CA
“I was mesmerized tonight. Jamie and Ashley embrace the history
of this music and then make it their own -- not just reproduce it, but
almost reinvent it -- keeping its legacy alive for our time.” -Bryan
Pollard, Winston-Salem, NC
“This extraordinary duo [Jamie and Ashley] was one of the highlights of last year's
schedule at Barking Legs Theatre. Both are instrumental virtuosos, and
their telepathic interchanges start in the realm of Celtic tradition and
move upward and outward.” -Bruce Kaplan, concert presenter,
Chattanoga, TN
“A favorite with critics and concert crowds alike wherever he goes.”
-High Country News, Boone, NC
“Evocative...Bracingly original and warmly familiar.”
-The Stockton Record, CA
“There are many good players in the world who can play jigs, reels,
and strathspeys, but few who can take those themes and develop them, bringing
in ideas that are not the least bit traditional. 'Zephyr in the Confetti
Factory' occasioanally even brings Bach and Grapelli to mind for its breadth
of musical ideas and technical brilliance. It's a masterpiece.”
-David Perasso, Victory Music Review
“Jamie Laval deserves a medal for his exceptional musical expressivity,
for beyond technique and delivery there is an embedded soul in his playing,
giving off the quality of a human voice, speaking directly from the body
and rising up from the particles of the earth.”
-CD Baby www.cdbaby.com
“Red hot! Go see Jamie Laval and his trio. It takes a lot to impress
me -- and he's done it! Your mouth will drop open and won't close until
you get home that night.” -Carlos Alden, KPBX-fm radio, Spokane,
WA
“For two years in a row Jamie Laval has created a sensation at the
Yachats Celtic Music Festival. His artistry blends Celtic tradition with
progressive improvisational pyrotechnics in a manner that has audiences
on their feet after the first number.” -David Bridson, festival
promoter, Yachats, OR
“Laval could as easily be performing for a small crowd in front
of a blazing fireplace as he could on stage in front of hundreds.”
-Albany Democrat-Herald
“A new star for the old world…From what we heard in Edinburgh,
Jamie Laval is a fiddler of subtlety, complexity and passionate intensity,
an engaging entertainer who will undoubtedly create a rapt audience wherever
he goes. His performances are replete with dazzling improvisations and
neatly stitched together arrangements, and he meshes perfectly with his
delightful trio.” -FiddleOn Magazine, Scotland
“One of the highlights [of Northwest Folklife Festival 2005] was
your outdoor concert. The wave of love and gratitude from the crowd was
very touching to behold.” -Joyce Miller, Grass Valley, CA
“I never thought I'd hear another fiddle player I liked as well
as Martin Hayes until I heard you this weekend at the Yachats Celtic Festival;
I now have two favorites!” -Maureen Bowman
“My 88-year-old mum would tell you she is as Irish as the day is long. She LOVES your CD. ‘That's an Irish jig if I've ever heard one!’ ” -Mary Kunz, San Luis Obisbo,
CA
“The Nettles discovered a major talent on the rise, Jamie Laval,
an excellent and innovative Scottish fiddler. It’s fun to watch
someone push the limits of what can be done.” (November newsletter,
The Nettles, Corvallis, Oregon)
“I heard you play at the first Berkeley contra dance of the year,
and it was easily the best contra dance music I’ve ever heard. “
(Arcadia Falcone, Berkely, CA)
“Wow! Your music is beautiful! Your approach, control, and arrangements
are refreshing.” (Daniel Carwile, U.S. Grand Master fiddle champion,
Lexington, KY)
“Your music lifted my spirits and filled me with smiles.”
(Loren Lones, San Diego, CA)
“Jamie played with passion, precision and virtuosity, showing why
he was the US Scottish Fiddle Champion in 2002, and why he is going to
be a great star in the future.” (Linda Morpurgo, journalist and
founder of Lochgoilhead Fiddle Workshop, Scotland)
"I had the incredible pleasure of seeing/hearing you in Roslyn. I
was speechless and could not come to talk to you afterward. Your music
is out-of-this-world, and your oh-so-of-this-world fiddling inspires and
delights me more than these few paltry words can express. Thanks you for
your most excellent, awe-inspiring, and happy playing--for you do make
it look like play, Jamie." (Carolyn Thurston, Ellensburg, WA)
“I had the honor of being present for your concert in Yachats this
past weekend. You have touched my heart, mind and soul. Thank-you for
bringing something so beautiful into a world so full of hate and war.”
(Laura Pearson, Cottage Grove, OR)
“Your energy and exuberance, your interaction and communication
on stage…you and your band were incredible.” (Pat Tognoni,
contra dance caller, Fort Collins, CO)
"What amazing energy you generated!" (Ester Centers, Santa Cruz,
CA)
"What an absolute delight to get to hear you in concert...the experience
was spiritual, sensual...and actually beyond words! A true feast for the
ears, eyes, body and soul." (Sue Goldish, Eugene Folklore Society,
Oregon)
“The Sept. 27th dance was incredible. Many people up and down the
line kept saying, ‘I can’t believe that so much music can
come from only two people!’. I could, since I’ve heard you
play before. You and Sue [Songer] were simply fantastic, and we all had
a great time. I know I danced with double the energy due to your music.”
(Kathy Wheeler, contra dance organizer, Eugene, OR)
“Your trio is up there with the best, and different than the rest!
I don’t wear any socks, you guys just knock ‘em right off!”
(Virginia Maas, contra dance organizer, Bellingham, WA)
“The rapport between you and your fellow musicians is the first
thing that strikes me, all of you truly listening and playing off of each
other. Your fiddling is strong, clear, and always convincing. Congrats
on a fine album!” (Paul Machlis, pianist for Alasdair Fraser’s
Skyedance, Ben Lomond, CA)
“I have just come home from one of the most enjoyable evenings in
recent memory. It was so magical. I was fortunate to be in the front and
was able to see the pure joy on your face as you play. It was delightful.
You truly are gifted and I look forward to seeing you again!!” (Kim
Tieken, Cashmere, WA)
“I lose myself in those ecstatic fiddle ascensions, leaning back,
closing my eyes, and letting it carry me off to the cosmos. No electronic
mechanism can convey the energy that the Jamie Laval Trio brings to a
concert. They seem to blend their psyches, as well as their sounds, in
a way that synergistically enhances the music. This effect is returned
to the audience in a stream of palpable energy that is sure to have you
on your feet at some point during the performance. It’s a spiritual
experience.” (Kathy Johnson, radio host for KSER-fm, Lynnwood/Everett,
WA)
“I loved the energy and sensitivity between the three of you and
was completely blown away by the level of your fiddle playing.”
(Leanne, graphic designer, Ashland, OR)
"...people are still talking about that set at FolkLife. The fiddler
from a Celtic band called Bog An Lochan said it was "a religious
experience" (!), and another woman said that it was a sensation."
(Susan Petrick, Cupertino, CA)
"I was blown away by the performance. That was definitely the best
contra set of Folklife." (Kathy Wheeler, Eugene, OR)
“My spouse-man & I need to go shopping for underwear now 'cause
you guys "blew our drawers off"!!!!” (Margaret Simon,
Seattle, WA)
“Your fiddling caught the dancers on fire. You made a huge impression
in Eugene.” (Sue Songer, author of The Portland Collection)
“Jamie and Hans are incredible. I got them onto WETS-fm radio in
Johnson City, TN and the people in the studio went wild. They certainly
are an amazing pair.” (Bunny Medeiros, event organizer, Damascus,
VA)
“It was thrilling to watch you play with passion and true enjoyment
of what you were doing. It was like the audience were your friends and
you were having a good old jam session! None of the other performers [at
the Scots Fiddle Festival 2003] showed this personality.” (Deyrick
Brabson, Glasgow, Scotland)
“You and the music are one!” (Scott and Suzanne Wisenburg,
Bremerton, WA)
“The man can play the fiddle to set the room on fire. I can’t
hear his music without smiling. He plays as though the music comes directly
out of him. Gorgeous!” (Babs Lindsay, playwrite, Seattle, WA)
“What a show!!! I knew you were good, but I had no idea. No wonder
you’re the champ! You really brought the house down! Thanks again,
hot damn you’re good!” (Nancy Goodyear, Seattle)
“You are the best Celtic fiddler I have ever heard.” (Charles
Ed Jones, Chairman, Northwest Irish Dancers, Seattle)
"I came close to tears a couple times during the concert. The passion
in your soul just comes through. You just shine." (Amy Sabourin,
Seattle, WA)
“The audience reception measured that concert [April 6, 2002] as
one of the best and most popular concerts I have ever attended.”
(Bob Strasser, board member, Icicle Creek Music Center)
“Haunting...your music flowed within me for days and I want MORE.
You moved people that night. I left the theater and I said to my friend,
‘Nights like this are so poignant that it is worth all of life just
to hear this music; tonight was perfect, the pinnacle.’ Please come
back, again and again; I will make a point of following your concerts
when I can, and I will buy every CD you make.” (Eric Root, photographer
and network data specialist, Leavenworth, WA)
“As Canadian Secretary to The Queen I would like to express our
very great appreciation for your splendid performance given on August
18 in honour of Her Majesty The Queen and His Royal Highness The Duke
of Edinburgh.” (M.G. Cloutier, Canadian Secretary to The Queen)
|
Feature Articles
Click to enlarge:
Ashland Oregon Revels
Santa Barbara News Press
Rapid River Asheville
Victory Music Review
Asheville Citizen-Times
San Jose Mercury News
Asheville Citizen-Times
Santa Barbara News Press
Palo Alto Daily News
Dirty Linen Magazine
Sing Out! Magazine
Knoxville News Sentinel
Laurel of Asheville Magazine
Gainesville Times
Swannanoa Instructor Reviews
Citizen-Times Take 5
Asheville Mountain Xpress
Albany Democrat-Herald
Durham Herald-Sun
San Diego Union Tribune
24/7 Scottish Music
Fiddler Magazine
San Jose Mercury News
Knoxville News Sentinel
Corvallis Gazette Times
Stockton Record
Albany Democrat-Herald
Ventura County Star
Mountain Times
Sign On San Diego
|
