Greentrax Recordings

Iain MacInnes - Tryst (CD)

CDTRAX182 (released December 1999)

category: piping

An ex-member of the Tannahill Weavers, Iain was a member of Smalltalk and is currently a member of Ossian. He plays both the Highland bagpipe and smallpipes (and whistles) and produces and presents BBC Radio Scotland's Pipeline programme.

With Mairi Campbell (fiddle), William Jackson (harp, fretless bass, piano, laud), James Mackintosh (percussion), Iain MacLeod (mandolin), Tony McManus (guitar) and Aidan O'Rourke (fiddle).

'A complete piper... Trawling through piper's tune books and doubtless the accumulation of a few good sessions, lain has come up with an impressive cross-section of mainly Highland pipe repertoire, with occasional excursions into Lowland territory, all consummately arranged, from the full-tilt ensemble rant of Sandy Cameron or The Snuff Wife to the lonely, lingering solo strains of Angus Ramsay's Lullaby that close the recording. He's accompanied here by some of the best fiddling, harping and guitar playing you'll find on the folk scene - yet listen to his solo rendition of The 72nd Highlanders' Farewell to Aberdeen, to hear a sparse, measured, yet utterly fresh interpretation of a hoary old standard, one of the first tunes learned by many an aspiring piper. What shines through here is not just musicality but a deep regard for the music itself.' (Jim Gilchrist)

'Every track is an absolute joy to listen to.' (Scots Heritage)