Across The Sea

This is the sixth project from this Athens, Georgia-based duo of Jason Cade and Rob McMaken. Cade plays fiddle, and McMaken plays lap dulcimer and mandolin. Since forming in 2013, the two players have combined their love of Appalachian old-time music traditions with the historical contributions of many of the area’s older fiddle masters. To round out this new project, the pair is joined by Paddy ‘Otis’ League (guitar, bouzouki, bodhran) and Michael Starkey (banjo). Their choice of material for this new album covers about a hundred years of tunes from the late 1800s through the 1940s from a variety of sources. 

The earliest of these selections is “Georgia Belles” (from JD Harris, also Manco Sneed), then “Ways of The World (William Stepp), and “Washington’s March & Yell In The Shoats” (Edden Hammons). Following along the list is “40 Weight of Gingerbread” (Arthur Holston), “Barlow Knife (John Salyer), “Wading The Cheat” (Mose Coffman), “The Galway Reel” (Larry Redican), “Polly Put The Kettle On” (Byard Ray), “Wabash Hornpipe” (Noble Page), “Sarah’s Ashes” (Tommy Peoples), the title “Across The Sea” (Arthur Rosenbaum), “Wolves A Howling” (Rayna Gellert, John Herrman), and “Ten Steps” (Lamar Lunsford). 

The package’s liner notes give a bit more depth to the sources of these tunes. This is a collection of mostly instrumental fiddle tunes with some nice combinations of fiddle and banjo and fiddle and mandolin. This is a great source of material for those players who wish to learn more of the older Appalachian-style playing, where listeners can hear and feel how so many songs from the same area can really be unique.