NATALIE PADILLA

NATALIE PADILLA
FIREWEED

Heartseed Music
No Number

Natalie Padilla, who plays fiddle and banjo and sings, has assembled an impressive cast of musicians, including co-producer Ben Winship on mandolin, guitar, tenor guitar, and harmony vocals, Chris Coole and Rick McCracken on clawhammer banjo, Scotty Meyer and Carter Bancroft on fiddle, Bancroft and Forrest Gibson on guitar, Nate Williamson and Eric Thorin on bass, and Monica LaBonte on harmony vocals. The 15 cuts are all Padilla originals.

Padilla is a professor of fiddle in Colorado, a skilled fiddler with a high sweet voice. She writes interesting lyrics and melodies which fit into a new acoustic style. She draws on old-time and contest fiddling—“Jenny” and “Piggy Piggy Pie” have more of the former and “Janet’s Waltz” and “Nancy Ann” have more of the latter. “The Owl Song” is a pretty waltz with evocative double-stops and twin fiddles in a Cajun rhythm. Padilla’s “Sally Anne” is a distant relative of the old-time tune of the same name and also features twin-fiddling with Bancroft. The CD concludes with Padilla on solo banjo, playing “Little Bug & Ruthie.” (www.nataliepadillamusic.com)SAG