Piper's CrowWho else but Piper's Crow to pipe in the onslaught of local celebrations of all things Irish, in this special Saint Patrick's Eve show? Piper's Crow, featuring Laura MacKenzie, Dick Hensold, Karen Mueller, and Zack Kline, specializes in traditional music from Ireland, Scotland, Galicia, Cape Breton Island, and Northumberland, artfully blended with original compositions in the traditional style. The group's repertoire centers on the lush sonic blend of smallpipes, fiddle, flute and guitar, with their musical palette ranging from MacKenzie's lovely vocals to dramatic greatpipe duels.
Is Piper's Crow a "Celtic band"? Certainly, but their repertoire and approach go beyond normal expectations of the definition. One could describe Piper's Crow as a band featuring bagpipes, and while they do use four or five different types of pipes, this shapes only a portion of their musical offerings. Laura MacKenzie's instrumental abilities and deep understanding of the style are a vital part of the sound, as is her singing. Dick Hensold's compositions combine his love of Scottish and Irish music with a penchant for rich harmonies, colorful scorings, and large-scale structures. Versatile fiddler Zack Kline adds his improvisational touch, and while most of Karen Mueller's work with the band features driving guitar and bouzouki, her solos on autoharp are unforgettable. And what about the bagpipes? Piper's Crow has arrangements featuring smallpipes, greatpipes, pipe duets and all sorts of other combinations. In fact, a most memorable characteristic of the group is the wide range of expression made possible by all of these varying combinations of instruments. Some songs milk the sweet timbres of fiddle and low whistle to softly accompany Laura's vocals; in others, the smallpipes and flute combine with fiddle and guitar to create toe-tapping dance tunes. The addition of octave violin produces more drama, and combinations involving the two greatpipes in harmony add still more excitement.
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