Alasdair Fraser

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Alasdair Fraser, 2017

Alasdair Fraser (born May 14, 1955 in Clackmannan ) is a Scottish fiddle player .

Live and act

Fraser had classical violin lessons from the age of eight. In his youth he played in dance orchestras and began collecting compositions from fiddle players such as Niel and Nat Gow , William Marshall and James Scott Skinner . He won the Scottish National Fiddle Championship twice . In 1981 he came to California as a petrophysicist at British Petroleum . Four years later he gave up this work to devote himself entirely to music.

In 1982 Fraser's debut album was released on Brownrigg Records . He toured internationally with his band Skyedance , with whom he made several albums. He also performed with the pianist Paul Machlis and the guitarist Tony McManus , with groups such as The Chieftains and The Waterboys , but also with Itzhak Perlman and the Los Angeles Master Chorale . He can also be heard on albums by Derek Bell , Kepa Junkera , Twila Paris and the flautist Chris Norman. He also played in soundtracks to films such as The Last of the Mohicans and Titanic . Since 2004 he has formed a duo with the cellist Natalie Haas . Her album Fire and Grace was nominated for Album of the Year at the Scots Trad Music Awards 2004. As a composer, Fraser emerged with works for the Richmond Ballet and the Shiftworks Dance Ensemble and the Fettercairn Suite .

Fraser founded several teaching projects from the 1980s, including the Valley of the Moon Fiddle Camp (1984), fiddle courses on the Isle of Skye (from 1987) and the Sierra Fiddle Camp in California. He also runs the Culburnie Records label .

Discography

  • Portrait of a Scottish Fiddler , 1982
  • Alasdair Fraser & Paul Machlis: Skyedance , 1985
  • Alasdair Fraser & Paul Machlis: The Road North , 1987
  • Alasdair Fraser & Jody Stecher ; The Driven Bow , 1989
  • Dawn Dance , 1996 (National Association of Independent Record Distributors (NAIRD) Indie Award: "Best Celtic album of the year")
  • Skyedance: Way Out to Hope Street , 1997, with Eric Rigler, Chris Norman, Paul Machlis, Mark Linden, Peter Maund
  • Alasdair Fraser & Tony McManus : Return to Kintail , 1999
  • Skyedance: Labyrinth, 2000
  • Alasdair Fraser & Paul Machlis: Legacy of the Scottish Fiddle, Vol 1 , with Natalie Haas, 2002
  • Skyedance: Live in Spain , 2002
  • Alasdair Fraser, Muriel Johnstone & Natalie Haas: Legacy of the Scottish Fiddle, Vol 2: Tunes from the Life and Land of Robert Burns , 2004
  • Alasdair Fraser & Natalie Haas: Fire and Grace , 2004
  • Alasdair Fraser & Natalie Haas: In the Moment , 2007
  • Alasdair Fraser & Natalie Haas: Highlander's Farewell , 2011
  • Alasdair Fraser & Natalie Haas: Abundance , 2014
  • Alasdair Fraser & Natalie Haas: Ports of Call , 2017

literature

Web links

personal data
SURNAME Fraser, Alasdair
BRIEF DESCRIPTION scottish fiddle player
DATE OF BIRTH May 14, 1955
PLACE OF BIRTH Clackmannan