ALICIA JO RABINS: Sugar Shack

Alicia Jo Rabins

Sugar Shack

© 2003 Alicia Jo Rabins (783707735528)

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This girl sure can play the fiddle. Rollicking, irreverent renditions of tunes (traditional & new) from the mountains of Appalachia to the shtetls of Eastern Europe, with banjo, guitar, uke and more. "Striking and infectious"--Kevin Burke

notes

Seth Rogovoy, author of The Essential Klezmer, calls Alicia Jo Rabins "a walking encyclopedia of fiddling traditions." She is one of a growing number of young musicians who, searching for an alternative to the overcommercialization of today's popular music, have returned to their roots: acoustic, raw, handmade music. Her fiddling draws from Appalachian traditions, klezmer music, Irish tunes, and more, combining a love of tradition with irreverence and humor.

Alicia's first violin lesson at age 3 led to years of classical study, followed by a few stints in punk-rock bands. She learned her first old-time fiddle tunes from a shipmate on board a schooner at sea, and learned more tunes from an Appalachian fiddler who was busking in a New York City subway station. Before long, Alicia was playing on the streets herself. One day in Baltimore, an old man handed her a manilla envelope of sheet music, saying, "You have the soul of a klezmer fiddler." Thus began her initiation into klezmer music, a hybrid of Jewish and gypsy musical traditions from Eastern Europe.

Another felicitious busking encounter led to the founding of cutting-edge folk group The Mammals, with Ruth Ungar, Tao Rodriguez-Seeger, and Mike Merenda. After a year with the Mammals, Alicia joined forces with Michael Daves and Peter Siegel to form "new old-time" trio Underbelly, which the Berkshire Eagle called "a supergroup of New England talent." In winter 2004, Alicia joined the groundbreaking klezmer group Golem, which reinterprets traditional Gypsy and klezmer tunes with a punk-rock edge.

reviews

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  • The fiddling is a great mixture of styles, and wonderful tunes
    author: Matt Turino

    This CD has become a favorite of mine, it has a great variety of tunes, and I love the mixing of old timey tunes, cajuny feels, and great vocals. What more could you want!! She plays with great skill and taste.

  • From the Appalacian Mountains to the Carpathian Mountains!
    author: M.D. Rasch

    From the Appalacian Mountains to the Carpathian Mountains, Alicia Jo Rabins is the fiddler's fiddler! Bravo!

  • One of the most delicious recordings of American fiddle traditions.
    author: Ari Davidow

    This is just one of the most delicious, wonderful to listen to recordings of southern and old-timey American fiddle traditions I have heard in many years. I can't stop saying that.

  • One of the most exquisite albums of the decade
    author: Curtis Glatter, New Sounds Downtown-San Diego/Circumvention Musi

    From the first track to the last track of SUGAR SHACK I would say that this CD is one of the most exquisite albums of the decade, with exceptionally clean production and a heartfelt sincerity and vibrance which is so often lost in other modern recordings of folk music.

  • This is a terrific CD. The fiddling is wonderful.
    author: Vilunya Diskin

    The fiddling on this CD is versatile, complex and lively. I've been playing it over and over and like it better each time I hear it. I'm eager to hear other recordings from this talented artist.

  • Ecstatic sequence of fiddle music
    author: Filip Marinovich

    Ecstatic sequence of fiddle music that did not leave my CD player for a week. What a range of tunes, what scope! What a voice crying out from violin wilderness.

  • Wow
    author: Terri Weiner

    This is a wonderful ecclectic mix of great fiddle tunes. I'm really impressed by both the collection and the playing. It makes me want to practice more... or maybe just give up. Oh! And the singing is fine, too. I hope she comes to Bellingham some day. Thanks, Alicia!

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