Waterway

Description

Titled “Waterway,” Blue Griffin 175 is essentially an extended suite inspired by Lake Superior and its environs.Their compositions are tonal with a simple, direct melodic appeal—a few “sophisticated” harmonies and lines surface, but they don’t veer into atonality. They draw on tango rhythms and melodies sometimes; at other times they write with a scenic sensitivity, as when they flowingly capture the sense of being afloat on Lake Superior. Birdcalls, insistent and raucous rather than sweetly twittering, can be heard, and I had the impression that long vanished Native Americans weren’t too far away. While they often write complex parts for both players, they just as frequently present Maret’s improvisations supported by energetic strumming. This imparts a casual flavor, as if the two musicians, who enjoy the great outdoors, took up their instruments for a spontaneous jam session around a campfire, bent on entertaining themselves as well as any local inhabitants, animal, mineral, or vegetable.

Fanfare Magazine
by ROBERT SCHULSLAPER
Jan/Feb 2009

All compositions by Andrew Bergeron & Carmen Maret
Published by Folias Music (ASCAP)

Recorded at Blue Griffin’s Studio “The Ballroom” September 21 and 22, 2007 in East Lansing, MI
Recording, Editing, and Mastering Engineer by Sergei Kvitko

Produced by Andrew Bergeron & Carmen Maret
Package Design & Photos by Carmen Maret

Folias Duo—Blue Griffin Recording 175
58 minutes