Capercaillie - Choice Language

Capercaillie (pronounced: Kap-ir-lay-lee) fuses traditional Scottish/Irish Gaelic music with contemporary jazz. But contemporary jazz is such a vague classification, so let’s get more specific. On one hand, you have avant-garde, experimental, coffee-house jazz. On the other, you have manufactured “jazz made for waiting.” Examples include: elevator music, telephone holding music and doctor’s office music among others. Since coffee-house jazz is the more spontaneous of the two jazz forms, it’s also least likely to be vocal friendly. Please refer back to my first sentence now. Capercaillie layers traditional Gaelic songs structures over blue-note jazz, and, although creative, the resulting product lacks believability. Just like Jason Alexander will always be seen as Seinfeld’s George. Gaelic music will always be seen as highland bar music made famous by Irish and Scottish farmers. While lead vocalist Karen Matheson has an incredibly rich and soothing voice, it doesn’t quite bridge the two genres of music. Choice Language sounds more like a soundtrack for The Lion King than a re-interpretation of traditional Gaelic music. However, not all songs are Gaelic traditionals. A handful of tracks are standard contemporary adult songs akin to Solas and Secret Garden. A less spiritual Enya also comes to mind. Another handful of songs are pure instrumentals showcasing a diversity of weapons: bouzouki, rhodes, uilleam pipes and bodhran to name a few. Your guess as to what those instruments sound like is as good as mine. If you think traditional Appalachian folk songs would sound great with Galactic or John Scofield is the background, than you may be interested in Capercaillie. [www.capercaillie.co.uk]