Banjo Players Respond
This is something of an embarrassment of riches, but I have to share how all these amazing banjo players have responded to my newest recording, “American Bach Revisited.”
TONY TRISCHKA: “American Bach Revisited is ridiculously amazing and such a joy to listen to! From the elegiac Sarabande to the stately Bouree 1, this banjo/cello interface exhibits finesse, beauty, technical expertise, companionship and hours of hard work (though the results seem effortless). It can take a long time to get these notes under one’s fingers, let alone imbuing them with deep emotion, and yet that’s what Michael and Jill have achieved here. Their dynamics alone create deep pools of feeling.
“Finger picking banjoists have had much success taking on the complexities of Bach, and now Michael has done the seemingly impossible by adapting these two cello suites to a clawhammer setting, and with stunning results, no less. Michael’s playing seems so appropriate, as if he was doing this back in the 1720s, and creates a perfect symbiosis with Jill’s mellifluous cello playing, both pizzicato and Arco.
“As well as being a masterful banjoist, Michael is a wonderful composer. His Chicago Suite, which rounds out the album, is a gorgeous tribute to Windy City locales and is brilliantly performed with the cello and banjo seeming to dance with each other. The piece is beautifully sonorous, with deliciously unexpected twists and turns.
“To return to the Cello Suites for a moment, a quote from Yo Yo Ma: “Bach’s cello suites have been my constant musical companions. For almost six decades they have given me sustenance, comfort, and joy during times of stress, celebration and loss.” This recording can provide the same for you the listener.”
GREG CAHILL: “I have listened to Michael's new American Bach Revisited recording several times and I am absolutely gobsmacked by this wonderful work of art! The performance of every selection is impeccable.”
PETE WERNICK: "Michael Miles gives about as broad a taste as possible of 'what a banjo can do in the hands of a highly skilled and imaginative person'. He's a wonder!”
ALAN MUNDE: “Michael Miles demonstrates the sturdiness of Bach’s music, the unexpected adaptability of the banjo, and most of all his first-class musical talents.”
ALISON BROWN: “American Bach Revisited has broadened my perspective on clawhammer banjo as well as the deep well of inspiration to be drawn from Bach’s music. Beautiful sounds.”
TIM JUMPER: “These are not simplified arrangements, but rather note-for-note transcriptions of Bach's complex scores, performed with outstanding taste and musicianship on clawhammer banjo, accompanied by Jill Kaeding on cello. Michael J. Miles can arguably be considered today's best and most versatile practitioner of clawhammer style banjo.”
And more info at MilesMusic.org