Although Irish/Celtic jigs and reels are
Sharon Shannon's musical foundation, it would be wrong to call her a purist. The risk-taking accordion player and instrumentalist is far from that -- her approach is quite expansive, and on
Out the Gap she demonstrates that Irish/Celtic music can be fused with everything from calypso to French-Canadian Quebecois music to Scandinavian folk. In fact, many of the songs that
Shannon interprets on this CD didn't come out of Ireland or Scotland. While "Butterflies" is a traditional Finnish folk song and "Reel Beatrice" is a French-Canadian Quebecois tune, "Sandy River Belle" is a number that experts on American folk will recognize. "Bjorn Again Polka" successfully incorporates polka, and "The Mighty Sparrow" (named after the famous calypso singer) has a strong Caribbean influence. For those seeking something fresh and adventurous from Celtic music,
Out the Gap would be an excellent choice.