WAY OUT TO HOPE STREET, the debut effort by Skyedance, announces the arrival of a distinctive world fusion ensemble that brings together Celtic folk forms with elements of modern jazz. Fiddler Alasdair Fraser, piper Eric Rigler, and wooden flautist Chris Norman comprise one half of the group, and it is this instrumentation that gives Skyedance its traditional Celtic feeling.
Yet the other half of the group--keyboardist Paul Machlis, bassist Mick Linden, and percussionist Peter Maund--add layers of jazz and African/Asian inflections that give Skyedance's take on Celtic music its particular twist. Jigs and reels may unfurl in familiar fashion, but the skittering rhythms, fretless bass slides, and jazzy keyboard flourishes make WAY OUT TO HOPE STREET a pleasant surprise for fans of world fusion, traditional Celtic, and Celtic New Age.