FIDDLER Chris Stout’s much anticipated solo album does not disappoint. A mainstay of bands from Fiddlers’ Bid to Salsa Celtica, Stout is one of Scotland’s most gifted young musicians, and receives exemplary support from saxophonist Fraser Fifield, harpist Catriona McKay, guitarist Malcolm Stitt and bassist Euan Vernal. His playing is steeped in the melodic and rhythmic traditions of his native Shetland but, like most of his contemporaries, he has absorbed a wide range of global musical influences. He draws on Swedish, Norwegian, Brazilian and Irish tunes alongside his own more contemporary compositions.
Kenny Mathieson, The Scotsman