The piano in all its majestic glory can transport the listener (I’m listening to this album in a high-rise flat!) to a different place entirely – take for instance this beautiful recording by young Scots whippersnapper James Ross. For those who can cast their minds back a few years to (what appeared to be) the groundbreaking album The Dolphin’s Way by Michael O’Suilleabhain you can revel in that cool jazz-folk crossover that touched our very souls. The funny thing is it’s been done before and in fact I can remember vividly this particular style of performance back when I was in infants’ school. Traditional Scottish melodies more than their Irish counterparts have an empathic link to jazz interpretation and this is ably demonstrated with the melancholy re-working of ‘The Haggis’ before it is taken into the rip-roaring pace most musicians will be familiar with. There’s not a track on this recording I don’t like and it really makes me feel inadequate as a performer knowing that I’ll never attain the peaks achieved here but then again, that’s the nature of the beast – you are ultimately in charge of your own destiny and if that is the case Ross will be well rewarded for his efforts. A majority of the tracks rely on the good old ‘trad arr:’ but just as effective are the use of Andy Cutting’s “Spaghetti Panic” or his own composition “Deirdre’s Computer Slip”. Produced by Brian McNeill it’s pleasing to note that James is allowed plenty of space to breath with only a mere smattering of accompaniment for a touch of colour – in fact, this is one of those rare recordings that everybody should have in their collection just to prove that ‘real’ music can make a difference....Pete Fyfe.