MP3 Rock the Bow 5.0 - ROCK: Jam-band

Fiddle-rock jam band.

15 MP3 Songs
ROCK: Jam-band, WORLD: Celtic



Details:
EJ Ouellette & Crazy Maggy
New Englandâs Finest Fiddle-Rock Jam Band

Led by EJ Ouellette on fiddle, guitar and vocals, Crazy Maggy rocks the roots of traditional fiddle music by blending ancient melodies with new arrangements, contemporary lyrics, and soulful grooves.

Ouellette is bringing fiddling into a new light. With respect and love for traditional music, EJ & Crazy Maggy are defining a new genre of music -- RAD/TRAD -- by blending traditional fiddle music with radical new arrangements, contemporary lyrics and musical influences. The result is a mesmerizing sound that rocks audiences with its energy and invention.

The Boston press has called Ouellette a âCeltic fiddle master,â with âa keening, propulsive edge, merging the jubilant and the plangent in a single verse.â A lifelong musician, EJ picked up the fiddle later in his career, fiddle being one of many instruments he has played professionally. He started his band, Crazy Maggy, while fusing his rock skills with his roots in Irish, French Canadian and Cape Breton music.

EJ & Crazy Maggy discovered that their blend of ancient melodies and syncopation, combined with a modern rhythm section, pop sensibilities and arrangements, attracts music lovers of all ages and backgrounds. The bandâs tribal jams, known as âMaggy momentsâ, always bring down the house.

âWe play âthe tunesâ and then we jam. We suck the marrow out of every bit the tune has to offer,â says EJ.

Maggy music is showcased on the bandâs debut CD, âRock the Bow 5.0,â which features Ouellette on fiddle, vocals, guitar and mandolin. Ouellette has two other projects in the can, so keep tabs on this band!

Selected quotes:

Steve Morse of the Boston Globe:

âOuellette is a Celtic fiddle master, but he has also pushed this group in exciting new directions. Dips into Jean Luc Ponty-style jazz and Celtic/world-beat fusion are some of the offshoots of this powerful band, which plays with precision and passion.â

Daniel Gewertz of the Boston Herald:

âEJ Ouellette & Crazy Maggy was a delightful electric fusion surprise. Fiddle and sax lead a fearless band. A stylish fiddler, Ouellette exhibits a keening, propulsive edge, merging the jubilant and the plangent in a single verse.â

Bruce Menin of the Newburyport Current:

âOuellette and Crazy Maggy are among the most prominent practitioners of Rad-Trad, fusing traditional values and forms to modern, nay "radical" sensibilities⦠The combination of sax and fiddle is a revelation and a dream. The music itself achieves what Ouellette sets out to do. It marries the rootedness of tradition with the urgency of the outward edge⦠The band rocks.â