Search - Bill Leslie :: Scotland - Grace of the Wild

Best-selling and award-winning Celtic fusion artist Bill Leslie offers 14 beautiful tracks of instrumental music inspired by a trip to his ancestral home of Scotland with his son Will. Nine of the tracks are original melodies and five are traditional Scottish tunes including Loch Lomond and Black Is the Color of My True Love's Hair. Instrumentation includes Leslie on acoustic guitar, Celtic flutes and whistles along with a hugely talented group of musicians playing grand piano, violin, cello, oboe, accordion and percussion. Leslie, famous for painting musical landscapes with his poignant and powerful melodies, takes listeners to the wilds of Scotland and to various iconic landmarks and lochs. Destinations include Portree on the Isle of Skye, Dunnottar Castle on the windswept eastern shore of Scotland as well as the elegant capital of Scotland - Edinburgh. The album begins with a sweet and soulful title track called Grace of the Wild and concludes with a haunting and ethereal solo on the Michael Burke Low D whistle titled Across the Moor. Critics have called the instrumentation and arrangements very strong and delightfully unpredictable.Leslie arranged much of the album but deferred to longtime friend and former Nashville studio musician Bill Covington for the piano and accordion arrangements. Covington also served as co-producer of the album along with Leslie and John Plymale. The warm and rich acoustic sound of this album was enhanced by the audio magic of legendary mastering engineer Greg Calbi of Sterling Sound in New York. Calbi's client list includes John Lennon, Bob Dylan, Paul Simon, Bruce Springsteen, Norah Jones and Sarah McLachlan. Reviewers Bill Binkelman, Michael Diamond, RJ Lannan and Gary Crites suggest that this album may be the best of Leslie's career which already includes 6 CDs to reach the top of the New Age charts. Reviewers praise the album for its consistent mood and seamless transition from track to track. Scotland - Grace of the Wild has also been called an authentic Celtic album and much more than a New Age album with Celtic flourishes. The mood of the album is tender and emotional. The music transports listeners to fog shrouded moors and mountains of grandeur and grace. Some of the tracks are meditative in nature. Overall, the album is perfect for a relaxing drive in the car or a pleasant evening at home with a fine bottle of wine. Best-selling author Steve Berry has praised Leslie's music as perfect for writing. World renowned cellist Yo-Yo Ma has called Leslie one of the greats in modern Celtic music. The music on Scotland - Grace of the Wild may also conjure images of Nightnoise, one of the trailblazing bands of the early Windham Hill days.