Choose one of the items below to find out what the media is saying about
Grey's recordings.
Reviews for Dark of the Moon
Larsen’s new recording with Paddy League
Global Rhythm Magazine, Top Ten,
December 1, 2003
Global Rhythm Magazine, February
1, 2004
Irish Music Magazine, Ireland,
March 1, 2004
The Living Tradition, Scotland,
March/April 2004
Sing Out Magazine, Spring 2004
Rambles, May 8, 2004
Jazzreview.com, Jan 7, 2004
World Music Central, October
6, 2003
Slipcue.com, October 20, 2003
Hartford Advocate, Hartford,
Connecticut, January 8, 2004
Musemuse.com, September 20, 2003
Irish America Magazine, December
1, 2003
1340mag.com, November 25, 2003
Cleveland Scene, October
23, 2003
Valley Advocate, January
1, 2004
The Bloomington Herald Times,
Bloomington, Indiana, November 16, 2003
Reviews for The Green House
Larsen’s first recording with Paddy League
The Living Tradition Magazine,
Scotland
Nova Scotia Kitchen Party, Canada
The Washington Post
Celtic Connections
WTJU-FM
CD Baby
"The respected Irish flutist and concertina player Grey Larsen teams up with guitarist and bodhran player Paddy League on this beautiful and unexpectedly gentle collection of traditional Irish tunes. Usually a program like this, especially when performed by a player of Larsen's skill, would be a showcase for flashy technique, but he and League take a different tack, treating each tune as a jewel to be polished and presented for its own beauty rather than as a chance to show off. The result is an album of unusual loveliness. Highlights include the opening set of reels, on which League's bodhran playing is especially impressive and shows the effects of his tabla studies, and a sweet rendition of Turlough O'Carolan's "O'Carolan's Draught," on which the artist plays concertina in a very straightforward, unadorned style. At the end of the disc are three tracks featuring conversation and a performance of "The Cuckoo's Nest" by the Irish melodeon player Michael J. Kennedy. These last tracks bear no obvious relation to the rest of the album (though Larsen and League do perform "The Cuckoo's Nest" themselves earlier in the program), but are lots of fun nevertheless. Highly recommended." [Four stars, out of five.]
- Rick Anderson, All Music Guide (www.allmusic.com)
“Their playing is both authentic and beautiful, the product of artistic
humility and insight. Grey and Paddy have found the perfect balance between
maintaining tradition and finding their own unique voice.”
- Martin Hayes, Irish fiddle player
Reviews for The Orange Tree, Larsen’s recording with André Marchand
"On its face, this summit meeting between the guitarist and singer for the raucous Québecois folk group La Bottine Souriante and Irish flutist/fiddler/keyboardist Grey Larsen is something of an anomaly. And maybe, despite all the arguments that can be made for the common musical roots upon which these the two players draw, the disparity between their two traditions really is a little bit hard to reconcile. Doesn't matter. The music they make together on this album is some of the most consistently joyful and lovely you'll ever hear, even when it's melancholy and dark (which it isn't very often). The Orange Tree opens on a high note, with Marchand's trademark Québecois scat singing, which ripples over the sound of his intricate rhythmic footwork and Larsen's contrapuntal flute; other highlights include Larsen's original composition entitled "First Snow" and the brilliant guitar playing that underlies the borderline-atonal melody of Marchand's "The Waltz of Time Passing." There are no weak cuts here, and no awkward transitions or insincere gestures. This album can be strongly recommended as an introduction to the work of either artist, and stands with the best traditional recordings of the last 50 years." [Four and 1/2 stars, out of five.]
- Rick Anderson, All Music Guide (www. allmusic.com)
"Another beautifully chilling album from Grey Larsen that will absolutely stop you in your path! Most certainly, an underground classic and timeless integration of Irish and French Canadian traditional music and song, featuring Quebecois foot-stomping with the heart-swelling wooden Irish flute, concertina, guitar, harmonium, tin whistle, and André Marchand's spirited vocals/vocables. For folkies, world music buffs and sentimental folk music lovers everywhere, this is an album that will charm and enchant your heart, and likely bring a tear to the eye. A heartrending sanctuary of the human spirit for challenging times."
- Tamara Turner, CD Baby
Reviews for earlier recordings with Malcolm Dalglish and Metamora
“There’s a rare grace and beauty flowing… Their music is surprisingly delicate… There’s a feeling of expanse, travel, adventure and discovery.”
- Richard Harrington, Washington Post
“Each member is a virtuoso and polished soloist and extremely supportive to each other’s playing… the album’s strength rests in the delicate, but expressive instrumental interplay…”
- Craig Harris, The Boston Globe
“…hammer dulcimer player Malcolm Dalglish and multi-instrumentalist Grey Larsen have put themselves far above other non-traditional folk music interpreters.”
- Matthew Barton, The Boston Globe
“The ambiance is misty moors and wet, green countryside; the music is stately and beautiful and steeped in quiet reverie.”
- Steven X. Rea, Philadelphia Inquirer
“Everything they play has one thing in common: quality. They are musicians of precision, depth, vitality, passion, and, most importantly, humanity.”
- Daniel Buckley, Tucson Weekly