PRAISE FOR BRASS LASSIE
“This mini-orchestra grabs you by the ears and won't let go. It could be the biggest thing to happen to North American Celtic music, ever!”; "Groundbreaking” -- Phil Nusbaum, KBEM/Jazz88
"The joyful and sophisticated sounds of Brass Lassiefully achieve what in my experience is a very rare feat of genre-blending - combining traditional Irish, Scottish and French music played and sung by a brilliant frontline with authoritative and tasteful jazz and rock influenced arrangements from a great full horn section and some fabulous drums and bass. I enjoy every minute of their music!" -- Dáithí Sproule, of Altan
“Brass Lassie has found its wonderful own niche with an exciting repertoire of Irish, Scottish, French and French-Canadian music. Superb arrangements, successfully blending the groovy brass sounds with rhythm and trad Celtic music…The Brass Lassies have taken their music into (a) dynamic, unusual and exciting direction. This CD is great fun, full of joy and inspiration.” --- Michael Moll, FolkWorld
"Refreshing, wide-ranging and highly entertaining." -- Alex Monaghan, Irish Music Magazine (Dublin)
"Powerful, exhilarating arrangements and delivery by ten of the best. A superlative triumph in every sense of the word." -- Gary Rue, Founder and Director of Musicals 4 Young Audiences and New Music Arts
"Celtic music enriched and enlivened by uncommon instrumentation, arrangements and musicianship. A treat!"
-- Peter Johnson, Guy's All-Star Shoe Band (Prairie Home Companion), The New Shoes
"To have horns (not to mention a great bass and drum backup) on traditional tunes was an unexpected and dynamic change that did not lose the songs or tunes in the transition but actually brought them forward. The musicianship was excellent all the way across the stage. Bravo!"
-- Bob Douglas, Powdermilk Biscuit Band and The New Prairie Ramblers (Prairie Home Companion)
"With Brass Lassie, Laura MacKenzie brings muscle to her music."
-- Euan Kerr, Minnesota Public Radio
“Brass Lassie takes a solid rhythm section, a group of stellar Celtic musicians on strings, woodwinds and a variety of instruments, adds a big BOLD horn section. The result, thanks to superior playing and fresh arrangements, is absolutely infectious. It isn’t watered down Irish and Scots music; it isn’t big band. It’s a driving fusion of Celtic and soul music, with a touch of jazz that is unique. It astonishes me, makes me laugh, it makes me want to dance, and most of all it makes me want to hear MORE Brass Lassie.” – Dan Pinkerton, Minneapolis playwright
“We here on the committee love music and ya’ll brought the real stuff...Brass Lassie was a fave experience of the weekend of many people I have spoken with who attended…more folks should hear you all…!”
-- Rock Bend Folk Festival
"I saw two sets of music by Brass Lassie at the Minnesota State Fair - They were amazing! I'm a fan of Celtic traditional music, and there was plenty of that – flutes, pipes, fiddles, dancing – but I also love jazz and Duke Ellington and Miles, etc., and there was plenty evoking that musical world, too, a whole repertoire based on horns and down south rhythms. Go hear them."
---Sam Dillon, Pulitzer Prize journalist, former field reporter for the New York Times, Miami Herald
“Tight, together, with a consistent and coherent blending of influences”
"Pioneering Celtic fusion" --Phil Nusbaum, KBEM/Jazz88
"Brass Lassie, from Minneapolis/St. Paul, are a ten-piece mini-orchestra of superb musicians led by Laura MacKenzie, comprising flutes, whistles, fiddles, pipes, and keyboards, with a seriously hot brass back-line and rhythm section, plus step-dancing and multi-lingual vocals. Their extraordinary takes on Cape Breton dance tunes, Celtic jigs and reels, traditional ballads and waulking songs are not so much genre-crossing as genre-smashing. Swinging like there was no tomorrow, with jazz-inspired brass arrangements, Latin-flavoured Scottish dance tunes and a big band sound, their music is bold, joyous, highly infectious and probably unique...they’d be a gas on stage." --fROOTS (U.K.)