Albums/Reviews

“Argyll-born harmonica virtuoso Donald Black brings sessions from Nashville to Nova Scotia and from Lewis to the Lothians together on this aptly named instrumental album.” He… “transfers the music of the bagpipes and the swinging Western Highland dance bands to the humble moothie with great feeling and absolute mastery… Bringing in Charlie McCoy, the author and player of The Old Grey Whistle Test theme… Black draws on both peatlands and prairies for inspiration, and the rollicking Canadian-Scottish dance set with Cape Breton pianist Mario Collosimo underlines” his “ability to sound as commanding as the great accordionists of the dance music tradition…
…there are examples of Black’s heartfelt slow air playing, with Runrig’s Malcolm Jones on guitar and Màrtainn Skene on cello wringing out every ounce of atmosphere on MacCrimmon’s Lament and The Edge of the White Rock respectively.”

“The album title means “From My Heart” and that’s just how it comes over. Donald Black, doyen of Highland harmonicists, returns and sounds in his element, drawing on Highland pipe repertoire to vivify the heel with crisp 2/4 marches, pipe reels and schottisches, or bringing unabashed sentiment to Gaelic waltzes and slow airs.
He’s in sterling company – regular accompanist Malcolm Jones as well as guest musicians from near and far, including Scottish country dance stalwart Addie Harper Jnr, Highland folk heroes Allan Henderson and Skerryvore’s Alec Dalglish, as well as Mario Collosimo from Cape Breton Island, who provides expansive piano for Mary K’s Waltz, while Nashville’s Charlie McCoy adds second harmonica to Blair Douglas’s country-ish New Island Waltz. The Irish air Bruach na Carraige Báine is truly lovely, while pipe reels collide entertainingly with blues harmonica in Highland Express.” ✪✪✪✪ (4 stars)

“…It is the art of the harmonica that shines in the album, perhaps an instrument that does not get the recognition that it deserves outside the delta Blues genre, but one, when utilized with charm and guile, can leave the listener understanding why it can be so powerful a weapon of sincerity and cool, that it can act as a mouth-driven sonar, bouncing back, adding a distinctive echo that captures and encourages the potential in others to rise up and take notice… Donald Black leaves more than his mark on the genre, he takes the harmonica and turns it into a series of softly delivered caresses that leave the listener exhilerated and wanting more… Bho m’ Chridhe (From my Heart) is where life begins…” ✪✪✪✪ (4 stars)

Harmonicas are free reed instruments like concertinas, accordions and many others and Donald treats them as such… To put it mildly, he is a virtuoso and though fans of blues harp and jazz players will point to their heroes, in Donald Black’s hands the harmonica will sit up and beg. Not because of speed, although the second set Pipe Reels could raise blisters, but because of flexibility and feel and an understanding of what the instrument can do…
So Bho m’ Chridhe isn’t a solo album in the strictest sense nor is it an academic performance of tunes. It is varied, beautiful, exciting and a whole load of fun.

Describing a music style as ‘unique’ immediately sets a pretty high standard. It also places instant demands on any musician. Safe to state that in this case the description is accurate, the standard unsurpassed, coupled with a masterful ability to exceed the demands. Who does this introduction describe? Scottish Celtic Harmonica player Donald Black… reveal that name and everything becomes clear… His latest album, ‘Bho m’ Chridhe’ (From my Heart) weaves a path through hornpipes, reels, waltzes, marches, jigs, slow airs and polkas… the result is soothing, enthralling, invigorating and captivating. From the opening moments… it is clear you are listening to a virtuoso musician displaying total mastery of his chosen instrument… Often relegated to the role of accompaniment, Black raises the harmonica to front and centre… Listen to his delivery of’6/8 Marches’, ‘New Island Waltz’, the atmospheric slow airs ‘Bruach Na Carraige Baine’ or ‘Cumha Mhic Criomain’ and his touch is stunningly obvious.
‘Bho m’ Chridhe’ eliminates any preconceptions about the harmonica and introduces the embodiment of unique.

While Donald’s heart is undoubtedly filled with the traditional music of the Highlands, this album is a reminder that he also holds a special place for international music and friendship. It is well worth getting a hold of.

Scotland’s very own Donald Black plays a true gem of his native soil… Hailing from Benderloch, Argyll, his music roots are decidedly of the West of Scotland Highland Bagpipe and Gaelic tradition.” His “live performances have delighted audiences of Scotland, England, throughout Europe and from Moscow to Kansas City. A tour de force!
On his most recent offering and his fifth album… Donald plays tremolo, octave and ten hole diatonic harmonicas; displaying a repertoire of challenging jigs, hornpipes, marches, waltzes, reels, polkas, a highland schottische, Canadian-Scottish two-step, clog and reels and emotionally charged Celtic Scottish and Irish slow airs…
Altogether, the album has 16 tracks – great value! A true gem of Scotland indeed!
Highly recommended! Every harmonica player should have this CD in their collection as a reference to pure traditional playing on the harmonica.

…Donald Black is the leading practitioner of the moothie as a traditional instrument and he goes a long way towards transcending the gob iron’s image as something you stuff in your pocket and forget about… No, size isn’t everything; versatility, variety and soul count for a lot as well. The CD’s title translates as From my Heart, and that is a fair indication of Mr Black’s aspirations to paint the big emotional picture…

I’ve been listening to your CD – Great series of recordings. You get this hair-raising… something… between tremolo and a vibrato that is like nothing I have ever heard coming out of a harmonica.

Thanks. Rave on.

The expert harmonica player heaps bagpipe tunes in among the country music, a contemporary Fergie MacDonald lament called Afghanistan, and ‘slow and sad Gaelic airs’. His repertoire here, as the most professional and accomplished of Scottish moothie players – and accompanied by piano, guitar, fiddle and cello – is firmly rooted in Gaelic music and the old Argyllshire traditions, and includes at least half a dozen of these slow and evocative airs. The rest is a mix of waltzes, jigs, marches and reels – the latter three punched out as if by a tight melodeon-led Highland dance band, but with precise breath control, while Black lets his feelings hang out in the Gaelic medley of three slow waltzes.

Donald Black, the magician of the mouthorgan, is on top form again with this new CD… He’s not given to half measures and this selection will not disappoint… This is a collection for lovers of Highland music to cherish.

The most clichéd adjective applied to the moothie is ‘humble’ although it is hard to see why: relatively easy to knock a simple tune out from, it needs a lot of skill to play it as a lead instrument. Here Donald shows us playing of an unmatched brilliance, demonstrating the range and variety available from the tremolo and 10-hole diatonic models (…) The combinations available from this instrument allow a great range of richly-layered melodies and harmonies to result in an album which is a delight from start to finish (…) The whole of the album continues to balance sets of differing tempo and timbre, all of which result in a CD which you won’t just play once and then file away – this is one you’ll want to hear over and over.

all beautifully rendered with the help of Ross Wilson, Allan Henderson, Allan Nairn, Harvey Leckie and Trish Strain

Keil Road “…is a beautiful collection dominated by Black’s controlled but expressive playing.”

“Keil Road is the new splendid album from Donald Black” … “there is much of this disc which touches my heart” … “A nostalgic and inspired CD … that will surely appeal to those passionate about Celtic music and to those who love the melancholic and moving sound of the ten hole [i.e. Diatonic Harmonica]. An unmissable disc for those who want to enjoy listening to magical and dreaming atmospheres.”

Keil Road “could have been a recipe for a rather bland collection in other hands, but Black’s technical facility and expressive interpretations ensure it remains an engaging listen…”

If you know someone with a taste for traditional gaelic music, played with great feeling and skill, then look no further than Keil Road…

Close to Home is wonderful, enjoyable and almost magical… Donald Black’s harmonica plays a wonderful melody… And goes straight to the heart. A particular round of applause goes to Malcolm Jones who throughout the album plays… with great ability and gusto. I loved the CD.

‘Westwinds’ is one hell of an album, a belter in fact.