CHEYENNE BROWN
Parallel Latitudes
Bird Creek 001

www.cheyenneharp.com
 

Cheyenne Brown is Alaskan by birth but she has spent the last nine years in Scotland where she has studied the harp and won numerous awards. Parallel Latitudes is a cycle of tunes ranging from the Scots tradition to Appalachian and self-penned selections in the Scots style. She is joined by an ensemble including cello, fiddle, percussion, guitar, dobro and banjo.

Cheyenne is adept at both the lovely airs and dance tunes, but through the use of accidentals and syncopation she also easily adapts to a more raggedy style. No more is this evident than in the medley of “Cold Frosty Morning/Ruth’s Recovery/ Cold Frosty Morning.” The two settings of the Appalachian modal tune are percussive and dance like. The contrasting  middle tune written by Cheyenne and dedicated to her aunt utilizes a highly syncopated rhythm and a free use of the blues scale. For me this is one of the highlights on this fine collection.

Cheyenne Brown is a young player with a very bright future ahead. Her playing while maintaining the tradition also moves it forward. I look forward to more of her excursions.

— Tom Druckenmiller