Fergus McCreadie - “The Unfurrowed Field”

SXSW 2023 - OEB Score: 8; Popularity Index: 3

Pairs Well With…Brad Mehldau, Bela Fleck & the Flecktones, Keith Jarrett 

Fergus McCreadie exemplifies leaning into the ‘notes that aren’t played’ on his entrancing 2022 record Forest Floor, efficiently and emotionally letting each melody express with purpose and grace. An awarded jazz pianist from Scotland, McCreadie applies his skills on Forest Floor not just on virtuosity, but surprisingly melding the complexity of his jazz influence with beautiful, relatively simple, Scottish folk music. Playing with a traditional jazz trio (David Bowden on bass and Stephen Henderson on drums) that matches the understated nature of McCreadie’s performance, Forest Floor comes alive through inventive rhythm changes, improvised runs, and instrumental lines that sound as much cinematic as they do textbook jazz. It’s a calm record that swings at the right times and a true fusion of forms sounding fully natural in McCreadie’s studied hands. (Kevin McStravick)