Three is the magic number BACHUE PLEASANCE CABARET BAR, EDINBURGH

5/5IT'S not often that a trio demands adjectives like "orchestral" and "cinematic" to describe the scale and power of their sound - but then you don't hear many trios like Bachue. The big, bold and beautiful music currently being made by singer/harpist Corrina Hewat, pianist David Milligan and percussionist Donald Hay (joined by trumpeter Colin Steele on their third album The Butterfly, recently released on Big Bash Records) offers ringing endorsement to a recent description of Scotland's folk music scene as "probably the most experimental in the world".

All three players involved here have played a prominent role in bringing that wider situation about. Hewat and Milligan originally launched themselves as the duo Bachue Cafe back in 1995, cropping their name in time for their second album, A Certain Smile, in 1999. Over that time and since, they've earned steadily widening renown not simply as gifted and strikingly original musicians, but as a veritable twoperson musical ideas factory.

Both were early recipients of New Voices commissions from Celtic Connections, and participants in the prestigious Distil programme of creative workshop weekends. Hewat was a key presence in the Scottish Women concert and touring projects, and released a superb solo CD last year, while Milligan also heads his own highly regarded jazz trio.

By far their biggest recent venture, though, has been The Unusual Suspects, the ground-breaking contemporary folk megaband that's taken audiences by storm at every gig since its launch two years ago, and whose debut album is also just out.

Hay is another lynchpin of that line-up, while his increasingly distinctive percussive fingerprints can also be found across all manner of other leftfield collaborations, including Sunhoney, Mystery Juice, La Boum and Nusa. Drummers who can respond fluently and creatively to the rhythmic intricacies of today's folk music remain few and far between, which makes Hay - with his multi-textured style, always arresting but never obtrusive - a busy man these days.

And so back to Bachue, of which Hay has become a regular member over the past few years. Not that they've been seen out and about much during that time (having had a few other things on the go), but this only helps to amplify the brilliantly resounding impact they achieve here. It's clear that at least some in the audience recall them primarily as a cool, downbeat duo - and they can still do that sublimely well, as in Hewat's mesmerising rendition of the traditional classic Lovely Hannah, underlaid by Milligan's sensitive answering chords.

But then they let rip with something like the Breton-based set Rencontre, a bravura madcap cartoon soundtrack for grown-ups, gleefully colliding dramatic grandeur with downright cheek. Or the Celtic reggae romp that kicks off Eilidh Shaw's Trip In Germany, or the searing, slow-build epic tragedy of Orphan Wedding, Andy M Stewart's fact-based ballad.

As ever, Hewat and Milligan's early jazz training is a vital factor throughout Bachue's sound, from the gorgeous velvety piquancies of Hewat's singing to the improvisational freedom in which they delight.

Beyond this, however, all three players share an extraordinary technical facility and fecundity of ideas when it comes to rhythm. Both harp and piano, after all, essentially create melody out of percussion, and Hay is one of those rare drummers who can do that, too.

The result is a kaleidoscopic sound that combines instant appeal with cutting-edge thrills, whether the threesome are in full-pelt chase formation, ducking and diving in a riot of harmonic colour and contrast, or resolutely nailing the same beat in precise unison, even as each pursues a distinct trajectory through the mix.

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Copyright 2004 SMG Sunday Newspapers Ltd.
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