Music's newest odd couple.

Byline: Paul Denison The Register-Guard

Whose bright idea was it to pair a Scottish fiddler with a Juilliard School cello student and send them off on a concert tour?

Blame the fiddler.

Alasdair Fraser, the Scot most famous in the United States (if you don't count Sean `007' Connery), had been looking for a cellist who had the chops and the moxie to play dance tunes with him.

He found her when 11-year-old Natalie Haas first came to his Valley of the Moon Scottish Fiddling School in California. He encouraged her to explore the mellow cello's potential as a rhythm instrument.

Four years later, they began performing together in concerts. Fraser, who is married and has two sons, had found his musical daughter. But he calls Haas his sparring partner.

Their debut album together, "Fire & Grace" (Culburnie Records) shows why. You'd expect fiddle and cello to be a good combination for slow airs, waltzes and laments, and they are, for sure. What you might not expect is what happens when they hit high gear on the jigs and reels.

"We can `duck and dive' around each other, swap melody and harmony lines, or play off each other's rhythmic riffs," Fraser said. "We're releasing the cello from its orchestral shackles, and unleashing its rhythmic power.

`It's very exciting."

Two equals have a blast

On their album's first track, a fast dance set with the umbrella title "Calliope Meets Frank," Haas plays her cello like a rhythm guitar or a string bass while Fraser takes flight with the melody. But then they do a brief riff that sounds like the Kronos Quartet going scherzo, and from that point it's not just soloist and accompanist but a pair of equals playing off each other. It is exciting.

"Haas can make her instrument sound like the drone of a hurdy-gurdy, the jangle of a guitar or the thump of a string bass, and she can carry the tune of fast gigs and reels as well," one music journalist wrote.

"It is a fascinating combination, one that occasionally sounds like a baroque duo."

Probably the most exciting piece is "Shetland Set," which includes four traditional tunes: "Christmas Day ida Moarnin," "Lady Spence's Reel," "Sleep Soond ida Moarnin" and "Lassies Trust in Providence."

This set shows the lower, more powerful voices of both instruments, with stirring interplay and, when required, great speed. Haas' virtuosity, and her instrument's versatility, are stunning.

Fraser takes off for higher realms as well. The two musicians feed on each other's strengths. These two by themselves can outplay much bigger bands.

Haas, now 18, is on Fraser's staff for several schools and courses, including one on the Isle of Skye. They perform together in the United States and Europe, and she's a member of fiddler Mark O'Connor's Appalachian Waltz Trio.

On the "Fire & Grace" album, she leads off on "Josefin's Waltz" by Roger Tallroth. Fraser soon joins in, and takes the lead as Haas switches to the bass line, and then they share the melody like two slow dancers.

On Tom Anderson's "Da Slockit Light," Fraser double-bows and Haas comes in low as the melody flows back and forth like wine from one glass to another.

If you're inclined to waltz off into the Celtic twilight with someone truly dear, either of these slow tunes will do.

Fraser's influence runs deep

Over the years, Fraser has had long, successful collaborations with pianist Paul Machlis and Scottish guitarist Tony McManus. His association with Haas opens up new horizons for him and also brings the cello back where it once belonged - as the rhythm section of Scottish dance bands.

Fraser, for many years an unflagging one-man Scottish music revivalist, also leads a band called Skyedance, which plays new music arranged for fiddle, pipes, keyboards and percussion.

In addition, he plays Scottish country dancing music with pianist Muriel Johnstone, and he directs the 100-member San Francisco Scottish Fiddlers or- chestra.

His summer programs in California and on Skye have been training young musicians for two decades.

CONCERT PREVIEW

Alasdair Fraser

with Natalie Haas

When: 7:30 p.m. Saturday

Where: The Shedd, 285 E. Broadway

How much: $23.50, $18.50, $15.50 and $13.50 (obstructed view)

CAPTION(S):

Alasdair Fraser, a renowned Scottish fiddler, has found his "musical daughter" in cellist Natalie Haas.