Multifarious
A virtuoso melting pot of crossovers
Don’t let Paul Elwood’s five-string banjo fool you. The music of the Scottish-French-American trio Multifarious has only a tenuous connection with bluegrass. Certainly, Elwood has a past with bluegrass pioneer John Hartford, but he’s also worked with the Chinese pipa player Min Xiao-Fen and, in addition to the usual metal finger picks, he sometimes uses a bow. Cellist Susan Mayo is equally at home in the world of American roots music, and she’s also a classical musician and a member of an improvisational string quartet. Outside of Mulifarious, saxophonist Sue McKenzie performs with Salsa Celtica, teams up with Hot Dub Time Machine, and has collaborated musically with Bill Frisell. Given all these influences and crossovers, it’s no surprise that the music of Multifarious has been described as ‘Bela Fleck meets the Art Ensemble of Chicago’. For this adventurous trio, it’s all about free improvisation, so things can get pretty wild. At the same time, Multifarious can also interweave with one another perfectly and make it happen on the cutting edge of swing.
