Tania Elizabeth has wasted no time in stamping her own indelible mark on the face of fiddling.

A fiddler by the age of 3 (on, she admits, a very small fiddle), this native Australian went on to master the instrument at a very young age. Now transplanted to British Columbia, Canada, Tania was only 15 when she released this, her first CD. Not only does she play the fiddle, she also produced the album herself, did her own mixing and combined talents with Adrian Dolan on all the arrangements. Wow, what a debut!

Besides Tania on fiddle, the album features Daniel Lapp on guitar, tenor guitar and piano, Jordy Sharp on bass and banjo, Derek Duffy on bodhran, and Lloyd English and Brian McDonald on guitars.

Although largely traditional in her approach, Tania has definitely found her distinct voice on the instrument. Her attacks are sharp, her intonation is crisp, her bowing at times crunchy, at times sweet. She is lively, passionate, tireless. She's diverse in her style choices. She is a fresh sound in a market flooded every day with new fiddlers.

Just when you think you've heard her best work -- for instance, the tune sets "Butterfly," "Cape Breton Jig" and "Youngest Daughter" -- she unleashes even more energy and style on knockout sets like "Woodchoppers" and "Master Crowley's." After that frantically paced track, she gives the listener a break to relax with the gorgeous "Lullaby," a duet with composer Lapp on piano.

Tania has also unveiled some of her own compositions -- "Susan's a Swan," "Silvery Fish" and "Spencer's Reel" -- as well as some collaborations with Dolan -- for instance, the wild gypsy tune "Kitty's Confusion." She ends the CD with the medley "Something," which begins with a pair of stately strathspeys before launching into the faster "Fisher's Hornpipe" and closing with another Dolan collaboration, the reel "Something."

Tania Elizabeth is a decidedly young fiddler, and she has made an impressive entrance into the world. Her name is on my short-list for people to watch out for -- I expect great things.