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Sleeve Notes
In April 2007 at the Irish Arts Center in the fabled Hell's Kitchen area of New York City, film maker Paul Wagner and musician and producer Mick Moloney brought some of the finest Irish musicians, singers and dancers in America together for a special one-off concert. All the artists had known one another and played together in various combinations for years, but this was a chance to meet up in an informal situation and simply have fun, make music and dance together. For two days they rehearsed and then put together a magical performance which was filmed for American Public Television and recorded for Compass Records. ABSOLUTELY IRISH is the product of this astonishingly brilliant, exuberant and joyful celebration of the very best of Irish music, song and dance.
Mac Benford first made a name for himself back in the 1970's as a member of the magnificent and notorious Highwoods Stringband, the group which gave the revival of traditional Appalachian music a mighty boost. Since that time he has continued his leading role as a preserver and performer of old-time music in his work with The Backwoods Band, The Woodshed Allstars, and currently, UpSouth and The Haywire Gang. Mac is drawn to the more note-y, Celtic-derived fiddle tunes, and has developed a unique banjo style which can do them justice. He is a long time friend of Irish music and has been an honored guest at many big Irish concerts and festivals over the years.
Darrah Carr holds an MFA from New York University's Tisch School of the Arts and graduated Phi Beta Kappa from Wesleyan University. Her New York based company, Darrah Carr Dance, specializes in ModERIN: a unique blend of traditional Irish step and contemporary modern dance. Carr is a Professor of Dance History at Hofstra University and is a frequent contributor to Dance Magazine, Dance Studio Life, and The Dance Insider.
Liz Carroll has been amazing audiences since she won the Senior All-Ireland Fiddle Championship at the young age of 18. She first toured the U.S. with The Greenfields of America, a veritable who's who of the best Irish musicians and dancers in the United States which included Mick Moloney and Michael Flatley. She has been a huge and revered presence ever since, performing at festivals and concerts worldwide. Liz has appeared on numerous recordings but it is her own compositions, recorded by so many others, that garner her the adoration of so many of her peers. Many of Liz's tunes have become part of the modern repertoire of Irish music, a rare feat indeed. She has twice been named one of Irish-America's Top 100 and in 1994 Liz was honored by the NCTA and the NEA with America's highest honor for traditional artists, the National Heritage Award.
Karan Casey, a native of county Waterford, is a natural innovator. She is widely known as one of the most influential voices in folk music. More than a decade ago American audiences were introduced to Casey singing with the Irish "supergroup" Solas. Following their groundbreaking early releases Casey struck out on her own. That decision was based on an independent spirit determined to control her touring schedule and committed to maintaining a family life. That family has now grown (her second child, Aine, was born in May of 2006), as has her solo discography. As well as touring constantly throughout North America and Europe with her own band, Karan has been involved in many other varied projects and collaborations. A frequent guest on Garrison Keillor's A Prairie Home Companion, Casey joined their December 2006 broadcasts from New York's Town Hall. Last year also saw her spotlighted on the Solas "Reunion" CD, and as a guest vocalist for another well-known Irish group, Lunasa. Casey's repertoire, once largely confined to Irish traditional music, has expanded over the years and she now feels confident singing the most modern material, as well as crafting her own compositions. In all her musical choices, however, listeners will inevitably find the common themes of independence, resilience and concern for social justice. Her most recent release is Ships in the Forest on Compass Records.
Tim Collins, a native of west Limerick, has resided in Croisín, County Clare, since his marriage to musician Claire Griffin in 2001. Regarded as one of the finest concertina performers and tutors of contemporary times, his discography includes Dancing on Silver (his debut solo album, released in 2004), Reed Only, (a collaboration with Leitrim piper, Brian McNamara, released in 2007), as well as his many recordings with Clare's legendary Kilfenora Céilí Band, which he has been a member of since 1994. His concertina music is regarded as tastefully ornamented and rhythmic, with a focus on older concertina and piping techniques. Tim has a distinguished history of teaching at Scoil Éigse gatherings all over Ireland and at several music schools in Europe, Japan and the United States. His eclectic portfolio also extends to historical research on Irish music for which he was duly awarded a first class masters degree from the University of Limerick in 2003. In 2007 he was the recipient of the inaugural Fulbright/Culture Ireland scholarship, resulting in a 5 month tenure at Glucksman Ireland House, New York University. He is currently studying for his doctorate in the Centre for Irish Studies, at NUI, Galway.
Brendan Dolan learned his music from his father, Felix Dolan, a legendary accompanist of Irish traditional music. Brendan has recorded extensively, most recently on the CD Live at Mona's, with Patrick Ourceau and Eamon O'Leary. In addition to Irish music, Brendan holds a degree in Jazz Performance and spent several years with the acclaimed Andy Statman Quartet playing Klezmer music, including a tour with Itzhak Perlman. His touring has taken him as far afield as Ireland with Brian Conway, Alaska with the Cathie Ryan Band and Poland with Andy Statman. Brendan resides in Brooklyn, NY, where he plays music and teaches privately. Brendan is currently studying for an MA In the Irish Studies Program at New York University.
John Doyle is among the most talented and innovative musicians ever to come out of Ireland. An extraordinary acoustic guitarist as well as an accomplished singer and songwriter, John can be heard accompanying many top Irish artists and has performed on such film and TV soundtracks as The Brothers McMullen and Out of Ireland. An original member of the acclaimed group Solas, John's turns as a record producer have created critically successful CDs by Heidi Talbot (of Cherish the Ladles), Liz Carroll, Mick Moloney, The Green Fields of America and his father, Sean Doyle. John's second solo recording was released in 2005 on Compass Records and also received strong radio airplay and positive reviews. John now appears with a wide variety of artists in Irish, old-time and bluegrass and is one of the most in-demand musicians in the scene.
Seamus Egan was born in Hatboro, Philadelphia in 1969. His parents returned to Foxford, Co. Mayo five years later and it was here that Seamus — on hearing Matt Molloy — became interested In traditional music. Martin Donoghue from Ballindine was his teacher during those formative years. On returning he met Mick Moloney who acted as a mentor, guiding Seamus in both style and repertoire. Seamus won four All-Ireland titles at 16 years of age in flute, whistle, banjo and mandolin. He recorded his first solo album Traditional Music of Ireland the same year, (further demonstrating his multi-instrumentalist abilities) with uilleann pipes and tres being added to the already stunning array of instruments. Seamus' early professional experience in The Green Fields of America was invaluable to his music and career. Besides Mick Moloney the band also included Jimmy Keane, Robbie O'Connell and Eileen Ivers. Seamus and Eileen began to gig together and soon formed Chanting House with John Doyle and Susan McKeown. His second solo CD was released in 1990 and his third, When Juniper Sleeps, in 1996. Tracks from Week in January formed the nucleus of the soundtrack to the award-winning film The Brothers McMullen. Seamus also plays on the soundtrack to the Oscar-winning movie Dead Man Walking which features the late Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan. Seamus formed Solas in 1995. The group's meteoric rise was phenomenal: their first three albums were voted Best Celtic Album of the Year by the Association for Independent Music, and ever since their touring schedule has been hectic.
Eileen Ivers, the daughter of Irish immigrants from County Mayo, grew up in the culturally diverse neighborhood of the Bronx. Rooted in Irish traditional music since the age of eight, Eileen proceeded to win nine All-Ireland fiddle championships, a tenth on tenor banjo and over 30 championship medals, making her one of the most awarded persons ever to compete in these prestigious competitions. She was a musical star of Riverdance and has played with a huge number of people from diverse musical fields over the years including The London Symphony Orchestra, The National Symphony at The Kennedy Center, The Boston Pops, The Chieftains, Hall and Oates, Afrocelts, Patti Smith, Paula Cole, Al Di Meola, Steve Gadd and Cherish the Ladies. After graduating magna cum laude in Mathematics from Iona College, Eileen fully immersed herself in the different genres of music which she experienced growing up in New York. In 1999 Eileen established a touring production to present the music which now encompasses Eileen Ivers & Immigrant Soul. This mix of African and Latin percussion and bass, Irish instrumentalists, and American soulful vocals headlines major performing arts centers, guest stars with numerous symphonies, performs at major festivals worldwide and has appeared on national and international television. Her latest CD, entitled Eileen Ivers & Immigrant Soul continues to display why Ivers is hailed as one of the great innovators and pioneers in Celtic and World music genres.
Rhys Jones is one of the most brilliantly talented old-time Appalachian musicians in the United States. He began his journey into music in Chicago where he grew up. By the time he was seventeen years old he had achieved an impressive mastery of the finest old-time techniques on the fiddle and 5-string banjo amassing in the process an extraordinarily varied repertoire of tunes and songs. He lives now in New York City where he plays a very important role in the old-time scene and also in recent times has become a familiar figure in Irish music sessions in the city playing guitar as well as fiddle and banjo. His latest CD with fellow fiddler Christine Wheeler has received the highest critical acclaim.
Joanie Madden is one the greatest musicians and personalities in the history of Irish music in America. Born in New York of Irish parents, Joanie was exposed to the finest Irish traditional music early in life in the Bronx listening to her father and his friends play at family gatherings and social events. She began taking lessons in her teens from the legendary East Galway flute player Jack Coen and within a few years she had won the All-Ireland Championship on the concert flute. During that time, Joanie also became the first American to win the Senior All-Ireland Championship on the tin whistle. She has since then gained many other awards including becoming the youngest member ever inducted into the Irish-American Musicians Hall of Fame. She has performed on over a hundred albums with scores of artists including such luminaries as Pete Seeger and Sinead O'Connor. Joanie has played on three Grammy award-winning albums and her involvement on the Hearts of Space labels' Celtic Twilight CD led to a platinum album with over 1,000,000 sales. She has toured with The Eagles' Don Henley and was also a featured soloist on the final Lord of the Rings soundtrack. She has recorded three highly successful solo albums including Song of the Irish Whistle (named the most successful tin whistle album in history selling nearly 300,000 copies). Joanie has toured the globe with Cherish the Ladies, a group she has led since its inception in 1985. Her huge repertoire of music spans a wide range of expression from exuberant dance tunes to slow, evocative pieces. She is a consummate musician and one of the best loved figures in Irish music today.
Billy McComiskey was born and raised in Brooklyn, NY. The dominant influence in his playing comes from the late Sean McGlynn from Tynagh, Co. Galway. In 1975 he moved to the Washington, D.C. area to play bar gigs with Brendan Mulvihill and Andy O Brien, in a group known as The Irish Tradition and they had a major influence in the popularization of Irish Traditional Music in the D.C. area and beyond. He went on to perform and make ground breaking recordings with Trian, a trio made up of fiddler Liz Carroll and guitarist and vocalist Dáithí Sproule. Billy was also part of the third Greenfields of America tour some twenty years ago. Billy won the Senior All-Ireland Championship for the button accordion in 1986. He lives in Baltimore, Maryland with his wife Annie and three sons Patrick, Sean and Michael.
Susan McKeown comes from Dublin. An award from The Arts Council of Ireland and a scholarship to a performing arts school brought her to New York City in 1990. Settling in the East Village, her debut album Bones (1995) presented her as an engaging songwriter with a powerful voice. Ten albums later she is also firmly established as an adventurous vocalist and producer in the realms of traditional and world music. Her voice and music has been featured in programs and documentary films on BBC, RTE, ABC (Australia), and extensively on PBS and National Public Radio. Susan's album Sweet Liberty (2004 World Village) received a BBC Folk Music Award nomination. She has performed with Natalie Merchant, Pete Seeger, Mary Margaret O'Hara, Linda Thompson, Billy Bragg, Johnny Cunningham and The Klezmatics, with whom she won a Grammy in 2007.
Mick Moloney, a native of County Limerick, has been living in the United States since 1973. He holds a Ph.D. in folklore and folklife from the University of Pennsylvania and currently teaches at New York University in the Music Department and the Irish Studies Program at Glucksman Ireland House. He has recorded and produced over sixty albums of traditional music and acted as advisor for scores of festivals, summer schools and concerts all over America. He has hosted three nationally syndicated series of folk music on American Public Television; was a consultant, performer and interviewee on the Irish Television special Bringing It All Back Home and a participant, consultant and music arranger of the PBS documentary film, Out of Ireland. In 1999 he was awarded the National Heritage Award from the National Endowment for the Arts. He is the author of Far From the Shamrock Shore: The Story of Irish American History Through Song. His Compass Records CD of songs of old New York, titled McNally's Row of Flats won the Livies award for Best Irish Album of the Year in 2006 and also the Best Traditional Music Album of the Year award from the Irish Echo.
Robbie O'Connell was born in Waterford, Ireland and grew up in Carrick-on-Suir, Co. Tipperary, where his parents owned a small hotel. He began to play guitar and sing at age thirteen. He spent a year touring the folk clubs in England before enrolling at University College Dublin where he studied Literature and Philosophy. During those summers Robbie worked as an entertainer in America, where he met his wife. In 1977 his celebrated uncles The Clancy Brothers asked him to join their group and he subsequently recorded three albums with them. Two years later he moved to Franklin, Massachusetts where he lived for the next twenty five years. With the 1982 release of Close to the Bone he established himself as a major solo artist. Still he continued working and recording with other musicians as well as the Clancy's — among them, Mick Moloney and Jimmy Keane; and Eileen Ivers and Seamus Egan in The Green Fields of America. Three more critically acclaimed solo albums were released. He has taught songwriting at several summer schools including the Augusta Heritage Arts Workshop and Boston College. He also leads music and cultural tours of Ireland. He recently moved to Bristol, Rhode Island and is currently working on a new solo recording.
Niall O'Leary TCRG, ADCRG is a former All-Ireland and World Champion step-dancer from Dublin Ireland. Featured in Irish America magazine's Top 100, he is the director of the Niall O'Leary School of Irish Dance in New York City. He performs and teaches all over the world and also tours with his dance company the Niall O'Leary Dance Troupe. In addition to his dancing activities Niall is also an architect.
Jerry O'Sullivan is one of Irish America's premier uilleann pipers. Jerry has also widely recorded on the tin whistle, the low whistle, the Highland bagpipes, and the Scottish smallpipes. He has appeared on more than 90 albums and has performed or recorded with artists such as The Boston Pops, Don Henley, Paul Winter, James Galway, Dolly Parton, The Colorado Symphony Orchestra, The Nashville Symphony Orchestra, Eileen Ivers and many others. He was a featured soloist on Paul Winter's Grammy winning album, Celtic Solstice (Living Music, 1999). His first two solo albums, The Gift (Shanachie,1998), and The Invasion (Green Linnet, 1987) have both received critical acclaim, quickly finding their way to the top of a number of "best albums of the year" lists. Jerry has also recorded a number of film soundtracks including From Shore to Shore, The Long Journey Home, Far and Away, Africans in America, and Out of Ireland and has appeared on numerous television commercials.
Mike Rafferty was born in 1926. He grew up in Ballinakill, East Galway in the heart of a locality steeped in the very best of old-style traditional music. Mike is an outstanding exponent of the East Galway style of flute playing. He learned his music from his father, Tom "Barrel" who played flute and uilleann pipes. Mike emigrated to the United States in 1949 and has appeared at an extensive array of concerts and festivals all over America including the Smithsonian Institution's Bicentennial Festival of American Folklife in 1976 and toured with The Green Fields of America. Mike has appeared on many recordings and has recorded three albums with his daughter Mary; and most recently his solo CD. Mike has devoted a lifetime to exploring, performing and teaching traditional Irish music on both sides of the Atlantic. Recently, he was named Irish Echo's Traditional Musician of the Year.
Athena Tergis, born in NYC and raised in San Francisco, took up the fiddle at age four. Through local music schools, she leaned from fiddle masters including Mairead Ni Mhaonaigh of Altan, Alasdair Fraser and Buddy MacMaster. After releasing her first album at 16 with fiddler Laura Risk, Athena moved to Ireland, immersing herself in the music. She joined The Sharon Shannon Band for their '97 festival tour and recording of the Gail Force TV series. She went on to become the principal fiddler for the production of Riverdance on Broadway. Her solo album A Letter Home on Compass Records was hailed as "a masterfully crafted work that accentuates the amazing musical talents of Tergis". Now a member of The Green Fields of America, Athena continues to tour regularly, surrounded by some of the finest Irish musicians on both sides of the Atlantic.