Relativity, a Scotch-Irish band, successfully united two families, two countries, and two styles of music to create two albums, Relativity, (1986) and Gathering Pace (1987).
The four members of Relativity were brothers Phil and John Cunningham (fiddle and accordion/keyboard/whistle/bodhrán) from the band Silly Wizard and the Bothy Band’s brother-sister duo Triona Ni Dhomhnaill and Micheal O’Domhnail (vocals/clavinet and vocals/guitar/keyboard respectively)
Relativity’s strength comes from the extraordinary marriage of the earnest vocals of the Domhnails and the Cunningham brothers’ virtuosic instrumental abilities.
London-born multi-instrumentalist, film composer, producer, and songwriter John Faulkner grew up with the sounds of the Rock Revolution, and was greatly inspired by the likes of Elvis, Little Richard, and Gerry Lee Lewis.
After exhausting modern rock, Faulkner looked to the roots, discovering the great blues and folk musicians. During the English Folk Revival of the 1960s, Faulkner met and developed a professional relationship with singer/songwriter/folklorist Ewan McColl and his wife Peggy Seeger, who in turn introduced Faulkner to the world of British and Irish folk music.
When Faulkner was living in Britian in the late 60s and early 70s, he became close and began to play with many of the best London-based traditional Irish musicians, including West Clare fiddler Bobby Casey, piper Tom McCarthy, and Sligo flautist Rodger Sherlock.
In the 70s, Faulkner wrote the music for the BBC children’s television show “Bagpuss.” Then, in 1977, he met and married Co. Galway singer and De Dannan founder Dolores Keane. The couple worked on several more film scores for the BBC as well as formed the successful Trad bands “The Reel Union” and “Kinvara,” recorded three duet albums, toured extensively throughout the US, Canada, Australia, and Europe, and collaborated on several musical projects.
Faulkner has worked with the best in Irish traditional music, and has appeared on over fifteen albums (four of which he either produced or co-produced). In the new millennium, Faulkner joined forces with accordion great Jackie Daly to create a highly-acclaimed duet tour.
John Williams has been hailed by the Irish Times as “a musician of remarkable sophistication.” Born in Chicago to Irish parents, he carries three generations of traditional County Clare music within him, from both his father Brendan and his grandfather, Johnny Williams. John is an award-winning accordion and concertina player with five All-Ireland titles to his credit, and is the first American-born competitor to take first place in the Senior Concertina category. His additional talents on flute, whistles, bodhran, and piano distinguish his as a much sought after multi-instrumentalist in the national session scene.
John’s latest album is Steam (GLCD1215), a powerhouse of ensemble playing that invigorates the traditional artform. A founding member of the acclaimed Irish group Solas, John re-unites with his former bandmates Séamus Egan and John Doyle on Steam, as well as with Chicago fiddler extraordinaire Liz Carroll, guitarists Dennis Cahill and Dean Magraw, bassist Larry Gray (Ramsey Lewis) and percussionist Paul Wertico (Pat Metheny Group). Amazon.com says of the album, “John Williams is a button accordion and concertina player of rare ability, ably demonstrated on Steam. To play with the feeling that Williams does, you need a profound understanding of the music that transcends technique.”
John recently served as Traditional Music Director in the upcoming Dreamworks feature film The Road to Perdition, a story of the Chicago Irish mafia in the 1930s starring Paul Newman, Tom Hanks, Jude Law and Jennifer Jason Leigh and directed by Sam Mendes (American Beauty). The film is scheduled for a late 2002 release.
John has appeared on numerous recording and soundtracks, including the PBS special Out of Ireland, The Brothers McMullen, and Traveller. His solo debut release on Green Linnet Records was included in the Irish Echo’s Top Ten traditional releases for 1995. In Solas, Williams received wide recognition playing to sold-out audiences internationally and earning both a NAIRD award and a Grammy nomination for the ensemble’s self-titled 1996 release on Shanachie Records. Most recently, John has been touring and recorded as a member of Tim O’Brien’s acclaimed Appalachian-Celtic ensemble, The Crossing.
Some of John’s dynamic solo performances have been captured on two award winning compilation discs, Dear Ol’ Erin’s Isle (Nimbus) and The Twentieth Anniversary Collection (Green Linnet). The first received the Library of Congress honorary distinction as an outstanding folk recording in 1992; and the second, a double CD of the finest Green Linnet recordings, occupied the top 15 of the Billboard World Music Charts for an unprecedented 17 weeks in 1996. John has also collaborated with friends Martin Hayes, Seamus Egan, and Joannie Madden on their individual albums.
Williams has performed at the Barns of Wolftrap in the Folkmasters Concert Series, as well as The World Accordion Festival in Montmagny, Quebec. Other festivals include the Telluride Bluegrass Festival, the Montreaux Jazz Festival, and the National Folk Festival in Chattanooga, Tennessee. He has played concerts in New York, London, Paris, Brittany, Zurich, Dublin, Belfast, and Lisdoonvarna, Co. Clare, Ireland. National Public Radio performances include Mountain Stage, A Prairie Home Companion, and the 1997 broadcast of the July 4th Concert on the Mall in Washington, D.C. He has been the subject of the Irish radio program The Long Note and television program The Pure Drop. John has also been interviewed and recorded on BBC and CBC radio.
Williams performed at taught at the prestigious Willie Clancy Summer School in Co. Clare, Ireland, the Augusta Heritage Workshops in Elkins, West Virginia, and the Swannanoa Gathering at the Warren Wilson College in Asheville, NC. At home in Chicago, John has taught for seven years at the Irish American Heritage Center and performed to thousands of Chicago area school children in Urban Gateways, the country’s leading arts and education agency. John was a guest soloist with Chicago’s Symphony of the Shores and served as music consultant and principal recording artist for the Goodman Theatre’s production of Brian Friel’s Dancing at Lughnasa in 1994.
John has been highlighted in Chicago Magazine’s Best of Chicago issue as “Best Squeezeboxer for 2003,” with a full-page photo of John and his concertina at the local pub.
For more information on John Williams, visit www.johnwilliamsmusic.com.
Quotes From the Press
“There is no denying that John Williams is a fine musician…Williams shows great versatility, playing button accordion Anglo concertina, flute and whistle, all adding up to a very well made and superbly recorded CD.” – The Living Tradition
“Multi-instrumentalist John Williams’ Steam is a lively, spirited rendition of some of the best Irish traditional music.” – New Age Voice
Celtic folk-rock band, Rare Air (formerly named Na Cabarfeidh) was founded by in the late 70s by Canadian bagpipers Pat O’Gorman and Grier Coppins.
When still called Na Cabarfeidh, the band’s music incorporated a funk bass and Polynesian percussion with the traditional Celtic music of Brittany, North America, and Ireland. Utilizing traditional Celtic instrumentation of flutes and whistles, alongside bombardes, keyboards, and a funk bass guitar, the pipe-heavy band created a unique sound that took them around the world. Rare Air released six albums total, including Green Linnet titles Hard to Beat(1987), Primeval (1989), and Space Piper (1991).
Sold-out tours and standing ovations give testimony to the electricity and excitement generated by these three great individual fiddle stylists. Kevin Burke (Ireland), Christian Lemaître (Brittany) and André Brunet (Quebec) combine their talents, musical traditions, and spontaneous humor for an evening of dazzling energy and subtle grace. Called “three of the finest folk violinists anywhere” by The Washington Post, these traditional masters showcase their regional repertoires and together conjure an experience of breathtaking performances.
Originally conceived as a unique touring project in 1992, the trio proved such a success that a live recording was released. Celtic Fiddle Festival (1993, Green Linnet) received glowing critical reviews and racked up impressive sales. Three albums and numerous international tours later, the ensemble is now one of the most popular on the Celtic circuit. Their new CD is Play On (GLCD 1230), dedicated to founding member, the great Scottish fiddler Johnny Cunningham.
In concert each artist plays a solo set, showcasing their individual musical styles and traditions, followed by a collaborative set featuring all three fiddlers. Together, they play with such relentless precision and fire that the tunes transcend all cultural and geographical barriers, leaving the audience with a memorable musical experience.
Kevin Burke is a world-renowned Irish fiddle master, playing the fluid, highly-ornamented style of County Sligo. His formidable career includes the seminal Irish group The Bothy Band. Christian Lemaître honed his remarkable skills playing the hypnotic Breton melodies at festou-noz (night dances) throughout Brittany, the Celtic region of France. He is a founding member of the group Kornog. André Brunet, the newest member, is a wonderful young French-Canadian fiddler and also a member of the group La Bottine Souriante, playing the infectiously rhythmic tunes of Quebec. They are joined by acclaimed English musician Ged Foley on guitar, providing both driving accompaniment and delicate solos.
The unexpected passing of Johnny Cunningham in December 2003 left the members of Celtic Fiddle Festival with an unimaginable hole to fill in their hearts and in their line-up. The band made the difficult decision to play on, and in January 2004 they invited André to join the upcoming tour. His lively Quebeçois dance tunes and contagious enthusiasm lifted tempos and spirits. At tour’s end, the group recorded three concerts in Portland, Oregon. The result is the stunning new CD Play On.
Band Members
Kevin Burke (fiddle)
Kevin Burke is a world-renowned Irish fiddle master, playing the beautifully fluid, highly-ornamented style of County Sligo. Kevin has been a mainstay of several seminal Irish supergroups, from The Bothy Band to the all-star Irish group Patrick Street, and has toured and recorded with countless artists including Kate Bush, Arlo Guthrie, Paul Brady and Christy Moore. Born in London to Sligo parents, Kevin moved to Ireland in the 1970s. Now a resident of Portland, Oregon, Kevin was awarded the National Heritage Award in 2002, America’s highest honor in the traditional arts. His most recent solo album is In Concert (GLCD1196), recorded live in Portland.
Christian Lemaître (fiddle)
Christian Lemaître is from Brittany, the Celtic region in northwest France. A master of traditional music, Christian honed his playing at festou-noz (festive evening barn dances) throughout Brittany. One of the first to translate traditional Breton music to the fiddle, Lemaître displays unerring control and propulsive energy on the hypnotically rhythmic Breton dance tunes. His style and repertoire shows influences from Southern and Eastern Europe as well. Christian is a member of the outstanding Breton groups Kornog and Pennou Skoulin.
André Brunet (fiddle)
André Brunet is a wonderful young fiddle player from the French-Canadian band La Bottine Souriante. He performs a unique blend of folk music originating from France, England, Ireland, and Scotland, imbued over time with a color and rhythm particular to various regions of Québec. André is a warm, dynamic performer, and an excellent musician, with a vast repertoire of French-Canadian jigs and reels.
Ged Foley (guitar)
Ged Foley is well known in Celtic circles for his seminal work with Battlefield Band; his leadership of the House Band, and his recent membership in Patrick Street. A gifted singer, record producer and instrumentalist, Ged provides a strong and creative approach to rhythm guitar, and pushes the fiddlers to new heights of expression. Born and raised in England, Ged now makes his home in Ohio.
Quotes From the Press
“Three of the finest folk violinists anywhere. A mastery of regional fiddle styles with alternately soulful, dazzling and nuanced performances.” – The Washington Post
“Three sensational fiddlers from three distinct Celtic traditions. The second live album, Encore, is a thrill. Jazz and rock musicians should take note: bravura, lightning-fast playing is rarely such exhilarating fun. Breathtaking.” – Boston Herald
“The juxtaposition of fiddle styles was fascinating. Mr Lemaître’s work was notable for its straightforward lyricism, Mr Burke’s for a greater soulfulness. Both men played with easy grace, Mr Burke seeming to hold vast technical resources in reserve. Mr Cunningham was…electrifying…a refined sonority and brilliant violinistic command.” – The New York Times
“They wowed the audience with quick-step jigs and reels as well as beautiful, soulful melodies. Cunningham played some gorgeous slow airs…Burke’s Irish reels were silky smooth, each note crisp and clear.” – The Christian Science Monitor
“A treasurable meeting of minds, music and cultural roots, this collaboration between premier league fiddlers lays on a four-course feast of choice Celtic delicacies.” – The Scotsman
“Kevin Burke, Johnny Cunningham and Christian Lemaître are among the world’s greatest Celtic fiddlers. Whether alone or á trois, they possess a breathtaking virtuosity.” – Philadelphia Weekly
New York-native Jerry O’Sullivan is considered by many to be one of America’s foremost uilleann pipers. Famous for both his technical mastery and emotional expression on the pipes, O’Sullivan is also accomplished tin whistle, low whistle, Highland bagpipe and Scottish smallpipe player.
O’Sullivan has performed with everyone from The Boston Pops and James Galway to Dolly Parton and Eileen Ivers, and is featured on Paul Winter’s Grammy-winning album Celtic Solstice (Living Music, 1999).
Featured on over 90 albums as well as on several film soundtracks and television commercials, O’Sullivan has also recorded solo albums including The Invasion (Green Linnet, 1987) The Gift (Seanachie, 1998), and O’Sullivan Meets O’Farrell (Jerry O’Sullivan Music, 2005).
O’Sullivan has toured extensively throughout the US, Europe and has even brought the music of the pipes to Middle East and Asia. O’Sullivan has always been in high demand for the US festival circuit, and continues to be a talented ambassador of the Irish uilleann (elbow) pipes.
Although still in his twenties, Johnny B. Connolly has already generated a reputation as an exciting and accomplished button accordionist. Johnny’s talents have paved the way across continents and provided him opportunities to perform or record with many internationally renowned artists including Kevin Burke, the Chieftains, Anam, Martin Hayes and Altan. His debut album Bridgetown (Green Linnet) was called “the most exciting solo debut from an Irish artist in years” by The Irish Herald — “a must-have CD for all true lovers of Irish box playing.”
Born and raised in Dublin, Ireland, Johnny has been immersed in Irish traditional music since he was eight years old. By the age of 15 he was a regular feature around his hometown, performing with musicians sometimes twice his age. Johnny’s dexterity on the accordion earned him a slot with established Celtic ensemble Anam at the age of 17. For the next two years, he continued to build his reputation back home in Dublin’s trad music scene and abroad with Anam, touring festivals throughout Europe and Ireland.
In 1996 the 21-year-old Johnny seized an opportunity to bring his skills to America. Leaving Anam, he crossed the ocean to join fiddler Patrick Ourceau in New York for a four-month stint through New York City and Boston. In 1997, Johnny merged his talents with those of guitarist Aidan Brennan, forming a duo that entertained festival audiences across the United States from Alaska to Louisiana to Colorado.
Heading further west, Johnny eventually made his home in Portland, Oregon. A friendship with Kevin Burke, legendary Irish fiddler and fellow Portland resident, led to Johnny’s signing with Green Linnet Records in 2001. His CD Bridgetown, was released to universally glowing reviews. “A joy from beginning to end…Connolly’s playing is skillful and exciting,” wrote All Music Guide. A sparkling collection of traditional Irish and French tunes, the album features guest appearances by Burke and production by guitarist Ged Foley.
Since then, Johnny has toured nationally with such artists as Kevin Burke and Ged Foley, Aidan Brennan, and Casey Neill, and appeared at numerous festivals including Colorado’s Festival of the Mabon (by Planet Bluegrass), the Cincinatti Celtic Festival, and the Sebastopol Celtic Festival in California. He is now a fixture on the flourishing Northwest scene, and his lilting accordion can be heard headlining Celtic festivals or in intimate clubs, joining Irish fiddlers, Gypsy jazz guitarists or Old-timey phenoms Foghorn Stringband.
Quotes From the Press
“This is the most exciting solo debut album from an Irish artist in years…a must-have CD for all true lovers of Irish box playing.” – The Irish Herald
“Bridgetown features the sounds of Johnny B. Connolly’s accordion: lilting, somber, joyful, poignant. Though only 26, the Dublin-born Connolly has a masterly control over his instrument, conveying a range of emotions in 10 jigs, reels and songs.” – The Irish Echo
“Johnny B. Connolly is among the best young players. Bridgetown is a delightful splash of jigs, reels, a slow air and even a whimsical, Paris-flavored musette.” – Goldmine
“A slow burning collection, preferring to insinuate itself beneath the skin than trumpet its arrival from the rooftops. Connolly’s button accordion skills are refined by a canny ear and a keen eye that revels in the tunes, which tilt at an angle instead of ploughing the middle ground…A beauty.” – The Irish Times, Dublin
“At 26, Connolly is clearly a master of the box accordion’s many possibilities.” – Victory Review
“The solo debut from this fine 26-year-old Dublin accordionist is a joy from beginning to end…Connolly’s playing is skillful and exciting, but never showy — he focuses on the tunes themselves rather than on his own virtuosity, and the tempos are generally modest and the ornamentation minimal, an unusually mature approach.” – All Music Guide
“A meticulous player, following well planed and measured routes through all the tunes.” – The Living Tradition, Scotland
Capercaillie is –
Throughout their career Capercaillie have drawn on two great strengths to inspire them. The first of these is the astonishing musical dexterity of the various fiddle, whistle, flute and pipe who have performed with them over the years, lead by the accordion and keyboards of band founder Donald Shaw. The other foundation of the band has been the peerless voice of co-founder Karen Matheson, described by Sean Connery as having “a throat that is surely touched by God”. Universally recognised as one of the finest Gaelic singers alive today, Karen’s exquisite voice has been at the centre of the band’s music, whether breathing new life into 400 year old Gaelic songs or bringing her luscious vocals to the band’s contemporary compositions…
There have been many milestones for a band who have sold over a million albums world wide. These include three silver and one gold album in the UK, the first Gaelic Top 40 single, writing the music for, and appearing in the Hollywood movie “Rob Roy”, and performing in over thirty countries including Iraq, Macedonia and the Sudan.
Capercaillie have been credited with being the major force in bringing Celtic music to the world stage, and their unique fusion of Gaelic culture and contemporary sound has always stretched boundaries in their quest to keep the music evolving.
It is a mighty long way from Oban High School to the Hanging Gardens of Babylon in Baghdad, but Capercaillie have made this journey and stopped off at many other exotic locations along the way . However, their greatest achievement has been to mould a central strand of their Gaelic heritage into a fresh, new sound, capable of reaching out to the ears and hearts of people all over the world.
Since she was 18, when she astounded the Celtic music world by winning the Senior All-Ireland Championship, Liz Carroll and her fiddle have been amazing audiences around the globe. Her recordings and appearances on concert stages, television and radio, have established Liz as one of traditional music’s most sought after performers. “Liz’s fiddling is nothing less than breathtaking,” writes Earle Hitchner in the Irish Echo, and Irish music producer P.J. Curtis calls her playing “the most dazzling display of musicianship imaginable” (Irish American).
Liz is a renowned composer as well, having written over 200 original tunes. She is a winner of the NEA National Heritage award, an Irish Echo Traditional Artist of the Year, and an Irish-American Magazine Top 100 Irish American. Her album Lost in the Loop (GLCD1199) in 2000 was named Celtic Album of the Year by the Association for Independent Music.
Liz has just released her new album, Lake Effect (GLCD1220), featuring many of her original tunes. The album also includes special guests, Irish guitarist John Doyle (a founding member of Solas), the Turtle Island String Quartet, and legendary Irish accordionist Máirtin O’Connor.
Liz Carroll was born in Chicago in 1956, to Irish immigrant parents from Limerick and Offaly counties. Her father, Kevin, a button accordion player, began teaching her to play Irish traditional music when she was five, and later she began Irish dancing. A violin class at her parochial school taught by Sister Francine inspired Liz to pick up the fiddle, but her main sources of musical schooling came from her family and the community. She honed her skills at the local Irish Traditional Musician’s Association, learning tunes, technique and Irish culture and stories from veterans like Mayo piper Joe Shannon, Chicago-born fiddler John McGreevy and pianist Eleanor (Kane) Neary.
Composing came naturally to Liz, who wrote her first tune at the age of nine. “A melody came to me that didn’t exist anywhere else,” said Liz. “This felt very special; different from learning a tune, or varying one, or hearing one for the first time.” Many of Liz’s tunes have entered the traditional repertoire, played and recorded by Irish musicians the world over.
In 1975, after a series of stunning victories in the junior division of the All-Ireland Fiddle Championship, the 18-year-old Liz astounded the Irish music world in both the U.S. and Ireland by winning the senior division championship title. Her first solo album , Liz Carroll (GLCD1092) in 1988 was chosen as a select record of American folk music by the Library of Congress. That same recording was called “a milestone achievement in the career of a fiddler reaching beyond herself,” by Earle Hitchner.
In 1994, the National Endowment for the Arts awarded Liz a National Heritage Fellowship award, the country’s highest honor for a traditional musician. She was an original member of Cherish the Ladies and has played and recorded with numerous artists, including her group Trian with Altan guitarist Daithi Sproule and accordionist Billy McComiskey, and with Mick Moloney’s Green Fields of America. Liz has appeared on numerous stages including the Smithsonian Folk Series at Wolf Trap and the First American Congress of the Violin in 1988, hosted by Yehudi Menuhin at the University of Maryland, and toured with rock artist Don Henley.
In 1999, Chicago Mayor Richard M. Daley proclaimed September 19th as “Liz Carroll Day” at the Chicago Celtic Festival.
Lost in the Loop, released in 2000 to great acclaim, was a long-awaited solo album, made after a dozen-year hiatus to raise a family. The album, produced by Solas’ Seamus Egan, received a remarkable welcome by fans and critics alike. It was awarded Celtic Album of the Year by the Association for Independent Music and a Top Ten Traditional Album of the Year in the Irish Echo, which also named Liz “Traditional Artist of the Year.” Lake Effect, Liz’s latest album, unleashes a blizzard of new tunes and dazzling playing… sure to take the Celtic world by storm!
Irish-American fiddler Liz Carroll is featured on the cover of Sing Out! magazine in the Spring 2003 issue. Inside, Liz gives an Irish fiddle lesson, and transcribes a couple of her own tunes from her album, Lake Effect (GLCD1220). Liz was also named one of the top 100 Irish-Americans in the 2003 issue of Irish American Magazine.
Honors
- Lost in the Loop album receives Album of the Year Indie Award (Celtic/British Isles Category) by the Association for Independent Music.
- The Irish Echo names Liz Carroll “Traditional Artist of the Year,” in January 2000. The Echo’s Earle Hitchner also named Lost in the Loop a Top Ten Traditional Album of the Year.
- Mayor Richard M. Daley of Chicago proclaims Liz Carroll Day in Chicago on September 18, 1999.
- Irish-American Magazine names Liz one of the Top 100 Irish Americans of 1995.
- Liz is presented a National Heritage Award Fellowship in 1994 by First Lady Hillary Clinton. The award identifies Liz as a “Master Traditional Artist who has contributed to the shaping of our artistic traditions and to preserving the cultural diversity of the United States.”
- The album Liz Carroll album named a select record of American folk music by the Library of Congress in 1988.
- All-Ireland Senior Fiddle Champion in 1975.
- All-Ireland Senior Duet Champion, with Jimmy Keane, in 1975.
- All-Ireland Junior Fiddle Champion in 1974.
Ffynnon is a trio from Wales, performing songs deeply rooted in the rhythms, traditions and landscapes of the British Isles. Their repertoire includes traditional songs sung in Welsh, as well as music from Scottish, Cumbrian, Breton, and other Celtic and English sources. The band is based around the singing of Lynne Denman and Stacey Blythe, accompanied by keyboards, fiddle and accordion. The late Dave Reid was a third member, contributing masterful six-string bass to Ffynnon’s Celtic Music from Wales album on Green Linnet Records.
Ffynnon has toured in America, Brittany (France), the Sudan (funded by the British Council), and all over Britain. They have appeared at the Chicago Celtic Festival, and on S4C TV (Welsh-language TV), BBD Wales, BBC Radio Cymru, and Radio Wales. They performed at the national and International Eisteddfodau (Welsh Music, Literature and Arts Festivals), and headlined on ’Gwerin y Werin’ program on Welsh-language TV channel S4C . Ffynnon was voted the ’best band’ at Gwyl Glyndwr, Machynlleth (festival in mid-Wales).
Band Members
Lynne Denman (vocals)
Lynne is in the vanguard of the new, exciting breed of singers emerging in Wales today from the older tradition. She has sung and performed throughout Britain and Europe and NE Africa and appeared regularly on Welsh national television and radio. She acted as researcher and advisor in modern Celtic music at the Celtica Interpretive Centre in Machynlleth. She performed at the Festival de cinema de Douarnenez and the Kann al Loar, Landerneau, Brittany with Sanfferian and sings on a regular basis for the National Museum of Wales.
Stacey Blythe (accordion, cello, harpsichord, recorders, piano, vocals)
Playing a wide variety of instruments, Stacey studied at the Welsh College of Music and Drama where she now lectures and runs workshops. Recent collaborations include: research on traditional ballads with Frankie Armstrong, work with Meredith Monk and premiering a new work by her at the Queen Elizabeth Hall, London. She is currently working as composer on a new independent film.
Dave Reid (bass guitar)
Dave Reid plays a six-string bass guitar, and was a popular and active figure on the jazz scene in Wales and London. He also worked regularly for TV and radio, both as a musician, a presenter of music programmes, and as a writer of satirical sketches and radio scripts. Dave worked for six years with Welsh artist Meic Stevens a’i Fand, touring regularly in Brittany and Wales and recording ’Life and Death’ with in 1989.
Quotes From the Press
Mae ffynnon yn perfformio ganeuon gyda’i gwreiddiau mewn rhythmau, traddodiadau a thiroedd yr – Ynysoedd Prydeinig
“Ffynnon, one of the great new folk bands from Wales” – Folk Roots (England)
“Ffynnon combine energy, skill, sensitivity and musical understanding in equal measures. Working with them was a rare treat and a lot of fun.” – Richard Boothby, Fretwork
“Lynne Denman’s ethereal, multilingual voice and Stacey Blythe’s cross cultural versatility with the piano, recorder, accordion and cello means that Ffynnon are able to sing from a European songsheet and provide an affirmative sound track for the new Wales.” – New Times
“A fine singer”, “a gorgeous voice” – Taplas (Wales’ foremost folk music magazine)
“Ffynnon has a haunting way of updating the traditional songs on Celtic Music from Wales (Green Linnet). The old songs, in Welsh and English, maintain their death-haunted dignity.” – Jon Pareles, The New York Times
“…with Denman’s vocals soaring effortlessly, the effect is downright magical.” – Sarah McQuaid, Hot Press (Ireland)
“The centerpiece is mellifluous soprano Lynne Denman” – Rob Weir, Sing Out
“The splendid performance….was an occasion which will long be remembered by all who attended” – Lillian Craig Harris, British Embassy, Khartoum
“An open hearted performance” – The Western Mail
“Mae hi’n canu o’r galon” – Tim Lewis, ’Clychau’r Cwm’ (Valley Bells)
In Memory of Dave Reid
By Lynne Denman (Ffynnon), with Dianna Griffin (Island Heart Music, USA)
David Reid, member of the Welsh group Ffynnon, died of a heart attack in New York on Monday, 13th January 2003. Dave was a six-string bass guitar and piano player, composer, arranger and poet.
According to Dave’s Geordie granny, he was a “skitty bugger”* like her. From the time he was sent to Dan Dare School (school for the blind), until his death, he never stopped creating great music, literature and humourous havoc to the inspiration of all of his friends.
Arriving in sunny New York from damp Wales, his home for 30 years, to showcase traditional and new Welsh music at the Arts Presenters conference in January 2003 with his band Ffynnon, he said “Ah my loves, my place is in the sun!” He was thrilled to be in New York and have a chance to listen to jazz. But Dave was always in the light, never in the dark, because while most blind people “see” darkness, Dave interestingly enough always “saw” only light.
Dave was a valued member of Ffynnon, who are the first Welsh band signed to Green Linnet Records. He played on Ffynnon’s recent Green Linnet release, Celtic Music from Wales (GLCD1221).
Dave had two volumes of poetry published, Fox Horizon Blues and Truth Street, the latter of which is available through Lighthouse Publishing in Cardiff. He was working on a novel entitled Late Afternoon at the Entrophy at the time of his death. He performed on numerous albums and with many bands. He played recently with Meic Stevens throughout Wales, but particularly at Meic’s 60th birthday concert at the National Eisteddfod. Meic’s new CD, which Dave played on, was launched there- Ysbryd Solva (The Spirit of Solva – Meic’s home village on the Pembrokeshire coast). He also played on Meic’s album ’Life and Death’. He was a member of the Cardiff Jazz Society and also performed with the Paul Hampton Trio.
Dave Reid’s Ffynnon bandmates and dear friends say that, He has left a huge hole in the fabric of our lives. His sudden and unexpected exit has denied us a river of jazz-inspired, intelligent guitar music and left us in the dark.
*Newcastle City Library: ’skitty bugger’ is someone who likes a laugh and a joke.
Comprised of treasured Sligo fiddlers, brothers Seamus and Manus McGuire, and internationally revered Sliabh Luachra button accordion maestro Jackie Daly, Buttons & Bows took traditional Irish melodies and mixed them with the traditional music of Canada, Scandinavia, and the Shetland Islands to create a poignant, multi-dimensional sound.
The band recorded three albums together, all of which were widely acclaimed, Buttons & Bows, (Mulligan, 1984) First Month of Summer, (Green Linnet, 1987) and Grace Notes (Tayberry, 1994). The trio toured all over the United States and Canada.
Seamus and Manus McGuire grew up in a family that valued both classical and traditional music. Both brothers began taking classical violin as a child, and by the time they were young teenagers, they were proficient in both
classical violin and traditional Irish fiddle. As teens, they won several competitions, and by the time they were young adults, they had already
extensively toured North America.
As a young adult, Seamus McGuire played with the Dublin Symphony, and in 1995, he teamed up with guitarist Arty McGlynn and flautist John Lee to produce an album of forgotten flute and fiddle tunes deriving from Co.
Leitrim: The Missing Reel, (Gael Linn, 1995). That same year, McGuire released a solo album, The Wishing Tree (Green Linnet) that blurs the line between classical violin and traditional Irish fiddle. In 1999, Seamus formed the West Ocean String Quartet with violinist/fiddler Niamh Crowley, Belfast-native cellist/composer Neil Martin, and Wishing Tree collaborator Kenneth Rice. The quartet has collaborated with many prestigious Irish traditional artists of the age, including Tony McManus, Mary Black, and Dervish.
Of Manus McGuire’s many albums to date, two are with his older brother
Seamus, three are with Buttons and Bows, two are with the group Moving Cloud, Moving Cloud (Green Linnet, 1994) and Foxglove (Green Linnet, 1997) and his solo debut Saffron & Blue (Green Linnet, 2000) has earned extensive praise both at home at abroad.
2004 brought the release of Manus and Paul Brock’s collaboration, the self-titled debut, Brock McGuire Band. In 2005, Manus and Brock joined with American singer- songwriters, John Cowan and Daryll Scott, for a track featured on Hands across the Water, (Compass
Records) a tsunami-relief effort album.
Jackie Daly is credited with revitalizing the image of the accordion and
concertina by taking them out of the dance band and into the trad band. A
founding member of some of the most prominent Irish bands since the mid-70s, Daly played in De Dannan, Arcady, and Patrick Street. Born in the Sliabh Luachra region of Ireland in 1945, Daly remains one of the most emulated carriers of the Sliabh Luachra-style tradition. Daly’s revolutionary musical trademark of playing in tight unison alongside fiddlers has
fundamentally changed the way that Irish music is performed in bands.
Recognized as one of Celtic music’s most talented vocalists and songwriters, former lead singer of Scottish band Silly Wizard Andy M. Stewart has captivated audiences through his talent and humor for over thirty years.
In the mid 80s, Stewart teamed up with Scottish band Capercaillie’s Manus Lunny, an esteemed multi-instrumentalist, vocalist, and composer. The duo toured extensively and recorded Fire in the Glen (1985) (featuring Silly Wizard member Phil Cunningham), Dublin Lady (1987), and At it Again (1990).
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