I’ve been listening to this collection of recordings since I discovered it a few years ago. The track, “Flute_cittern.mp3” is particularly phenomenal, containing the Roving Bachelor and something else. As far as I can tell, the same player is also responsible for numbers 9, 10, and maybe 8. As Rich doesn’t update that blog anymore, I wondered if anyone had an idea as to who this is. They’d certainly be my favorite player, and a major source of inspiration to me.
I have the original; tape, with Séamus MacMathúna’s announcements, but I haven’t digitised it so can’t check quickly. It may be John Carlos, if memory serves. I’ll check and confirm (or correct) over the weekend.
Wow! Thanks so much. I’d love to hear the actual announcements if there’s a version out there somewhere with them. I can’t find John playing solo anywhere on the internet. I’m not a huge fan of sessions, or at least, the way sessions are in the US, so finding really inspiring solo recordings is the main place I hear music I want to learn.
Awesome stuff, DunnP. Thanks for the link to Comhaltas. It’s definitely John Carlos I’m thinking of then. Is there more to these recordings than 30-second previews? I’d love to have more of John’s playing.
I have a very unusual cassette tape a fairly young John Carlos made with an Irish Country & Western singer. He has some flute tracks on it, some tracks where he plays banjo, and this other guy singing sort of gospel / C&W songs. I think one of them was “Does Your Lawyer talk To God ?” !! I suppose I could put them in a “Dropbox” mailbox for you to hear, but I have some concerns about the security of that. Anybody have any opinions on “Dropbox” ? Otherwise, send me your email address in a Private Message, and I’ll email MP3 files of them to you.
You need to create an account to listen to the full recordings.
It’s free but there is an annoying noise “watermark” but I don’t even notice it any more.
Here is John Carlos’ track from the 1983 lp ‘Comhaltas on Tour’;, the tunes are Over the Moor to Maggie and Jack Dolan’s reel (=The Bush in Bloom). Guitar by Treasa Ní Cheannaigh.
Whatever else about those tours, the silly outfits and the air of paddywhackery, they usually had a good complement of fluteplayers. The 1983 one not only had John Carlos but also Marcas O Murchú and Michael Flatley in its line-up. Other years people like Tommy Guihan, Mike Rafferty, Patsy Hanly and others who were not otherwise recorded commercially for a long time were included.
I know I have another tape somewhere with at least a few John Carlos trakcs, I’ll see if I can find it (no promises though).
Thanks so much. I’ve saved the track you posted, so if anyone wants it after you’ve taken it down they can just PM me. I was talking to John Winston last night on this same subject and he said he thought the contributions of the old ceilidh bands were undervalued, mentioning Carlos and Rafferty as great flute players in that vein. He also (quite rightly) chastised me for taking the “slip” out of a slip jig, but that’s another story…
