I could listen to The Stone in the Field over and over again and still pick up something new in his chanter work…there’s something to be said for the Art of Listening. No regs also helps.
The recordings by Sean Reid when he was younger are even more amazing, musical, virtuosic and beautiful. Plus there’s loads of regulator playing. That’s the only flaw with Stone in the Field, really… no regs. Tommy Reck was a great reg player.
I am desperate to get hold of any recording by Tommy Reck, either Stone in the Field, or anything else by him. Would anyone have a spare copy, or mind doing a copy for me? PM me!
Perhaps some of you might be interested in how I came to record
Tommy Reck’s album “A stone in the Field” truly one of the sweetest and
best albums of Irish piping on record.
At some un-remembered time, around 1972, I came across a recording
on a tape in the possession of Gene Frain, piper and flute player, in his
apartment in Boston. “Who is that” I said, “Its Tommy Reck playing 'The
Scholar” he replied. I wondered then if Tommy was still alive.
Later that year I arrived at the apartment of Liam O’Flynn and
Seamus Ennis located in the Ballsbridge section of Dublin. After hanging
around a few days I asked Liam’s brother if he knew of Tommy Reck. Not
only did he know him but he got him on the phone and two hours later Tommy was
sitting there in the kitchen bashing away. I knew then that I had to get
him to record.
Another year went by. I corresponded with Tommy a few times
and he agreed to record. When I arrived in Dublin I went over to Tommy’s
house only to discover that his pipes were in bits-- no reeds and leaking
like a sieve. Tommy was embarrassed and I was disappointed. I then made
him a proposal: If I got the pipes going would he record? He agreed and
I took the pipes, a beautiful 200 year old set by Kenna of Dublin, back
to my apartment. I forgot to mention that I also play the pipes. Anyway,
I spent an entire week making new reeds and fixing Tommy’s pipes. When I
delivered the pipes to Tommy he was taken aback-- it seems that he did
not believe that I could get them going.
Tommy rehearsed and boned up on his technique for the next two weeks.
On the day of the recording Tommy arrived full of enthusiasm. I had all
of the equipment set up and Tommy sat down and started to play. I was so
stunned by the sheer beauty of his playing that I had a hard time keeping
my mind on what I was doing. Most of the recordings were done in one take.
Aside from a few false starts and a drone shutting down now and then
forcing us to start over, everything went smooth. None of this upset Tommy
who maintained his good humor and cheer throughout the session.
In my minds eye I can still see him sitting there playing away
and smoking his pipe at the same time. The performances on this record
come as close to capturing that “undescribable something” as any record
I have ever heard. Tommy was steeped in the tradition and
was truly a great piper and human being and I miss him something fierce.
There is a really great photo of myself and Tommy on the Uilleann Pipes Obsession page.
This was taken during the recording session .
I now have in my possession quite a few recordings of Tommy…certainly enought to make a 2 CD set. If I can raise enough interest I might be persuaded to edit the recordings and put them out on CD
Patrick Sky
The interest is there Pat.
Looking forward to hearing it!
Pat.
The interest is there
And here
AND HERE…here… ASAP please.
The book you made years ago was the start of my piper and reedmaker life.
Regards
Ole
I have often wondered why no one had re-issued Stone in the Field, and/or made a new CD of other recordings of him— There has to be many recordings of him out there (I realize of varying quality, but that never stopped me from listening to anyone). Pat, by all means, PLEASE release your recordings. It would be a great service to to many. I remember long ago, maybe the early 80’s, you released some Seamus Ennis and Willie Clancy recordings from your private stock on cassette. I have and still listen to those.
Yes, there are quite a few recordings floating around, some off the radio, some from private collections. It would be great to get as much of his recorded works back in circulation again. A book or two of transcriptions and explaining his technique wouldn’t go amiss, either. There are several well-known pipers of today who all state that Tommy was their influence, or that they go their version of a tune from him.
djm
Hi Pat
There is a lot of interest. I would love a copy.
What do we need to do to get this ball rolling?
You could also put together a book on these pipers. You always have great stories about these people. You could start by copying much of what you have contributed to this forum over the years.
P.S. thanks for your booklet on reed adjustments; I was just using this past weekend.
Thanks Pat for the very interesting history of the recording…it is certainly a great contribution to piping and more Tommy Reck recordings would be greatly appreciated.
Nico, I like regs, but when it comes to listening at a deeper level than simple pleasure, the absence of regs on this recording makes Mr Reck’s chanter work so much more accessible…I love the fact that each time I listen to it, without fail there’ll be something else which captures my attention that I missed the previous listening.
I say all this only to discover that I seem to have misplaced my CD. I hope it didn’t get lost in transit back home from Jakarta 
There is most definitely interest! Bring it on Pat!
Here is the photo of Pat and Tommy from the UilleannObsession.com
It is kinda small.
site
Pat (Sky),
Dooooooooooooooooooooooooo it!
What a lovely picture!!! Wish Tommy was still with us!!! Glad you are Pat, and much thanks for recounting that story!
[quote=" That’s the only flaw with Stone in the Field, really… no regs. "
[/quote]
“Flaw” the man says???
…oh, for the love of God…!
This was already posted, but here’s a YouTube clip of Tommy Reck and Peadar O’Loughlin. Would that be the Kenna set Tommy is playing?
It is - amazing set of pipes.
Pat.
Count me in too. Thanks so much.
So when does the learning piper study the art of pipe smoking while playing, does that come before or after the regs? 