In another thread I just finished reading, someone commented that the true geniuses of Irish music are not as well known as, say, Celine Dion or the Corrs.
So, that got me wondering … who are your favorite Irish musicians? If you were to recommend a couple of musicians or groups for a newbie to listen to, which ones would you recommend?
My favorite whistle player is Laurence Nugent. All 3 of his cd’s are great, but, I especially like Windy Gap, his most recent.
Fiddle players I like are Martin Hayes and Kevin Burke. Groups are The Chieftains, Planxty (old recordings from the '70’s), Bothy Band (many renowned players in that one, but from yrs ago). The Dubliners is another long-lived group. Watch for a release of their Instrumental cd, an import. Lunasa is a recent grouping of outstanding players; all their cd’s are great. These are all easy to find recordings. There are a lot of old classic players who influenced this generation who are often hard to locate: Willie Clancy, Seamus Ennis, etc, many who are no longer alive, but whose recordings are considered mandatory for the connoissure (no idea if that’s spelled right) or student of Irish music. And all these listed are the people who went the recording route. There are others known only locally here and there who may be great, but not so well known, simply because they didn’t record widely distributed albums.
Tony
I’m quite fond of Mary Bergin’s music myself, but I’m by no means an authority on the subject of Irish music…
(I do have a feeling that plenty of people would agree, though… 
)
Often it kind of depends on what other kinds of music you listen to. If you like Adult Contemporary, get Mary Black or Clannad. If you like folk-rock, get Steeleye Span, Gaelic Storm, or Capercaillie (I know they’re not necessarily Irish). If you like the accordion, you can’t go wrong with Sharon Shannon, and if you like prog-rock (Yes, Genesis, King Crimson, etc.), get Iona. However, if it’s traditional music you’re after, go for some of the ones listed above, along with Cherish the Ladies, Solas, Altan, and whoever else you think sounds good on the listening stands at Barnes & Noble.
Anyway, there’s a whole world of Irish music out there for anyone willing to dig through all those CD’s!
Take care,
BB
Donal Lunny, a wonderful trad. Irish composer and musician has been there (since the Bothy Band in the 70’s), done it all, played with most of them and is often not recognised in a group shot that included Paul Brady or Christy Moore.
Joe McKenna is a great piper and whistle player.
Frankie Gavin and most of De Dannan, know how to knock out a tune!
But, there are really so many, it would be hard to list them all. These people are not genius’s, though, but highly talented and often under-rated musicians.
Steve Power
The trouble with the geniuses in Irish music is that they are doubly hidden, I think. Even the super stars of Irish Trad recording artists, like Martin Hayes or Christy Moore are obscure compared to pop stars. But I believe that there are probably an equal number of Irish Trad geniuses playing in a kitchen somewhere, not interested in recording and not known beyond a circle of musicians and conniseurs. I wouldn’t know them, either, unfortunately.
As for the recored artists, my short list of Geniuses would include Andy Irvine (who revolutionized mandolin and bouzouki playing), making it something between melody and accompanyment), Jonny Monihan (who introduced the bouzouki to Irish Trad), Paul Brady (who transformed guitar accompanyment).
Steve, I agree with your nomination of Donal Lunny, but he was with Planxty before he joined the Bothies in 1975. But perhaps his rhythm work with the Bothies was more important.
Paddy Keenan from the Bothy Band is a name that is surely being spoken of again. I’m in no way able to say if he is or isn’t a genius, but from what I have read lately, he is back and gaining high esteem once again.
I would love to hear more about him on this thread.
I guess it depends on what you mean by genius. I think I would concur with Planxty as being tops in my book, plus each (original) member illustrates a different type of genius.
Andy Irvine is a brilliant musician (mandolin, mandola, bouzouki, guitar, hrudy-gurdy, harmonica, and that’s just what I’ve seen him play), good singer and great interpreter of song, occasional but wonderful songwright, and innovator, bringing a lot of Eastern European influences into Irish music.
Christy Moore is a great interpreter and writer of song.
Liam O’Flynn is one of the best there is on uillean pipes and whistle.
Donal Lunny is a great accompanist, arranger, writer, and producer who has had a far-reaching influence on Irish and other music.
Not only is each of these guys a living legend, they really gelled as a band.
There are others who have excelled in other areas. I think Sharon Shannon has done wonderful things as an innovator who mixes Irish trad with music from other cultures (A traditional Irish reel with a reggae beat and a sax solo? Who else could make that work?).
The Chieftains are a band of great musicians who have marketed themselves wonderfully. I’m not crazy about what they’ve done in the last decade or two, but I do give them credit for bringing the music to a new audience.
Seamus Egan is so good on so many instruments it’s amazing. (Actually, I wish he’d play the flute MUCH more than he has lately.)
Just my rambling, not particularly well-informed and definitely incomplete opinion, Charlie
Our own Mick Woodruff! 
and for innovative instuments the berserkly innovative and creative, Erik T.
Ducking and running
Let it shine! Anna “Dances with Weasels” Martinez
[ This Message was edited by: Anna Martinez on 2002-02-13 20:42 ]
My favorite band is Dervish, and I really enjoy Grey Larsen’s whistle playing.
-brett
Here we go again, recording artists and certainly bands are NOT representative for traditional music. And good players are not necesarily the geniuses. Some of the above pointed that out already, probably because they knew I would jump at it. If you want to slap around the superlative, apply it to the real geniuses of the tradition, the people who carried something significant, the best of their style/area/instrument, and passed it on at crucial points in time : Seamus Ennis, Willie Clancy, Bobby Casey, Junior Crehan, Martin Rochford, Johnny Doran, Paddy Canny, Micho Russell, John Kelly, Patsy Touhey, Patrick Kelly, Denis Murphy Padraig O Keeffe, Michael Coleman, Tommy Potts, Tommy Peoples, Tommy Reck, Paddy Killoran, Paddy Fahy, that sort of people.
[ This Message was edited by: Peter Laban on 2002-02-14 04:13 ]
Fair enough Peter. However, Paddy Keenan.
BTW, I never knew Celine Dion was Irish! I always thought she was American
Andy Irvine has done so much for the development of irish music (at least “lately”),that it is hard to not have him at the top of the list.
I vote for Peter Laban! If he’d only put more clips on C&S
Christian
oops, double post…
[ This Message was edited by: ChristianRo on 2002-02-14 06:07 ]
Peter, of course the people you mention are “greats” within the Irish tradition. I doubt anyone will argue against it. However, the original poster was (also) looking for advice on what to listen to; replies to that requires stuff that’s accessible. And CDs with many of the comtemporary artists mentioned above are much easier to get than more or less obscure releases with the old guys.
In addition, it is my belief that for someone new to Irish traditional music, learning to appreciate the music might actually be easier if one starts off with something a bit easier on the ears than the old masters. Probably much easier to start with the rock/folkish recordings of Lúnasa, Solas and their like, and then - if - one feels drawn to it, gravitate towards the more pure drop music. Sort of like letting someone who’s never had coffee put milk in it at first.
So, a couple of suggestions of (more or less) contemporary music, off the top of my head:
Bands; Planxty, Patrick Street, Sliabh Notes, Flook (the last for the funky music and the brilliant flute playing), La Lugh, Deanta, etc…
Individual artists; Matt Molloy, Kevin Burke, Mary Bergin, Kevin Crawford, Noel Hill, Frankie Gavin.
Jens
On 2002-02-14 05:26, nickt wrote:
BTW, I never knew Celine Dion was Irish! I always thought she was American
She sang in the Eurovision for Switzerland or some place like that and isn’t (French) Canadian these days?? She did seem a bit out of place here. Maybe we should blame it all on the Titanic?
On 2002-02-13 15:35, mwewriter wrote:
In another thread I just finished reading, someone commented that the true geniuses of Irish music are not as well known as, say, Celine Dion or the Corrs.So, that got me wondering … who are your favorite Irish musicians?
Jens, this was the question, triggered by a remark I think I made myself, I think I provided a fair answer to that.
And ‘obscure old guys’? Of those I mentioned a good few recorded and are readily available so why not go in at the deep end?
Jens, this was the question, triggered by a remark I think I made myself, I think I provided a fair answer to that.
I’m sorry then, but to be honest I thought your
Here we go again, recording artists and certainly bands are NOT representative for traditional music
post sounded like you were jumping at the previous posters for some implicit “new artists are better than the old ones” attitude, rather than just replying to the original question… My mistake.
Re. the deep end: You might drown!
Cheers,
Jens
Jens, In my post I added that some of the previous posters had pointed that out, because they knew I would jump at it, I took the sting out it this way. I thought so anyway.
I was listening to some groups on the radio last night and really that sort of music doesn’t figure at all in the way I think about Irish music. Which offcourse doesn’t mean there isn’t some great music out there but when I think of ‘Irish music’ I see a different image, hear a different sound.
I have also conciously chosen (with the exception of Tommy Peoples) an older generation of players. I cannot fully assess the impact of today’s players. There are tremendous players around these days, whom of them will be the true geniuses that made a lasting contribution? Only time will tell.
I was goign to add something about availability issues. Obscure as the players may be to some of you, I was both in Custy’s and The Knotted Chord in Ennis just now, between them they cover most available recordings and hey, it’s the internet age, drop them an e-mail and a credit crad number and a week later the postman will drop your obcure releases on your doorstep. And won’t even have to go anywhere.
[ This Message was edited by: Peter Laban on 2002-02-14 09:12 ]