Irish flute news | The Flow

Recent additions to the discography

+ Conal O Grada's Cnoc Buí is a welcome return for the highly influential and well-regarded fluter from Cork. His only previous release, The Top of Coom, was in 1990. It makes me feel old to recall the impact it had at the time and the excitement it caused among those who heard it. By all accounts this is as good and has a nod towards the older styles in terms of accompaniment, which features just bodhrán master Colm Murphy on some tracks. If that seems uncompromising, it allows his musicality, tone, rhythm and technical control to shine. His MySpace page has sample tracks.

+ John Wynne has another solo CD after some well-received collaborative recordings and work promoting flute music in his native County Roscommon. Ar Nós na Gaoithe/ Like the Wind apparantly marks a new direction for John Wynne. According to Irish Music Magazine:

Following his critically-acclaimed duet album with fiddler John McEvoy on the Cló Iar-Chonnachta label in 2007, Roscommon flute-player John Wynne releases a new album which brings his solo playing back into focus.

Ar Nós na Gaoithe/ Like the Wind is an absorbing collection of fourteen virtuosic tracks, played with precision, discernment and breathtaking control. Nine years after his debut solo album, With Every Breath, John Wynne was compelled to make this second album, sensing his playing had turned a corner and that he had something new to offer.

As flute-player Conal O Grada writes on the sleevenotes, In flute playing, the elemental link between music and breath creates a dynamic tension of its own... John moves air through a flute with aplomb. In turns powerful and commanding... be prepared to be blown away!

A repertoire of popular session tunes which John learned from musicians over the years, Ar Nós na Gaoithe/Like the Wind also includes new compositions from fiddle players Tommy Peoples, Ed Reavy, Martin McGinley and Liz Knowles.

Originally from Roscommon, John Wynne began playing on tin whistle at eight and subsequently learned flute from Patsy Hanley. Hearing Sligo flute-player Peter Horan in full flow in the 1980s made a lasting impression, as did the solo recordings of Seamus Tansey and Matt Molloy.

He recorded two albums with the band Providence with whom he toured for several years, and is a member of the Roscommon Traditional Arts Forum, a pioneering organisation which released the album The Flute Players of Roscommon, which John produced. John Wynne is a regular tutor at summer schools and workshops in Ireland and beyond.

Again, you can find out more on his MySpace page.

+ Mike Rafferty has teamed up with fiddler Willie Kelly and frequent collaborator Donal Clancy on guitar to produce a duet +1 recording. The New Broom of the title is from the proverb, "A new broom sweeps clean, but an old one knows the corners". Mike Rafferty's east Galway repertoire and style of playing is sympathetically matched here by Willie Kelly's fiddle playing which acknowledges the influence of neighbouring east Clare fiddlers P Joe Hayes and Paddy Canny.

+ Staying with a Clare connection, the late and great Micho Russell of Doolin was a whistler, flute player and singer who recorded and released numerous tapes and LPs that had uneven distribution, not all of which made it to CD, let alone MP3. A rerelease on CD of Traditional Irish Music From County Clare, the milestone solo recording he did for Free Reed in 1975 has come to my attention.

There is a discussion of this recording on The Session.

+ Brian O'Connor is a Dublin flute and whistle player now resident in Germany. A former member of Oisín, he regularly performs with ex-Oisín singer Geraldine MacGowan. Come West Along the Road is his first solo outing and features many of his own compositions alongside traditional material. He is supported by a lineup that includes guitar, drums, bass and keyboards and you can hear and see more at his web site.

+ Fintan Vallely from Armagh needs almost no introduction. Flute player, whistler, journalist and author of several books on Irish traditional music, Timber was the first text book on Irish flute playing. For a while it wasn't always easy to obtain his music, but the re-issue on CD of Irish Traditional Music on Concert Flute, his recording made in 1979 and released in 1984 is welcome. I'm not sure how long it's been around, but it has now been added to the discography as well. Also of interest, the accompanying tape for Timber has also been reissued on CD.

He has more recently made a couple of CDs, one of which features his flute playing. The Stone Lane to Monaghan, made with Mark Siros on guitar has the old musical links between Scotland and Ireland as it's theme, featuring a number of tunes old and new from both traditions. It's an interesting project and one that I particularly find appealing.

He will be lecturing at Cruinniú na bhFliúit 2010 and more information about him can be found from his web site.

+ Sraid Eoin Shuffle is a recording by the award-winning Dingle, Co. Kerry flute and fiddle player Aoife Granville, who is also lecturing at Cruinniú na bhFliúit 2010. Featuring a mix of traditional tunes and newly composed tunes by established musicians such as Liz Carroll, Charlie Lennon and Phil Cunningham, she also sings and is backed by Donogh Hennessy and Tony Byrne on guitar, Ciarán Coughlan on piano, Deirdre on harp and Cuan Granville on bodhrán.

Again, more information from her MySpace page.

+ I first became aware of Steph Geremia when I caught some of her performance at Celtic Connections on TV last month when she was playing with The Alan Kelly Quartet. Her debut solo recording The Open Road was also news to me. Hailing from New York and now resident in Ireland, the tracks I have heard display a rich tone, inventive touch and thoughtful arrangements. Alex Monaghan, reviewing her for Folkworld.de says:

Brimful of confidence, with sparkling tone and a lovely choice of tunes, Stephanie Geremia's debut CD is an unexpected treasure.

More information from her MySpace page.

+ Noel Sweeney was the All-Ireland flute champion of 1982. , but released his debut recording in 2007. The Whinny Hills of Leitrim explores his roots in the area on various flutes, whistles and even saxophone at one point. Noel is supported by Paul Gurney on piano and strings, Sean Sweeney on guitar, Siobhan O'Donnell on bodhrán, and Noel Carberry on bones. According to Aidan O'Hara in Irish Music Magazine:

Some who have heard it say this is Noel Sweeney at his best, and that's saying something, because I'm told he always delivers when it comes to performing...The Whinny Hills of Leitrim CD includes a few original Leitrim tunes that are obscure, I'm told, pieces that Noel learned while playing in his old haunts of Aughavas and Cloone where he was inspired by local musicians.