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2011. július 30., szombat
Pllanxty biographia
PLANXTY
When some 12,000 people poured into Vicar St in Dublin and the Glór Irish Music Centre in Ennis, County Clare for Planxty’s first live dates in well over twenty years, it became apparent that these concerts were being celebrated not just by an audience of veteran folk music aficionados, but equally by a whole new generation of younger fans who previously could only dream of how Planxty sounded in the flesh. How beautiful it was to watch sons and daughters with mothers and fathers joined in mutual appreciation of these four musicians and their very unique musical chemistry. In fact, even Planxty’s own children got to see them perform together for the first time.
Planxty remain an important band for so many reasons. Revitalizing the Irish music scene at the lip of the 70s with a set of folk and traditional songs and tunes performed with an unusual line-up of instruments that included bouzouki, mandolin and guitars with uileann pipes, bodhrán and tin whistle, they brought ensemble playing to new and exciting heights, and traditional music to a whole new audience. At a time when the zeitgeist pointed towards rock music and folkies were turning electric, Planxty proved there was even more exhilarating music to be culled from acoustic sounds.
The band first came together for Christy Moore’s groundbreaking Prosperous album in 1970. Christy was a Kildare singer who spent much of the late-60s touring the British folk circuit. Disappointed with the lack of empathy the English session musicians had for the Irish songs on his debut album Paddy On The Road, Christy convinced producer Bill Leader to bring his mobile recording unit to Prosperous, Co. Kildare to record his second album with a band of Irish musicians of Christy’s choice. They set up in the basement of his sister Anne’s house (the front of which famously adorns the cover of the album) with a core band featuring Dónal Lunny, Andy Irvine and Liam O'Flynn.
Lunny was an old school pal of Christy’s who had been a member of a number of groups and had scored some success with the dashing folk-pop trio Emmet Spiceland. Andy Irvine was a London born child actor turned Woody Guthrie inspired troubadour who moved to Dublin in the 60s and became engrossed in the folk set that centred around O’Donoghues Pub on Baggot Street. He collected songs from the old books of the National Library and from Ciarán MacMathúna’s radio programmes and formed the hugely influential Sweeney’s Men, of whom Christy Moore was a big fan. By this time Liam O’Flynn was already one of Ireland’s most renowned pipers, a student and disciple of such giants as Leo Rowsome, Seamus Ennis and Willie Clancy. Another Kildare man, he had first been encountered by Christy and Dónal playing at sessions in Dowlings Pub in Prosperous many years previous.
The musical synthesis these players generated was so strong that the following year they formed a band that literally revolutionised Irish folk music. Their style was influenced by Irvine’s obsession with Eastern European musics, O’Flynn’s repertoire of traditional dance tunes and 17th century Carolan music, as well as the singing of the great John Reilly and the scoured pages of the PW Joyce Collection. They had many great musical attributes from Christy’s soulful voice and the mighty thump of his bodhrán to Dónal and Andy’s celebrated bouzouki-mandolin interplay, and Liam’s ability to lift the music into the stratosphere with his virtuoso piping.
Planxty first came into contact with the Irish public when they opened for Donovan on his Irish tour of 1971. With audiences going absolutely bananas for them night after night, Planxty had officially landed.
Planxty’s first album was self-titled, although commonly referred to as “The Black Album,” and remains a landmark recording in Irish music. Tunes such as Merrily Kissed the Quaker and Sí Bheag Sí Mhor were perfect examples of the Planxty sound and energy. Raggle Taggle Gypsy segued into the 17th century harp tune Tabhair Dom Do Lámh was a classic show stopper. And Andy Irvine’s own West Coast of Clare was one of the most lucid and melancholic love songs of its time. Planxty made two more great albums in their first period, The Well Below the Valley and Cold Blow & the Rainy Night, the latter featuring Andy’s old Sweeney’s Men comrade Johnny Moynihan replacing Dónal Lunny. Paul Brady also joined the band soon after, and Christy departed in 1975. Eventually their enthusiasm began to wane and they disbanded that same year.
During the interim Christy picked up the pieces of his solo career, Dónal formed another legendary group called The Bothy Band and concentrated on production. Liam O’Flynn collaborated with many great musicians. And Andy Irvine formed a duo with Paul Brady and made their famous self-titled 1976 album with Dónal producing.
By 1979 it seemed the Planxty players were ready to pick up where they left off. They reformed with the original line-up, with the addition of the Bothy Band’s Matt Molloy on flute (who went to join The Chieftains after one album). They recorded their fourth album After the Break and toured Europe extensively. The album features the rousing Bulgarian dance tune, Smeceno Horo, a big hit in the live set.
During this period of Planxty the musicians were careful not to neglect their individual careers. The recordings and tours were subsequently more sporadic. The music, however, was intricate and beautiful and on the following two albums, The Woman I Loved So Well and Words & Music, they surpassed themselves again. Additional musicians such as Noel Hill and Tony Linnane, Bill Whelan, James Kelly and Nollaig Casey contributed to various songs and performances over this period.
By 1982 the writing was on the wall for Planxty. Christy and Dónal had become more engrossed with the band Moving Hearts and not long after the release of Words & Music in 1983 the band fizzled out.
The screening of a documentary on Planxty as part of the No Disco music series on RTE in March 2003 revealed a whole new generation of musicians involved in many different realms of music with plenty to say about the influence and inspiration of Planxty’s music.
The documentary itself served as an inspiration to Planxty, and on October 11 2003 Christy, Dónal, Andy and Liam performed to some 200 lucky people at the Royal Spa Hotel in Lisdoonvarna, Co. Clare where they had been rehearsing that week. Buoyed by the reception they received, they decided they were ready for live performance again.
Following their official concerts in Vicar St and Glór in January and February 2004 Planxty released a live album culled from these performances, produced by Dónal, titled Planxty Live 2004. This recording documents the timeless magic of Planxty, the incredible durability of their music and the love that people have for these four musicians.
Here Planxty sound better than ever, which is not surprising since all four members have continued to play music. Listen to Christy sing Little Musgrave. Listen to his voice and diction. It’s the sound of a man still at the top of his game. Hear Liam O’Flynn bend the notes of An Buchaill Caol Dubh into a sorrowful tapestry and then raise the roof as he enters the fray An Tabhair Dom Do Lámh as the audience cheers him on. And listen to Andy and Dónal weaving in and out of each other with the greatest finesse.
Some thought it would never happen. Now it has it seems as though it was always inevitable that these players would be drawn back to each other. Who knows what will happen next?
2011. július 28., csütörtök
Mary Black Biography
MARY BLACK (Jackie Hayden - Music Writer - Hot Press)For the last quarter-century, singer Mary Black has been a dominant presence in Irish music, both at home and abroad. She has shared stages, tv shows and recording studios with some of the most revered performers of her time. She has also played a frontline role in bringing Irish music, past and present, to an increasingly appreciative and ever-growing global audience. The San Francisco Chronicle has described her as "One of the best interpretative singers around". At a time when less adventurous performers preferred to stick exclusively to the well-worn ballads from Ireland’s rich music heritage and the more obvious hits from contemporary writers, Mary explored the best work available from new composers and mined the rich seams they offered. That commitment to fresh material, combined with her unique interpretations of the songs she chooses, saw her release numerous albums that achieved platinum sales status and spawned countless hits. Indeed, one of Mary’s albums - No Frontiers - spent more than a year in the Irish Top 30! To the acclaim and awards Mary has received over the years from both the public and the critics must also be added the esteem she has generated from her fellow artists. Indeed, many of them have recorded and performed live with her, including Emmylou Harris, Mary Chapin Carpenter, Joan Baez and Van Morrison, not to mention a host of Irish traditional musicians and singers. Along the way she has also recorded and performed with her siblings in The Black Family and with her highly successful sister Frances. Coming from an intensely musical family, with her mother a fine singer and her father an entertaining fiddle player, Mary first came to the music public’s attention in the late ‘70s as a member of the group General Humbert with whom she recorded and toured. In 1983 she teamed up with guitarist/producer Declan Sinnott (later to become Christy Moore’s musical sidekick) and released her eponymously-named debut solo album. It reached No. 4 in the Irish Charts and is ranked among the best Irish albums of the early 1980's. It won her the Irish Independent Arts Award for Music, the first in a staggering sequence of awards that continue to come her way. Mary then joined an early incarnation of the legendary Irish folk group De Danann, with whom she made two acclaimed albums. She re-united with Declan Sinnott (formerly of the pioneering Horslips) to record her second solo album Without the Fanfare in 1985. That album achieved gold sales status. 1987 saw the release of her first multi-platinum album By the Time it Gets Dark and lead to The Telegraph in the UK describing her voice as "serene and achingly beautiful". By now a household name throughout Ireland, she was named Entertainer of the Year in 1986 and Best Female Artist in 1987 and 1988. But her popularity reached a new level with the release of the pioneering album No Frontiers in 1989. It generated triple-platinum sales as Mary's reputation began spreading far beyond her native shores to Europe, Australia, Japan and the USA, thanks to her superb stage shows and the success of her recordings in those markets. Babes in the Wood came in 1991, arriving in the Irish charts in the No 1 slot, and was followed by two sell-out shows at London’s prestigious Royal Albert Hall. Her UK concerts prompted hugely positive reviews from The Guardian, The Times and The Telegraph. She was also featured on the cover of the US music trade Bible Billboard which described her as "a firm favorite to join the heavy-hitting ranks of such Irish artists as Enya, Sinéad O’Connor and Clannad's Máire Brennan in the international marketplace.” They were right. Not surprisingly, her next album The Holy Ground in 1993 went platinum on the day of its release, followed by five sell-out shows at the Point Theatre in Dublin to an audience of 20,000. Her next album Circus in 1995 entered the British top 20 album charts. But ever one to seek new challenges, Mary invited renowned American producer Larry Klein to produce her 1997 album Shine which she recorded in Los Angeles. Speaking with the Angel followed in 1999, her unerring ear for quality contemporary songs unearthing new material by composers of the vintage of Shane Howard, Noel Brazil and Steve Cooney. As Ireland’s leading music magazine Hot Presssaid: “If it is a benchmark in excellence that you seek, a life-affirming statement, then this is the album for you. Staggering stuff.” In 2002 Mary was the subject of the revealing documentary Still Believing. It celebrated her extraordinary life in music, tracing her progress from her birthplace in Dublin’s inner city on a journey that has seen her conquer the musical world. Its recording was followed by a video of Mary and her band filmed on the final night of a triumphant week-long run at the Olympia Theatre in Dublin – one of Mary’s favourite venues. (The documentary and the live show were released together as Mary Black Live and accompanied by a live audio CD recorded at various venues around the world.) In 2005 Mary moved to West Kerry to record her first studio album in six years, Full Tide. It not only included songs by some of her favourite writers such as Bob Dylan, but it saw her make her debut as a composer in her own right. As Hot Press magazine said of it, “Mary Black is just hitting her vocal prime, singing with a newfound ease and confidence”. 2008 marked the 25th anniversary of Mary's first solo album, and to celebrate the momentous occasion Mary released a special compilation double album 25 Years/25 Songs. It featured a personal, hand-picked selection of gems spanning Mary's career and it still serves as a testament to the extraordinary range and quality of both her vocal prowess and her astute song selection. Mary recorded two brand new songs for the project, and the album went straight to No. 1 in the Irish charts, where it remained for a staggering five weeks, spending over seven months in the Irish top 40! The British magazine What Hi-Fi? considers Mary Black's voice to be so pure that they have repeatedly used it for comparing the sound quality of different high fidelity systems. In an industry noted for its fickleness and its almost insatiable need for fresh novelties, Mary Black’s enduring successes have proven that her depth of talent and her love of singing transcend the generations, as well as national and musical boundaries too. She is indeed a real Irish treasure and her talent a gift from this small Ireland to a grateful world. |
| RECOGNITIONS |
|---|
1983 - Irish Independent Arts Award 1986 - National Entertainment Awards / Best Female Artist 1987 - I.R.M.A. - Best Female Artist (Irish Recorded Music Awards) 1988 - I.R.M.A. - Best Female Artist 1992 - I.R.M.A. - Best Female Artist 1993 - Hot Press Awards - Best Irish Solo Artist 1993 - National Entertainment Personality of the Year 1994 - I.R.M.A. - Best Female Artist 1994 - I.R.M.A. - Best Irish Album / The Holy Ground 1994 - Belfast Telegraph E.M.A. - Best Irish Solo Artist 1996 - I.R.M.A. - Best Female Artist. 2000 - Irish Music Magazine – Best Female Folk Artist 2001 - Irish Music Magazine – Best Female Folk Artist 2003 - Irish Music Magazine – Best Contemp. Female Artist 2005 - Irish Music Magazine – Best Female Folk Artist 2006 - The Irish Post -- Lifetime Achievement Award |
2011. július 24., vasárnap
Todd Taylor biographia a világ leggyorsabb banjosaról
Four Time Grammy Nominee & "Guinness World Record Holder For Fastest Banjo-And Also First Person To Establish World Record And Current Holder"FOUNDED: 1974, Spartanburg S.C. By James Taylor, Todd Taylor, Known As The Taylor Twins, Toured The Bluegrass Circuit with Legends In Bluegrass such as Bill Monroe, Carl Story, Jim & Jesse, Grand Ole Opry, With Roy Acuff Nashville Network, Nashville On The Road Show With Major Country Acts, Major Appearances On Such Network TV Shows As "Live With Regis & Kathie Lee" ABC-TV-New York-CBS Television Networks Los Angeles, Todd Became The First Banjo Player In History To Take The Banjo To The Rock-n-Roll Worldwide Top-40 Countdown From Hollywood California On The Rick Dee's Weekly Top-40 As A Solo Instrument, With His Remake Of The Classic Rock Tune "FreeBird" AKA-Taylor's Freebird. Todd's Most Prestegious Accomplishments To Date Is Being A Grammy Nominated Recording Artist, Todd Was Grammy Nominated Two Years In A Row, A Great Acheivement In The Music Industry. Blazin Bluegrass Banjo Cd-Two Nominations Todd Taylor -Taylor Made Bluegrass Cd -4 Nominations Grammy Nominated Artist Todd Taylor presents his newest album "Taylor Made" A collection of original songs, some old standards arranged by Todd and some seldom heard classics done in Todd's fabulous banjo style. Todd's Grammy Nominated Album "Blazin Bluegrass Banjo" of last year was a great album. "Taylor Made" promises to eclipse the former album in both sales and popularity to say nothing of garnering more Grammy Nominations for the finest banjo player in the world! Todd Taylor a performing artist since age 6, worked with his twin brother Allen as the "Taylor Twins". They Performed with such legendary bluegrass acts as Bill Monroe "The Father Of Bluegrass", Carl Story, Roy Acuff and many more.
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