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Don’t box in O’Connor and O’Brien

February 17, 2011

By Staff Reporter

Joining Donncha O Briain on his solo recording were four members of his family: father Dinny on button accordion and whistle, brother Mick on uilleannn pipes, brother Tomas on fiddle, and brother Aindrias on bodhran and fiddle. Also on that album was Altan guitarist Mark Kelly from Coolock.
This musically rich O’Brien family has another sibling of powerful talent: uilleann pipes and whistle player John, who learned piping from his older brother Mick. John O’Brien links up with Ballyhar, Kerry, button accordion and whistle player Paudie O’Connor for “Wind & Reeds,” a late 2008 release spotlighting the highly unusual instrumental pairing of pipes and box.
In 2005 O’Connor issued a fine solo debut, “Different State,” featuring on fiddles his Tralee wife, Aoife, and his sister Noeleen, along with Joe Sullivan on flute and Paul De Grae on guitar. O’Connor honed his style on the mastery of such Kerry accordionists as Johnny O’Leary, John Brosnan, and Jimmy Doyle. The repertoire on O’Connor’s solo CD came from Sliabh Luachra, and the repertoire on “Wind & Reeds,” accompanied by North Cork guitarist Jim Murray and produced by Mick O’Brien, also comes from Sliabh Luachra for the most part.
Appropriate for an album of Sliabh Luachra music, the opening track is a medley of three polkas, “The Gneevguilla/Jim Ryan’s/John Collin’s,” where O’Brien’s pipes, O’Connor’s accordion, and Murray’s guitar combine for energetic, joyful music stirring both blood and feet.
“The Scartaglen/Kiss the Maid Behind the Barrel,” the second track, is a dazzling tandem of reels in which pipes and box take off, flitting and maybe twitting each other in midair. It is one of the most exhilarating cuts on the CD.
Just as impressive are the jigs “Nell Sullivan’s/The Drakes Lad” and the reels “The Smokey House/The Morning Star/O’Reilly’s Greyhound.” The close communication and brimming vigor between box and pipes are extraordinary and prompt a question: why hasn’t this particular instrumental pairing been done more frequently for a full album duet in the past? Perhaps it takes the well-blended musical talents of good friends and long-time playing partners O’Connor and O’Brien to break free of conventional thinking and make the connection work as well as it does here. Whatever the reason, the result is an unmitigated delight.
My appreciation and enjoyment never waned on the hornpipes “Shanahan’s/Freddie Kimmel’s” and “Corney Drew/The Turkey in the Straw,” the jigs “Humours of Killarney/John O’Connor’s/Denis Murphy’s” and “The Ducks in the Oats/A Tailor I Am,” and the reels “Bonnie Kate/The Wind That Shakes the Barley.” I also admire the pluck it took to pair “Bonnie Kate” with any reel other than “Jenny’s Chickens.”
Rounding out the album are John O’Brien’s solo piping on the air “Raghadsa’s Mo Cheati” and the jig “Gallagher’s,” Paudie O’Connor’s solo accordion playing on the polkas “The Ballinahulla/Mikey Buckley’s Fancy” and the air “O’Rahilly’s Grave,” their box and whistle playing on the slides “Johnny O’Leary’s/Timmy Clifford’s,” and their whistle duet on the reels “Cnoc Na bPoll/Gleann Eoghain.” All are performed with a distinctive gleam.
At a time when stringent economics are beginning to affect how Irish traditional music is produced, nudging performers to make sparer or less costly choices, this recording demonstrates what can be achieved with just three musicians in the studio. Paudie O’Connor and John O’Brien’s “Wind & Reeds” is another example of a self-issued CD of notable quality and will appear in my list of the top 20 Irish traditional albums of 2008.
For more information about the album, visit www.windandreeds.com or e-mail paudieoconnor@ireland.com or jobpipes@gmail.com.

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