House Concert

" It's very limiting to say that one should just play hornpipes, jigs and reels the 'old' style. Basically, people are saying that the way that they played it is the 'right' way and there's no other. I would never say that."

Wexford-born, New York City based button accordionist John Redmond offers a set of tunes from Ireland and beyond, recorded in a friend's basement specifically for the festival. While you are listening to the music, you can read Helene Northway's interview with John in RootsWorld.

The Tunes:
1. Dark Island, Down in the Tap Room, James Byrne's
2. Gan Ainn, The Orphan, The Haunted House
3. Itzikel

John writes:
"A musician friend named John O'Connell, who I gig with 2 times a week, recorded me playing these tunes in the basement of his house in Yonkers. He has a little home made studio there and our main problem was his son and their dog running around upstairs. "About the tunes: DARK ISLAND is a Scottish piece which was used for a BBC TV show in the 50s of the same name. DOWN IN THE TAP ROOM is a tune I learned in Ireland at a session. James Byrne is a Donegal fiddle player who might have written this tune or somebody might have heard him play it for the first time and called it after him. THE ORPHAN is an old session jig and the HAUNTED HOUSE another traditional tune. ITZIKEL is a klezmer piece, a frailach, a popular Jewish wedding dance." - JR

John Redmond's latest recording, East to Northeast, features guest appearances by some of the best musicians in the Irish music scene today, including Kevin Burke (fiddle) and Ged Foley (guitar). Listen to a set of reels from the recording.
The CD is available online at cdRoots

Songs are P.D. / All audio ©2001 John Redmond, used by permission