Irish Traditional Music CD Reviews - 2002
Bakerswell
Claddagh Records
Finally, we have it, this re-release of the brilliant 1972 recording from some of Ireland's finest traditional musicians. The musicians here read like a who's who from the early 70s in Dublin; fiddler John Kelly Jnr., son of the famous Clare-born fiddler, John Kelly Snr., fiddler Kevin Glackin, John McEvoy on flute, Mick Hand on flute, and whistle-player Seán Potts. And Seán Potts is joined here by his son Seán Óg on uilleann pipes and Nóirín Ó Donoghue on harp, among others.
Perhaps the best-known player on this CD is the renowned Seán Potts on tin whistle. The son of John Potts, a melodeon player, and the nephew of Tommy Potts, the famed fiddler, Seán fell in with Paddy Moloney in the 1950s. In time, Seán and Paddy became original members of Seán Ó Riáda's brainchild, Ceoltóirí Cualann. Ceoltóirí Cualann was later re-born into a group you may have heard of called The Chieftains in 1963.
The bright, open, and unhurried sound that Potts and Moloney helped to create with the Chieftains also shines through in this CD. With the gentle and lovely opening strings of Nóirín Ó Donoghue's harp on the first tune, soon met by the clear, high call of Seán Potts tin whistle, you can tell early on that you're in the presence of great talent.
The first set of reels, Paddy's Trip to Scotland and The Wild Irishman, is a first-rate example of what pipes and fiddle can and should sound like together. As the crisp sound of the pipes and the sweet sound of the fiddle curl and swirl together like wild Celtic knotwork, well, tá ceol draíochta ann.
Also in it is a seldom-heard Turlough O Carolan piece called Madam Maxwell. And then there are the other pieces, polkas, jigs, some Kerry slides, a few reels, and some marches. All reflect a deep understanding and love of the music, which are expressed in a vibrant, rich sound that makes the listener feel like they are sitting in a comfortable living room there with the performers, listening to the sound of magic itself, draíocht, fá lán seoil.
This CD is available at www.claddaghrecords.com or from Celtic Grooves
THE ROUGH GUIDE TO IRISH MUSIC SUPPLEMENT
Bakerswell
Lovers of The Chieftains shouldn’t overlook the eponymous album by Bakerswell, led by the band’s former tin whistler, Seán Potts, nephew of the fiddler, Tommy Potts. Reminiscent of his erstwhile colleagues’ early landmark albums, Bakerswell’s light, breezy sound was characterised by sprightly unison playing, no better on the set of jigs begun by Dolly Keane’s. The pipes of Seán’s son Seán Óg and fiddles of Kevin Glackin, John Kelly jr. and John McEvoy are well to the fore while colours and contrasts derive from the harp of Nóirín O’Donoghue, Mick Hand’s flute and, of course, the senior Potts’s whistle.
Cass Bakerswell (1988, Claddagh). Colourful, joyous playing from a short-lived but powerful ensemble.
Reviews 2002-2003
Pay The Reckoning July 2002
Bakerswell (Claddagh Records CCF20CD)
Although it's been available in other formats for some time, Bakerswell - the only recording of a short-lived project which formed out of a fund-raising venture for Na Piobairi Uilleann - has recently been released on CD. The members of the project were Sean Potts (whistle), Sean Og Potts (uilleann pipes), Kevin Glackin (fiddle), John Kelly Junior (fiddle), John McEvoy (fiddle), Mick Hand (flute), Noirin O Donoghue (harp) and the ubiquitous Steve Cooney (guitar and keyboard).
Given the similarities in their respective set-ups, it's perhaps not surprising that at various points the listener might be forgiven for thinking that they're listening to the Chieftains. Indeed, Bakerswell share more than just a superficial resemblance to Moloney's trad orchestra. The two outfits have a similiar tendency to seek out the melodic nub of a tune and present it minus blood and thunder. And so, if you like your music full of ill-judged back-slapping and raucousness, Bakerswell is best avoided. If, on the other hand, you hanker after a delicacy of touch, a concern for melody and a sense of deep and abiding affection for the tunes, you could do no better than to acquire this album.
Bravely, the album opens with an air (Cailini an Fhactory), with O'Donoghue taking the lead. This is a statement of intent - a bucking of trends. By rights the album should have opened with a brash set of reels ... But this is Bakerswell. Seasoned musicians. Who know what they know by dint of having walked the walk and who have no need to prove anything to anybody. You'll get your reels and your jigs in good time ...
And so we do ... reels played with vim and with assuredness - Paddy's Trip to Scotland/The Wild Irishman; Sarah Hobb's/Farewell to Eireann; East Clare/The Pullet/The Union Reel; Molly Ban/Quinn's - and with the variety of instrumentation that is possible within a large ensemble.
The single Carolan piece on the album - Madam Maxwell - plays to the strengths of the highly experienced and controlled players within Bakerswell.
The band are majestic in their playing of two sets of tunes from Kerry - a set of slides and a set of polkas. They hold nothing in reserve, all hands get tore in to making cracking music.
This ability to handle the delicate, filigreed baroque of Carolan pieces and the wild, surging dance music with equal facility is a trademark of the Bakerswell project, and a stamp of quality to which many traditional outfits aspire - few with the success that Bakerswell meet.
Available from Claddagh Records, www.claddaghrecords.com.
Bakerswell
Bakerswell CDs
The Session Recordings - Bakerswell by Bakerswell
See Groups: Bakerswell
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