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featuring John McGann

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UPSLIDE NOW RE-RELEASED and available at my digital store

UPSLIDE TRANSCRIPTION BOOKS FOR MANDOLIN AND GUITAR - 

complete with standard notation, tab and chord symbols

http://www.cdbaby.com/cd/johnmcgann

John McGann "Upslide" 

1995 instrumental album of original and traditional music combining Celtic and American styles.Primarily acoustic music, but a few electric guitars in there as well. Guests include Evan Stover of Fiddle Fever on violin and viola, John Whelan of Kips Bay on accordion, members of Beacon Hillbillies, Jim Mouradian and Sharon McGann. Includes 12 of my original compositions as well as a long medley of fiddle tunes and Debussy's "La Fille aux cheveux de lin" arranged for two guitars and bass. I also play dobro, steel, electric and acoustic guitars and mandolin.

 

"A diverse, dense, dexterous delight"--Sing Out

"..a style that demonstrates a true mastery of the Irish and country/bluegrass instrumental traditions, but does go that one step beyond to make a personal statement, calling upon a true artistry that few possess."--Karen White, Victory Review

"One of New England's most notorious instrumental hotshots and sidemen-of-choice steps out here, with an album of his own. McGann excels on mandolin, guitar, pedal steel and a bewildering array of other instruments. This set of 22 pieces, 12 of them originals, betrays such a myriad of influences (Celtic, Bluegrass, Jazz) that it defies classification--except to say that it all blends together seamlessly and with great skill." --Elderly Instruments

"Upslide is one of those recordings that causes lesser musicians to give up in despair...in one word,splendid."--Dirty Linen

"Well this is a good 'un, it should appeal to a wide cross section of our readers as it draws on John McGann's bluegrass roots with the Beacon Hillbillies and mixes them with Celtic, French Canadian and Old Timey styles, to produce an interesting and entertaining cocktail...at times gentle and reflective...at other times, uptempo country picking in the style of Albert Lee.. this album is a refreshing variation on the type of acoustic instrumental albums usually found in these pages...a real toe-tapper, y'all..."- Folk on Tap, UK

============

“When I heard John McGann’s “Upslide” I was immediately “hooked”. Since then. I’ve worked
with John on numerous occasions...I’m still hooked! Any gig with John is an absolute delight. A
gifted multi instrumentalist who can play and write it all.
John’s compositions are a testament to his individuality, and a reflection of his own unique
musical vision. While they all have lovely melodic lines and harmonic structures, they are all
markedly different and unquestionably worth the effort to learn.
His guitar and mandolin work are exemplary, with total control. He can reach in and squeeze
your heart one minute, or take your mind some other place, and bowl you over with blistering
technique.”
Joe Derrane, master Irish accordionist

"John McGann is one of the most tasteful and versatile pickers on today's acoustic scene. More
than that, he knows what he's playing and can write it down so we can all learn a few new
tricks."
David "Dawg" Grisman

"John McGann is my kind of musician- articulate and brainy, but with a wide perspective on the
past, present, and future."Upslide" shows how one can simultaneously preserve and update
traditional music. I smile when I hear him play."
Tim O’Brien

"John McGann has it all, repertoire, notes, technique, but most important, John has the heart
for music. Its one thing to be a technician, and another thing to be an artist. John is the best of
both. A consummate musician."
Frank Ferrel

Upslide finally reissued, 2011
I originally prepared the guitar and mandolin editions of this album for publication via Mel Bay.
Unfortunately, it remained unpublished, and eventually (many years later) the licensing
reverted back to me, and here we are! The text and transcriptions in the book were written
around 1999. I hope these books will be helpful to anyone curious about the music on the CD.

Available here!

John McGann "Plays Bach, Debussy, Rodrigo"(OCP 003)

Now available at my digital store.

A rare, independently released recording of original arrangements/transcriptions of keyboard, orchestral and choral scores for mandolin, mandola, mandocello and guitar.

    In the 1980's, I recorded a series of self-produced solo projects- "John McGann Mandolin and Guitar", "Off Center", and "John McGann Plays Bach, Debussy, and Rodrigo". The latter developed from a friend's casual comment about how it might be good to do a project that features one style of music, rather than seven. I decided to select some music that I liked that would need to be specifically arranged for the instruments I play- in this case, mandolin, mandola, mandocello and guitar. My good friend John Zeidler had created a pair of beautiful instruments, the mandocello and mandola, for a great mutual pal named Stewart Rotchford. Stew was kind enough to loan me these axes to use along with my Zeidler mando and dreadnought guitars. Sadly, John passed away in 2002 of leukemia. To my knowledge, this is the only recording that features the sound of his instruments exclusively. All three mando family instruments are F style archtops, while the guitar is a dreadnought, voiced with John Zeidler's amazing penchant for a balance between low and high, and great piano-like harmonic content on the wound strings.

    I acquired the scores of the music and set to arranging for various combinations of these four instruments. The pieces are originally composed for keyboard, lute, chorus, and in the case of the Rodrigo, an entire orchestra! I worked at a very relaxed pace creating the scores and parts by hand (in the pre-computer days, mind you), and recording the pieces as time allowed in my humble home studio, which was my bedroom with a "sound booth" made by hanging blankets from the ceiling. As this was before the computer era, I had to think of a way to deal with keeping "in time" when the music needed to breathe rhythmically (alias "rubato"). My solution was to record a baseline click track onto cassette. I would then record a track onto the Teac clapping and singing the melody, and when the time needed to pull back, I would do so and use the click as a guide to recover "a tempo" when needed.  Not the most elegant solution, but it worked!

    I used a Countryman condensor microphone, and tracked onto a wonderful analog Teac 4 track machine also loaned by my friend Stewart, with the aid of rented Dolby noise reduction. After about a year and a half of occasional fits and starts, I had assembled the music and took it to engineer Bob Reardon's home studio, where over the course of three or four evenings we mixed late into the night, often with four hands on the board, from analog onto the Sony digital VCR tape that was the high tech solution of 1989. As you'll hear (at least on some of the tracks), I am not a big fan of the overuse of reverb, and leaned toward having the mixes be "ambient" without being overly "wet" or "dry" sounding, although if I were to remix today I would have them even drier. My "remastering" from DAT to audio CD via 32 bit conversion merely added some gain for the mp3 release- no Pro Tools, extra reverb, compression, or other gloss.


1. First Arabesque (Debussy)
2. Second Arabesque (Debussy)
3. Prelude/Allemande from Partita #1 in Bb (JS Bach)
4. Adagio-Concerto de Aranjuez (Rodrigo)
5. Serenade to the Doll from The Children's Corner (Debussy)
6. Goldberg Variation #21 (JS Bach)
7. Goldberg Variation #26 (JS Bach)
8. Gigue, from Lute Suite #1 (JS Bach)
9. Jesu, Joy of Man's Desiring, from Cantata #147 (JS Bach)
10. Passepied, from Suite Bergamasque (Debussy)

Now available at my digital store.

Recent Releases featuring John McGann on guitar/mandolin/octave mandolin:

Joe Derrane with John McGann: Grove Lane

Voted #1 Traditional Irish Recording of 2010, Irish Echo

In the spring of 2009, I had the pleasure of engineering this recording at the home of Joe Derrane, my great friend and musical mentor. Over a course of weeks, we recorded many of Joe's favorite trad tunes, and seven of his unique originals, including an incredible tango. I am very proud of this project, and of the amazing musicianship of one of America's acknowledged greatest treasures.


At the age of eighty, Joe adds another album to his handful of recordings since the 1995 release of Give Us Another on Green Linnet Records. Of course, there were one or two Joe Derrane recordings before 1995 – about fifty years before, in fact. An icon of a former age of Irish music, presumed dead for many years, Green Linnet has been recently resurrected by Compass Records. Joe Derrane, on the other hand, seems to be immortal - his ’50s accordion style speaks to us now as it always has. Granted the man has lost a little dexterity, but if anything this enhances his performance, brings it within the grasp of ordinary mortals. The hallmark of Derrane’s playing has always been his crisp ornamentation, occasionally threatening to overpower the melody: a reminder of Derrane’s great influences John Kimmel and Jerry O’Brien.
 
On this CD, the staccato triplets are leavened by an occasional slur, a tendency to let the melody drift just behind the beat, which adds a warmth and human touch to this superman of Stateside Irish music. John McGann’s guitar provides the finest support for Joe’s music, driving the tunes and filling the space behind the melody.
 
The tunes themselves are as fine as ever. Many are drawn from Martin Mulvihill’s collection, making me wonder if Joe shares Martin Hayes’ approach to recordings, based on recent finds and whatever is stuck in his head at the time. It’s not a bad system. The Slate Roof, Molly on the Shore and The Low Level Hornpipe are all from Mulvihill. The Lost Jig, Kit O’Connor’s and Mac’s Fancy are not so easy to find, and all deserve to be better known. There are several Derrane originals here too: Grove Lane is both the street where Joe lives and a fine barndance he composed in its honour, paired here with the schottische Fancy Free, two recent creations of this tireless tunesmith. Breakfast with Jerry and The Prayer Reel show Joe’s command of traditional reels and jigs, while Tango Derrane and the tender Waltzing with Anne allow his virtuosity and expression free rein.
 
This album is full of quality, and a further testament to the living legend that is Joe Derrane.
 
Alex Monaghan, January 2011, Irish Music magazine

===============================================

JOE DERRANE / JOHN McGANN:
The Man Behind The Box

Released March 2006



Review By Earle Hitchner, The Irish Echo, 3/06:


      Historically, a large part of Irish traditional music in America (and a significant part in Ireland itself) was shaped by the impact of such immigrant figures as Michael Coleman, James Morrison, P. J. Conlon, John McKenna, Patsy Touhey, Capt. Francis O'Neill, Ed Reavy, Paddy Killoran, Paddy O'Brien, Paddy Reynolds, Martin Wynne, James "Lad" O'Beirne, Louis Quinn, Terry "Cuz" Teahan, Joe Cooley, Paddy Cronin, and Kevin Keegan. They all lived for a time in America, and many of them spent virtually their entire adult lives here. The greatest Irish traditional player, composer, and collector during the last century were Coleman, Reavy, and O'Neill, all from Ireland, all longtime residents of the U.S. where they made their biggest mark.

      Irish traditional figures of that enduring stature and influence who were born, raised, and remained in the United States are fewer. They include Johnny McGreevy, Eleanor Kane Neary, and Andy McGann, three who helped to dispel kneejerk assumptions about authenticity linked to Irishness of birthplace and about talented Yanks fated to fall short or in the shadow of Irish-born masters.

      Boston-born button accordionist Joe Derrane certainly belongs in that list of Yanks who shook the trad tree to its roots. Subsequent generations of exceptional American players are obviously making their mark in the Irish tradition, and several of them will undoubtedly join the pantheon. But in the late 1940s, when he was still a teenager, Derrane cut a number of 78-rpm recordings on the D/C# box that established a new benchmark in virtuosity and compelled newfound admiration and respect from those same Irish-born masters. That achievement alone secures his place in the annals of America's finest Irish traditional musicians.

      Derrane wasn't finished, however. After a four-decade public performance hiatus on the Irish two-row button accordion, he returned to it in spectacular fashion on May 29, 1994, at the 18th annual Irish Folk Festival in the Wolf Trap Farm Park for the Performing Arts in Vienna, Va. (The role played by festival director Michael Denney and Marleen Denney, a member of the festival entertainment committee, in giving Derrane this bolt-from-the-blue opportunity deserves more historical credit.)

      Since then, the button accordionist who resides with his Longford-born wife, Anne, in Randolph, Mass., has released six CD's constituting more music than he recorded before the 1994 Wolf Trap comeback. In essence, he has burnished and monumentally extended his earlier reputation, and proved F. Scott Fitzgerald's famous truism wrong: "there are no second acts in American lives." This extraordinary, still flourishing second act of Derrane's musical life was one of the reasons why he earned America's highest accolade for folk and traditional arts, the National Endowment for the Arts' National Heritage Fellowship, in 2004.

      Made with fellow Massachusetts guitarist and mandolinist John McGann, Derrane's brand-new CD, "The Man Behind the Box," is another performance milestone. Now 76 years old, the button accordionist upends all notions of aging as he continues to expand his repertoire and refine his redoubtable technique, the influence of which is clearly showing up in more and more button box albums coming out of Ireland. Echoes of Derrane's trademark triplets frequently ripple through recordings made by younger accordionists, who have also responded positively to the exploratory and risk-taking side of his music.

      When was the last time you heard an Irish traditional button accordionist playing rhythmic accompaniment for a mandolinist throughout two entire tracks? Derrane does that for McGann in the reels "McFadden's/Dr. Gilbert's/Spike Island Lasses/Dr. Taylor" and the hornpipes "The Hawk/The Tailor's Twist/The Men From Ulster." The venturesome, egalitarian spirit of Derrane, probably the most accomplished accordion player of Irish hornpipes in history, is apparent in that latter track.

      Multi-talented McGann, who now teaches part-time at his alma mater, the Berklee College of Music, has become Derrane's go-to accompanist in recent years. He uses a mainly Irish rhythm palette dappled with bluegrass, old-timey, swing, and New Acoustic colors to create a unique, proportioned, roots-rich style that complements and challenges as much as it reassures and buttresses. Creative sparks between the two instrumentalists fly not from temperament but from touch, as they settle into a groove that never deteriorates into a rut.

      In the past, McGann's approach to accompaniment has discomforted some trad diehards who prefer more predictable or so-called "invisible" backing. But "he knows what's Irish," Clare-born fiddler Seamus Connolly said in praising McGann, and even the most implacable purists cannot dispute his exceptional ability and percolating musical ideas. Michael Coleman, Paddy Reynolds, and Tommy Peoples, to cite just three, all suffered on occasion from plodding or tin-eared accompanists. Derrane doesn't. With McGann, he matches musical strengths, not circumvents musical weaknesses. And McGann provides another advantage: he is a superb soloist, as his wholly unaccompanied mandolin latticework on the slow air "Dark Island" demonstrates.

      If John McGann shines brightly as the man behind the box player, then Joe Derrane shines even brighter as "the man behind the box." He is that rarest of Irish button accordionists, able to play Irish traditional music in a visceral, hard-core style while simultaneously injecting variations and ornamentation of meticulous dexterity that always serves the melodic integrity of a tune.

      This paradox of exactitude and experimentation can be heard to exhilarating effect in his playing of such medleys as "The Fair Wind/Carthy's," "Road to Clonmel/Gan Ainm/Humors of Ederney," "Tie the Ribbon/Farewell to London/The Blacksmith's Fancy," and "The Green Fields of Rossbeigh/The Tinker's Bib." Derrane imparts an immediacy and lift to these Irish traditional reels that indicate to listeners how much fun he is having. It's a quality some artists in a recording studio cannot muster, no matter how luminous their technique.

      At its core, Irish traditional music is about spirit, and Derrane's own spirit never flags. Yes, he is a bona fide virtuoso, but he is also an accordionist who spent countless hours playing for dancers in the old ballrooms along Dudley Street in Roxbury, Mass. Simply put, he knows how to keep the feet moving while tugging the heart and stirring the mind.

      Feet, heart, and mind are all magnificently served in two waltzes Derrane composed and plays: "Aine" and "Nancy." The first was written for his wife, the second was penned for a friend, and each reveals the tangy Continental sauce and boulevardier spice he brought to "Pastiche for Anne" (also inspired by his wife) on the "Give Us Another" comeback album of 1995.

      In his track note for "Aine," Derrane describes its transition from a practice piece to a performance piece, which is how classical musicians develop etudes, and in his evocative playing you can almost hear the rustle of crinoline and slide of shoe leather as couples swirl on a hardwood dance floor.

      That ballroom ethos similarly permeates "Nancy," which he describes as "another product of my explorations of the box," glinting again with technique and melodic grace.

      Rounding out the album are delectably executed jigs (including "Martin's," composed by Derrane for Jack Martin, who supplied him with a button box for Wolf Trap in 1994), slip jigs, clogs, and another set of hornpipes, "Back of the Haggard/The Rights of Man/The Sweeps." That last hornpipe was previously covered by Derrane on "Give Us Another," and here he and McGann twice switch roles on melody and rhythm.

      Bilateral imbalance and sounds of very closely miked or reproduced fingering are audible at times on this recording, but they never distract from its substance. Even the surprising inclusion of "Auld Lang Syne/Taps," intended as a 9-11 homage, is justified by Derrane and McGann's sudden tempo change in the first tune.

      "The Man Behind the Box" was recorded during May 2004, the same month and year as Derrane, McGann, and Seamus Connolly's "The Boston Edge" CD, and is a welcome duet coda to that superlative trio effort. Even the printed interview with Derrane by Cape Breton's Paul MacDonald, who has produced all three Mapleshade albums featuring the button accordionist, is focused and fairly succinct and thus stands in sharp contrast to the meandering, overlong essay MacDonald wrote for "Ireland's Harvest" in 2002.

      The NEA's National Heritage Fellowship was modeled on an older Japanese concept of recognizing "a living treasure," and that is precisely what Joe Derrane is in Irish traditional music, inside and outside America. "The Man Behind the Box" is another gem from this living treasure who shows no sign of slowing down.


Comments from Pierre Sprey of Mapleshade Records:

I love the warm, reedy sound of the traditional wood-case button accordion. To me, it's the most joyful sound in Irish (or Cajun) music. And when the legendary Joe Derrane is behind the box, I'm always torn: should I jump up to dance or just sit back with my jaw in my lap listening to his blazing speed and endless inventions? At 17, Joe cut six hit 78s that changed the Irish box forever. Six decades later on this CD, probably Joe's best-ever, he's still revolutionizing the tradition. I'm equally taken with John McGann's in-the-pocket accompaniment. His super-tight, super-original guitar (were those a couple of blues notes I heard??), not to mention his heart-wrenching mandolin airs, enhance the tradition. As for my part, I'll wager this CD sounds closer to live accordion than anything you've heard. (#10732)


Wayfaring Strangers This Train (Rounder)


Click here for reviews

Wayfaring Strangers Shifting Sands of Time (Rounder)

First album with Andy Statman, Matt Glaser, Tony Trischka, Ralph Stanley, Tim O'Brien, and many others.

The Boston Edge (Mapleshade records)

Joe Derrane- Accordion

Séamus Connolly- Fiddle

John McGann- mandolin and guitar

A "dream team" Irish trio plays traditional jigs, reels and airs with passion and originality. Led by button accordion master Joe Derrane, 2004 National Heritage winner. Locked tight as a drum with Joe are Séamus Connolly, the golden-toned fiddler who's won the All-Irish Championship ten times, and guitarist/mandolinist John McGann, a National Flat-Picking Champion. The recording is so pure and spacious, the instrumental timbres are so rich and dynamic that the trio sounds almost orchestral.

1.
MP3 (6 MB): The Curragh Races/The Skylark/The Reconciliation
2.
Billy Rush's Jig/Brosnahan's Frolic/The Miner's Jig
3.
The Devil and the Dirk/The Trip to Windsor/Brumley Brae
4.
Remembering Curly/The Twins/Mordaunt's Fancy
5.
John Kelly's Concertina Reel/Kiss the Bride/Martin Ainsboro's
6.
Whiddon's/The Nightlight/Hannah McGann's
7.
The Humors of Lisheen / McMahon's Jig/The Merry Old Woman
8.
Miss McLeod's Hornpipe/Petticoat Promenade
9.
Patsy Touhey's Reel/The Gooseberry Bush/Reilly's
10.
Chief O'Neill's Favorite/The First Of June
11.
Sporting Paddy/Sheila Coyle's/The Hare's Paw
12.
The Killaloe Boat/Gan Ainm/Gan Ainm
13.
The Man From Newry/The Last Of The Twins
14.
The Dash to Portabello/McFarley's Reel/Geegan's Reel

READ THE REVIEWS HERE

$15 POSTPAID IN USA

$17 POSTPAID CANADA

$19 POSTPAID INTERNATIONAL

Frank Ferrel and Friends- Fiddle Dance (Great Meadow Music)

I enjoyed playing guitar, mandolin, octave mandolin and lap steel on this project.

Wherever there are great fiddlers, you will find Frank Ferrel. Truly one of America's top fiddler, here you have him with his long time friends and fellow musicians, Peter Barnes, John McGann, and Joe Derrane*. He offers a vibrant, deeply pleasurable, and thoroughly convincing musical essay on Yankee fiddling, its range, roots and aesthetics. It is also music for Contra dancing, which remains the beating heart of the New England style.

* Joe Derrane is the only New England Irish musicians to ever receive the National Endowment for the Arts' vaunted National Heritage Fellow ship Award.


1. Trip to the Well, Galway Belles, Church Street
2. Sean Reid's, The Watchmaker, The Milliner's Daughter
3. Amelia
4. Mullingar Races, Joe Cooley's Reel, The Longford Collector
5. Jean Carignan Medley
6. Maid on the Green, The Miner's Jig, The Short Road
7. Two-Step du Bob, Two-Step du Ray
8. The Old Dutch Churn, Looney McTwalter, Mike Moloney's
9. Peter Feeney's Dream, Flowers of the Flock
10. Port Patrick, Whelan's, Brodie Kieric's
11. Beans, Humors of Maine
12. The Blue Eyed Lassie
13. Andrea's Waltz
14. The Rollicking Boys Around Tandragee, Merrily Kissed the Quaker's Wife

Only $12 POSTPAID in USA $15 POSTPAID NON US!

PayPal to john@johnmcgann.com

The Dactyls-

as heard on NPR's "Says You"

John McGann, Frank Ferrel, Peter Barnes, Rushad Eggleston

All full length tunes as originally performed in the mid-2000's before massive editing for broadcast

Billy Walsh "Widdershins" 2nd solo CD

with John McGann, Richard Gates, Dave Mattacks, Matt Gordy, Jim Whitney, Tom Megan and more. Excellent singer/songwriter and good friend. CD only $10 postpaid in USA

Billy Walsh "Irish" 

band includes John McGann, Richard Gates, Dave Mattacks, Billy MacGillivray, Tom Megan, Joyce Anderson

Chris Moore and John McGann: Rust Farm (Daring Records)

10 original songs by Chris and John

joined by Jim Whitney (bass) and Bill MacGillivray (drums)

LAST COPIES AVAILABLE HERE!

PayPal to john@johnmcgann.com

"SNOWS OF MARCH"

Rust Farm's 2nd CD, produced by Tim O'Brien, an all-acoustic set of original music recorded "live in the studio".

out of print at the moment

JOHN McGANN PRESENTS THE PARALLEL UNIVERSE ORCHESTRA CD-

John McGann's imagination goes wild on this all original compact disc.

Tired of the same old stuff? How about some Polyrhythms, Polytonality, and Odd Melodies for the Adventurous Listener. Music inspired by Igor Stravinsky, Frank Zappa, Conlon Nancarrow, Leo Rowsome, Paul Hindemith, and Life in America circa 2001. A range of styles from psychedelic Polka to quasi-traditional contemporary classical, all delivered with a sense of humor, good rhythmic groove, and a unique sense of harmony.

Music scored for (in various combinations) Flute, Clarinet, Oboe, English horn, French Horn, Bassoon, Tuba, Trombone, Trumpet, String Quartet, Piano, Organ, Drum Set, Percussion and much more.

FREE MP3 SAMPLE: DANCE OF THE BUSHMEN (4.8 mb)

"Unbelivable, I'd love to hear it with a real orchestra...one of my favorite CDs!"- John Zeidler (master luthier and hard-to-please music lover)

CD Only-limited edition $10 postpaid in USA

Beacon Hillbillies "Duffield Station" (ESD) Our first, mostly live -in the studio recording; with Matt Glaser, Tony Trischka, Gordon Stone, John Whelan and Gene White. Lots of instrumentals as well as songs; 17 tunes in all!

FREE MP3 SAMPLE"LARAMIE DIVORCE" FROM DUFFIELD STATION (7.6 MB)

Out of print-out of stock!

MS

Beacon Hillbillies "More Songs of Love and Murder"(ESD 80882)

Second release of original bluegrass-based music with John McGann, Jimmy Ryan (Blood Oranges), Jim Whitney, Stacy Phillips, Matt Glaser, Chris Moore, John Whelan and Gordon Stone.

There's a bonus "track" at the end of the CD, after 30 seconds of silence. It's called "'64 DeSoto" I wrote as a Wes Montgomery-style blues, played with guitar/dobro/fiddle/mandolin/bass, live in the studio. Stylistically, it didn't fit with the rest of the album, but it's on there for those who enjoy that type of music.

"Highly recommended..rollicking"--Billboard 7/94.

"Four stars..stinging set..white hot fretwork..sheds the genre's modern gloss and proves that bluegrass' mournful spirit can be beautifully transmitted far away from the Appalachians"--New Country 9/94

MP3 SAMPLE "TROUBLE HOUND" FROM MORE SONGS 4.8 MB

Out of print- all gone, sorry!

Better Place

Beacon Hillbillies "Better Place" ( ESD 81092)

Third CD featuring the quartet of John McGann/ Jimmy Ryan/ Lauck Benson/ Jim Whitney. 11 original songs and instrumentals, plus a new arrangement of the traditional "Willie Moore".Our usual balance of traditional and progressive music.

 

CMJ (College Music Journal) 12/16/96: "...classic, down home style picking, with plaintive harmonies and delicious melodies. It's obvious these Hillbillies aren't dillettantes; the playing is superb, without the kind of tongue-in-cheek irony that can be both obnoxious and condescending. Beacon Hillbillies may not be from anywhere near the Bluegrass state, but their music is real just the same, because it comes from the heart."- Megan Frampton

 FREE MP3 SAMPLE "MIDNIGHT SUN" FROM BETTER PLACE 8.6 MB

Out of print-out of stock!

Chip Taylor and Carrie Rodriguez

with John McGann, Dave Mattacks, Jim Whitney and others

Great writing and singing from the author of "Angel of the Morning" and "Wild Thing"

Available at Amazon.com

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I'm also on these selected recordings (not for sale here):

Kevin Burke, Johnny Cunningham, Christian LeMaitre-Celtic Fiddle Festival (Green Linnet). 

Live recording from the original lineup in 1992. I'm the original guitarist. Includes "Canyon Moonrise".

Flynn Cohen Mellow Yell

Jason Anick- Sleepless I am on Jason's excellent debut recording with John Jorgenson, Gonzalo Bergara and others.

Vance Gilbert- Unfamiliar Moon

Vance Gilbert- Shaking Off Gravity

Flynn Cohen- Dead String Rhythm- I produced and played on this fine recording by a great composer/guitarist.

Chris Pandolfi-Manhattan Handoff I played mandolin on three tracks of the Infamous Stringduster founder's original bluegrass banjo CD.

Cathie Ryan (Shanachie) Ex-Cherish the Ladies vocalist, produced by Seamus Egan. Cathie is a fantastic singer; I'm happy to have been included on this project.Played guitar, mandolin and steel guitar.

Kips Bay Ceili Band- Digging In (Green Linnet). I play electric guitar and/ or mandolin, dobro, lap steel. I'm on every cut.

Kips Bay Ceili Band-Into the Light (Green Linnet); electric guitar on one live track from Denmark's Tønder Festival 1995.

Gaelic Roots (Kells) 2-CD collection to benefit the Boston College Irish Studies Program.Seamus Connolly was kind enough to include me in this concert which also featured great artists like James Kelly, Daithi Sproule, Sean Potts, Paddy Keenan, Jackie Daly, Seamus Egan, Liz Carroll, Joe Derrane and many other excellent traditional musicians. I play a set of reels on mandolin, unaccompanied..

Celtic Magic (EasyBeat/Rounder) includes "Sligo Lament" from Upslide, as well as great pieces from John Whelan, Seamus Connolly,Altan, Jerry O'Sullivan and others

Dance of the Celts (Narada) a collection of tunes including one track from my Upslide CD. Other artists featured include Pat Kilbride, Kornog, Altan, Dervish, Buttons and Bows, Pat Kirtley and others.

Flatpicking '97 (Flatpicking Guitar Magazine) Compilation of 22 guitarists including David Grier, Scott Nygaard, Norman Blake and others. Includes "Honeybee" from my Upslide CD. I'm also on just about every following year's complilation.

Yoshihiro Arita- Whale Dance (Strictly Country). Hiro was one of my main performance pals in the '80's, he is an amazing multi-instrumentalist, National Banjo Champion, and all around great guy. This CD mixes up original music, American traditional and Django swing. Lots of improvising and fun.

Frank Ferrel- Yankee Dreams (Flying Fish); Moxie (Ethno Disc). I play guitar and mandolin on most of these fiddle tunes, some written by Frank, some from the Irish/Scottish/ Cape Breton traditions.

PFP

Matt Glaser- Play Fiddle Play (Flying Fish). Played on two cuts, and arranged "Foggy Mountain Special" for four saxophones plus rhythm section.

ACO

American Café Orchestra- Egyptian Dominoes (Northeastern). 1992 debut of an international band with members from Denmark and the USA. I arranged and played guitar, pedal steel, mandolin and mandola on about half the album. A blend of American and Scandanavian music with our personal slant on things.

John Whelan-From the Heart (Oenoke). Electric and acoustic guitars, mandolin on two tracks. John is one of the greatest Irish accordionists.

Sunday's Well- We Don't Care Where Your Grandparents Are From (East Side Digital). I produced and played electric guitar, banjo, drums (lol), bass and lap steel on this Boston pub band's first CD. Irish and Western!

Billy Walsh- Art, Sex and Religion (Rubrick). Acoustic and electric guitars, mandolin, dobro and steel work on most tracks; all great original songs by my good friend.

Cormac McCarthy- Picture Gallery Blues (Green Linnet). Mandolin and guitar on two songs by this excellent Maine singer/songwriter's 1995 release.

Leslie Smith- These Things Wrapped (Waterbug). Mandolin on one tune, lots of good music here from a great songwriter, whose music is included on the best-selling CD of "Cry Cry Cry".

Rodney Miller Airplang II (GreatMeadow) reissue of 1987 recording with Peter Barnes.

Other session work includes Aine Minogue, Jimmy Ryan, Jeanne Morrill, Fred Small, Eddie McGarry, New England Bluegrass Band, Terry Kitchen, Joanne Olshansky, Wheeler/Carroll, Childsplay (Producer), Latter Day Lizards (Producer), and many others.

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