While waiting for some of the text in the cover booklet to be finished before we can go to print it's safe to say this side of Christmas we'll see the launch of:
Kitty Hayes (concertina) and Peter Laban (pipes, in C): 'They'll be good yet'
named after a comment Jackie Daly regularly made when we played a regular spot in Gleeson's of Coore on the sundaynights the CD was recorded late september by Martin OMalley of Malbaystudios in Kitty Hayes' kitchen. It's rough and ready, with a strong 'live' feel to it, a product of the kitchen rather than of the studio. We played like we always do, whatever came to mind.
The introduction in the booklet is written by Tom Munnelly.
Kitty is a concertinaplayer living in Shanaway West, Miltown Malbay. Born in Faha between Miltown and Ennistymon, in the early part of the last century she grew up hearing her father play in the kitchen with their neighbour Gilbert Clancy. She remembers many tunes from those days. Learning the concertina from her father during the 1930s she was influenced by the music of fluteplayers Jimmy Hogan and Pappy Looney who played at the housedances she used to frequent as a teenager. By the late 1940s she married a musician , fluteplayer Josie Hayes (Packie Russell came to play at the wedding) who had a lifelong musical partnership with Junior Crehan. Josie and Junior's music was another big influence on her. While raising the family Kitty was forced to give up the concertina but she was never far from the music: during the 1950s Josie's brother in law fiddle player Paddy Killoran stayed long periods in their house while visiting from the states. One day I played Seamus Ennis' version of 'The Master's return', whcih ENnis named in honour of Killoran, for her to see if I could jog her memory. She immediately knew it was a Killoran tune and she told me the story of how Ennis came to the house several nights during the late 50s to play with Killoran 'and he learned that tune right on the spot you're sitting now', and then went on to air her annoyance at how the racket the pipes made kept the children awake.
During the late 1990s Kitty picked up the concertina with a vengeance retaining the basic 'on the row' style of the 'German' two row concertinaplayers of her youth. She plays a strong local style very reminiscent of the recordings of Mary Haren who lived in fact in the next townland from where Kitty was born.
It's gives great pleasure playing music with her. We've been playing regualrly for the past six or seven years. We always regretted there was no room for the pipes on Kitty's 2001 recording 'A Touch of Clare' and we've always thought we should make up for that. And so we did eventually.
The CD will be on general release in due course, a website will go upwith more information and an option for on-line buying. Details to follow. Launch in a week or two if all goes well.
Tracklist:
1. The Newport Lass, Mist on the Meadow, The Legacy (jigs)
2. The Concert Reel, The Hare’s Paw, Garret Barry’s Reel (reels)
3. The Humours of Tulla, Tear The Callico (reels)
4. The Girl that broke my Heart, The Sligo Maid [concertina solo](reels)
5. The Wandering Minstrel, Fasten the Leg in her (jigs)
6. Hills of Coore, The Stack of Oats (hornpipes)
7. The Pigeon on the Gate, The Drunken Landlady, Sporting Nell (reels)
8. Winnie Hayes’, The Rose in the Heather (jigs)
9. Corney is coming, An Bhean Tincéara, The Collier’s Reel [pipes solo](reels)
10. Na Ceannabháin Bhána, Hardiman the Fiddler (slip jigs)
11. 'Ar Éirinn Ni 'Neosfainn Ce Hi [concertina solo] (Slow Air)
12. John Egan’s 1 and John Egan’s 2 (jigs)
13. The Porthole of the Kelp, The Maids of Mitchellstown (reels
14. Lost and Found, The Haunted House, The Luthradán (jigs)
15. The Mountain Top, Tom Ward’s Downfall, The Honeymoon Reel (reels)
"It might be a bit better to tune to one of my fiddle's open strings, like A, rather than asking me for an F#." - Martin Milner
Further distribution to be confirmed.