Kevin Burke is one of the premier Irish fiddlers around, as many attested that attending his concert December 7, 1998. Kevin was born in London of Irish parents, moved to Ireland and eventually America. He was a founding member of the Bothy Band and Patrick Street. Later he moved to Portland, Oregon and has been up here with his eclectic band Open House (which includes Paul Kotapish, the mandolin player with Hillbillies from Mars who have played for Contra Borealis Dancers including a summer dance camp a few years back). Besides solo playing, Kevin of late has been also playing with Celtic Fiddle Festival and they have two dynamite CDs out. How he keeps it all straight is a trick touring musicians must learn or perish. I believe he has a total of 15 recordings out, a noble body of work for a traditional musician.
Aidan Brennan, who accompanied Kevin on the Alaskan tour, is another heavy touring musician, originally from Dublin and lived in Portland for a number of years before moving back to Dublin last year. He has been up in Alaska with Larry Nugent and assorted other top musicians and they all appreciate his steady guitar rhythm and lovely singing voice. He's been much in demand both in America and Europe. Aidan plays his guitar in DADGAD tuning (these are the string tunings) - especially suited for the modal Irish accompaniment. For those watching the concert and not recognizing any of the chords, this is probably why. A good source for DADGAD tuning is on line at: home.hccnet.nl/h.speek/dadgad/index.html, courtesy of Han Speek, Irish music afficianado in the Netherlands. I would expect to see more of Aidan in the years to come. He and Kevin are doing some recording in the studio now.
The concert given by Irish fiddler Kevin Burke and guitarist Aidan Brennan almost didn't happen. It was scheduled for the evening that a UAF coal boiler blew up, killing electrical power to the university. Nobody knew what was happening. Max and I walked into the building and it was totally quiet - no ventilating or electrical systems making noise - very eerie. I had a fantasy that the concert could be held with candles for light in the Davis Concert Hall without amplification. During a visit to UAF Security, the campus was officially closed, so all those local Iroid musicians with a sense of the appropriate repaired to "Into the Woods" Coffeehouse for the usual Fri. night session. About 9:30 pm, Kevin and Aidan were brought over by promoter Dennis Brosnan, and we had a mighty session.
The concert was rescheduled for Mon. night in the Wood Center Ballroom. The opening act was a group of our local young fiddlers, Caitlin Warbelow, Julie Baldridge, and Lia Zito accompanied by Celtic Confusion keyboardist Lee Rice. Such talent as these girls exude is simply unfair to us older musicians. They played a mix of slow and fast, some of their own tunes and ended with the monster tunes Tommy's Tarbukas and Wizard's Walk at breakneck speed.
Kevin opened by playing a few tune sets solo from his vast repertoire, including Irish, Irish-American and French-Canadian. Kevin's ornamentation seems to my ears more in the Kerry style, with the slurs and limited use of rolls. What amazes everyone is how effortless he plays everything so cleanly, regardless of the speed. Some say it's not the notes that one plays, but what one puts between the notes - Kevin has it down pat, earning the reputation of one of the finest Irish fiddlers alive. I was especially happy he played the Dionne Reel, an unusual tune I've been working on since hearing it. You can listen to a rendition of this tune at: dionne5a.mid. He also played the legendary Tommy Potts slip jig "The Butterfly", but more as Tommy would have whimsically played it more as a butterfly might have flown. Not really a danceable rhythm, as Kevin noted. Kevin has a fine dry wit that even relatively young fiddler Martin Hayes seems to emulate.
Aidan then joined Kevin for the second set. The two play well together, again Kevin playing so seemingly effortlessly, except for the changing expression on his lips. Aidan told me that Kevin plays music "to escape the tyranny of conscious thought". They played a collection of tunes from reels, hornpipes, jigs to some less common varieties of tunes.
The evening ended with a second encore accompanied by Lia, Julie and Caitlin on fiddle and Lee on piano for a rousing Caliope House, a tune written by a member of the Boys of the Lough, who were here and played it a year ago. When Aidan pronouced it as the Boys of the "Loo", Kevin responded that would go well with his group the Celtic Piddle Festival, a recent mispronunciation. I wonder if irreverence is a mainstay of Irish musicians. I continue to work on this proposition.
The concert ended, Kevin retired back to his hotel room, and Aidan was dragged off to another session (I take credit for that feat) at "Into the Woods" until after midnight. Tough for us on a Monday night, and we all paid for it the next day, but that is the price of escaping the tyranny of conscious thought!
site to get the player.
"Cottage Groves - Maudabawn Chapel"
The whimsical "Butterfly"
"Dionne Reel - Mouth of the Tobique"
Aidan Brennan's "West of Ireland's Maid"
Lia Zito, Julie Baldridge and Caitlin Warbelow, with Lee Rice on piano "Tommy's Tarbukas - Wizard's Walk"
Tommy Pott's whimsical "Butterfly" - 778k
"Wizard's Walk" - 942k
If you want to know more about Kevin, check out an interview with Open House by a net buddy Dan Beimborn at: http://www.celticmusic.com/magazine/3_16_97/kevin_burke_interview.html .
Fairbanks is really fortunate to attract so many fine traditional music artists. For those who produce the concerts, it is more a labor of love for the music than an expectation of making gobs of money. When you hear about a concert of some musician or group you've never heard of, give it a try and you will likely hear some great music. I try to help folks keep track of the folk happenings and special events on my website, so check it out, if you have a chance at: www.alaskafolkmusic.org.
