Kevin Burke | |
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![]() Burke performing in 2014 | |
Background information | |
Born | 1950 (age 72–73) London, England |
Genres | Irish |
Occupation(s) | Musician |
Instrument(s) | Fiddle |
Years active | 1958–present |
Website | www |
Kevin Burke (born 1950) is an Irish master fiddler considered one of the finest living Irish fiddlers. [1] [2] [3] For nearly five decades he has been at the forefront of Irish traditional music and Celtic music, [4] performing and recording with the groups The Bothy Band, Patrick Street, and the Celtic Fiddle Festival. [1] He is a 2002 recipient of a National Heritage Fellowship from the National Endowment for the Arts. [2] [5]
In addition to his solo albums, Burke has had successful project collaborations with Christy Moore, Andy Irvine & Paul Brady, Mícheál Ó Domhnaill, Jackie Daly, Ged Foley and Cal Scott. [1]
Kevin Burke was born in 1950 in London, England to parents from County Sligo in Ireland. [6] [7] Inheriting a love of Irish music from his parents, he took up the fiddle at the age of eight, studied under Jessie Christopherson, [8] and eventually developed an advanced technique in the Sligo fiddling style. He travelled frequently to Ireland to visit relatives and immersed himself in the local Sligo music. [9] By the age of thirteen, he was playing with Irish musical groups. [5]
Burke joined a céilí band, the Glenside, and played weekends at various Irish dance halls around London. In 1966, the Glenside performed at the céilí band competition at the All-Ireland Fleadh in Boyle in County Roscommon and won the competition. [10]
In 1972, Burke met American singer-songwriter Arlo Guthrie in a pub in Milltown Malbay in County Clare. Impressed with Burke's fiddling, Guthrie invited him to Los Angeles to play on his album Last of the Brooklyn Cowboys (1973). [5] Burke's exposure to the musicians he met in the United States—including accordionist Joe Burke and fiddler Andy McGann—inspired him to make a career of playing music. [11] In 1974, Burke moved to Dublin, where he teamed up with singer-songwriter Christy Moore, a former member of the Irish band Planxty. [6] Together with Jimmy Faulkner and Declan McNelis, they played throughout Ireland for the next few years. [11]
In 1976, Burke became a member of the Irish traditional music group The Bothy Band; the band, active for three years in the late 1970s, was well-known for its enthusiastic and highly skilled performances. [12] Burke replaced Tommy Peoples on fiddle, and soon became an integral member of the group, appearing on three of their albums: Old Hag You Have Killed Me (1976), Out of the Wind – Into the Sun (1977), and After Hours (Live in Paris) (1979). [6] [13] Burke developed a friendship with the band's guitarist and vocalist, Mícheál Ó Domhnaill, and soon the two began appearing together as a duo. When the Bothy Band disbanded in 1979, they toured the United Kingdom and Europe together, and recorded the album Promenade (1979). [6] In 1980, Burke and Ó Domhnaill moved to the United States [14] and toured throughout the country before settling in Portland, Oregon, where they recorded a second album, Portland (1982). [6]
In 1985, Burke joined the Legends of Irish Music tour, where he played with Irish musicians Andy Irvine (vocals, bouzouki, mandolin and harmonica) and Jackie Daly (accordion). [15] : 34–35 [16] Together they formed the group Patrick Street. [6] During the next two decades, the group released nine albums (excluding two compilations): Patrick Street (1987), No. 2 Patrick Street (1988), Irish Times (1990), All in Good Time (1993), Cornerboys (1996), Made in Cork (1997), Live from Patrick Street (1999), Street Life (2002), and On the Fly (2007).
In 1992, Burke recorded the solo album Open House with Mark Graham (harmonica, clarinet, vocals), Paul Kotapish (guitar, mandolin, cittern, bass), and Sandy Silva (percussion). [6] These three comprised the core of his band and together, as the group Open House, they recorded two other albums, Second Story (1994) and Hoof and Mouth (1997). In the early 1990s, Burke started touring and recording with Scottish fiddler Johnny Cunningham and Breton fiddler Christian Lemaître as the Celtic Fiddle Festival. [17] Together they released six albums: Celtic Fiddle Festival (1993), [18] Celtic Fiddle Festival: Encore (1998), Rendezvous (2001), Play On (2005), Equinoxe (2008), and Live in Brittany (2013).
In 2002, Burke was awarded a National Heritage Fellowship from the National Endowment for the Arts, [5] the highest honour given in the United States for folk and traditional arts. [2] In recent years, Burke partnered with Ged Foley to record In Tandem (2006), and collaborated with documentary film composer Cal Scott on the album Across the Black River (2007) and follow-up album Suite (2010). In 2007, Burke started an independent record company, Loftus Music, to release his own recordings. Burke continues to tour throughout the world, including performances in Australia in 2013. [19]
In 2016, Kevin Burke was awarded the "Gradam Ceoil" (Musician of the Year) in the traditional-music awards presented by the Irish-language TV channel TG4. [20]
He currently lives in Portland, Oregon with his wife and two children. [21]
Burke's fiddle playing style was heavily influenced by the Sligo style playing of Michael Coleman, Paddy Killoran, and James Morrison. [3] Burke described the style as being "the best of both worlds"—combining the driving rhythm of Donegal style and the smooth lyricism of Clare style. [3] While acknowledging that his playing is "based on" the Sligo style, he also acknowledges being influenced by many different musical styles outside of Irish traditional music. For example, one of the distinctive features of his playing is the "strong backbeat he applies to many reels, with emphasis on every third quaver", presenting the emphasised beat with an up bow, versus the traditional approach of playing that pattern with an emphasised downbow. [3] Burke also emphasises the strong beat by playing "an adjacent open string as the bow digs in". [3]
Burke currently plays a fiddle made by Michiel De Hoog, a Dutch violin maker working in Dublin. In 2000, his old Tony Martin fiddle had become unstable, despite several repair attempts. Looking for a more stable instrument to play on the road, he turned to his friend De Hoog, who had just finished an instrument. After playing it in the shop, Burke purchased it and has been playing it almost exclusively since. Occasionally, he will play his old Tony Martin fiddle or a fiddle made by Jeff Manthos of Oregon. [22]
Burke uses Obligato strings made by Pirastro and rosin made by Gustave Bernadel. The bow he uses exclusively was given to him by his brother Noel Burke, a bow maker, in 2000 for his fiftieth birthday. He carries his fiddle and gear in a Maurizio Riboni case from Cremona, Italy. [22] To amplify his instrument, Burke uses an MBC-603 condenser microphone on a stand. Sometimes he uses a Swiss-made Kurmann Soundpost pick-up designed by Ronnie Arber Audiotechnik along with the microphone. [22]
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A fiddle is a bowed string musical instrument, most often a violin. It is a colloquial term for the violin, used by players in all genres, including classical music. Although in many cases violins and fiddles are essentially synonymous, the style of the music played may determine specific construction differences between fiddles and classical violins. For example, fiddles may optionally be set up with a bridge with a flatter arch to reduce the range of bow-arm motion needed for techniques such as the double shuffle, a form of bariolage involving rapid alternation between pairs of adjacent strings. To produce a "brighter" tone than the deep tones of gut or synthetic core strings, fiddlers often use steel strings. The fiddle is part of many traditional (folk) styles, which are typically aural traditions—taught "by ear" rather than via written music.
The Bothy Band were an Irish traditional band active during the mid 1970s. They quickly gained a reputation as one of the most influential bands playing Irish traditional music. Their enthusiasm and musical virtuosity had a significant influence on the Irish traditional music movement that continued well after they disbanded in 1979.
Patrick Street is an Irish folk group founded by Kevin Burke on fiddle, Andy Irvine on mandolin, bouzouki, harmonica and vocals, Jackie Daly on button accordion, and Arty McGlynn on guitar.
Dónal Lunny is an Irish folk musician and producer. He plays left-handed guitar and bouzouki, as well as keyboards and bodhrán. As a founding member of popular bands Planxty, The Bothy Band, Moving Hearts, Coolfin, Mozaik, LAPD, and Usher's Island, he has been at the forefront of the renaissance of Irish traditional music for over five decades.
Nightnoise was a music ensemble active from 1984 to 1997. Their original blend of Irish traditional music, Celtic music, jazz, and classical chamber music inspired a generation of Irish musicians. They released seven albums on the Windham Hill label.
The fiddle is one of the most important instruments in the traditional repertoire of Irish traditional music. The fiddle itself is identical to the violin, however it is played differently in widely varying regional styles. In the era of sound recording some regional styles have been transmitted more widely while others have become more uncommon.
Martin Hayes is an Irish fiddler from County Clare. He is a member of the Irish-American supergroup The Gloaming.
Mícheál Ó Domhnaill was an Irish singer, guitarist, composer, and producer who was a major influence on Irish traditional music in the second half of the twentieth century. He is remembered for his innovative work with Skara Brae, the first group to record vocal harmonization in Irish language songs, and The Bothy Band, one of the most influential groups in Irish traditional music. His reputation was enhanced by a successful collaboration with master fiddler Kevin Burke, and his work with the Celtic groups Relativity and Nightnoise, which achieved significant commercial and critical acclaim.
Paddy Glackin is an Irish fiddler and founding member of the Bothy Band. He is considered one of Ireland's leading traditional fiddle players.
Irish traditional music is a genre of folk music that developed in Ireland.
Jackie Daly is an Irish button accordion and concertina player. He has been a member of a number of prominent Irish traditional-music bands, including De Dannan, Patrick Street, Arcady, and Buttons & Bows.
Tríona Ní Dhomhnaill is an Irish traditional singer, keyboard player, and composer, considered one of the most influential female vocalists in the history of Irish music. She is famed for her work with traditional Irish groups such as Skara Brae, The Bothy Band, Relativity, Touchstone, and Nightnoise.
Celtic Folkweave is a studio album by Mick Hanly and Mícheál Ó Domhnaill, released in 1974 by Polydor Records. Considered a seminal album in the traditional Irish music genre, the musicians involved in the recording would go on to found some of the most innovative and important groups to perform traditional Irish music.
Randal Bays is an American fiddler, guitarist and composer. This Irish-style fiddle and guitar player first gained international recognition through his recordings and performances with Co. Clare fiddler Martin Hayes in the early 1990s.
Quebec fiddle is a part of the Old time fiddle canon and is influential in New England and Northwest fiddle styles.
Celtic Fiddle Festival is a group of Celtic fiddlers active since 1993. Representing three branches of Celtic culture, the members were Johnny Cunningham from Scotland, late of Silly Wizard, Kevin Burke from Ireland, best known for the Bothy Band, and Christian Lemaître from Brittany, member of Kornog. Since Cunningham's death in 2003, the group has continued to perform, replacing him with André Brunet from Quebec, formerly of La Bottine Souriante. In 2015 Andrè Brunet left the band and was replaced by Scottish Fiddler, Charlie McKerron, who is also in the band Capercaille.
Promenade is a studio album by Kevin Burke and Mícheál Ó Domhnaill, released in 1979 by Mulligan Records.
Portland is a studio album by Kevin Burke and Mícheál Ó Domhnaill, released in 1982 by Green Linnet Records. This is the second and final album by this duo who first played together with the popular Irish traditional group The Bothy Band.
Andy McGann (1928–2004) was an Irish-American fiddle player and a celebrated exponent of Sligo-style fiddling. He was born in New York to immigrant parents from County Sligo, living first in west Harlem before moving as a child to Mott Haven in the Bronx. McGann received violin instruction from Catherine Brennan Grant, a teacher grounded in both classical and Irish traditional music, and played in parochial school orchestras. He also got informal instruction and encouragement from County Sligo fiddle great Michael Coleman, who was a friend of the family. At a very young age, McGann found a place among the elite of New York's Sligo-style fiddle players, including Coleman, Paddy Killoran, Martin Wynne, Louis Quinn and James "Lad" O'Beirne. In the 1950s, McGann formed a partnership with Longford-born fiddler Paddy Reynolds. With Reynolds and others, McGann played with The New York Céilí Band, an all-star group that traveled to Ireland in 1960 to compete at the All-Ireland fleadh cheoil in Boyle, County Roscommon.
Mick Hanly is an Irish singer and composer from Limerick. In the 1970s, he formed several folk music duos, first with Mícheál Ó Domhnaill, then with Andy Irvine and, more recently, with Dónal Lunny. From 1982 until 1985, he was a member of Moving Hearts. Hanly is known for composing "Past the Point of Rescue", which was first covered by Mary Black (1988) and also by American artist Hal Ketchum (1991).