Drawing from the Well SAOITHE Frankie Gavin

Frankie Gavin is the world's greatest traditional Irish musician today.  

Frankie Gavin was born in 1956 in Corrandulla, County Galway, from a musical family; his parents and siblings being players of the fiddle and accordion. As a child he played the tin whistle from the age of four and, later, the flute. He received some formal training in music, but his musical ability on the fiddle is mainly self-taught.[1] When 17 years old, he gained first place in both the All Ireland Under-18 Fiddle and Flute competitions.[2][3]

Music career

In the early 1970s Gavin played musical sessions at Galway's Cellar Bar, with Alec Finn (bouzouki, guitar), Mickey Finn (fiddle), Charlie Piggott (banjo), and Johnnie (Ringo) McDonagh (bodhrán).[4] In 1974, from these and further sessions, he founded the group De Dannan with Alec Finn.

When De Dannan split-up in 2003, Gavin founded a new group, Frankie Gavin and The New De Dannan, which led to an acrimonious exchange between Gavin and Finn. In a Hot Press interview, Alec Finn noted that the new group was not De Dannan and that he himself, Alec Finn, had registered the De Dannan name after the split in 2003.[5]

Gavin has played and recorded with Andy Irvine, The Rolling Stones, Elvis Costello, Stéphane Grappelli, and Frankie Goes to Hollywood,[6] and in 2010 became reputedly the fastest fiddle-player in the world, with an entry in the Guinness Book of Records.[7]

Selected discography

Solo

• Up and Away (1995)
• Frankie Gavin (1997)
• Frankie Goes to Town (1999)
• Shamrocks & Holly: An Irish Christmas Celebration (1999)
• Fierce Traditional (2001)

With Alec Finn

• Frankie Gavin & Alec Finn (1977)
• Traditional Irish Music on Fiddle and Bouzouki, Volume II (2018)

With Andy Irvine

• Rainy Sundays... Windy Dreams (1980)

With Elvis Costello

• Spike (1989)

With Stéphane Grappelli

• Stéphane Grappelli in Concert with guest Frankie Gavin (1993) DVD

With The Rolling Stones

• Voodoo Lounge (1994)

With Arty McGlynn (guitar) & Aidan Coffey (accordion)

• Irlande (1994) / Ireland (1997) (live recording at Radio France, Studio 104, Paris, France)

With Sharon Shannon

• Tunes (2007)

With Hibernian Rhapsody

• The Full Score (2008)

With Rick Epping & Jim Foley

• Jiggin' the Blues (2008)

With Paul Brock

• Omos Do Joe Cooley: A Tribute to Joe Cooley (2009)

With Roaring 20s Irish Orchestra

• By Heck: A Toast to the 1920s (2018)

With De Dannan

• De Danann (1975)
• The 3rd Irish Folk Festival In Concert (1976)
• Selected Jigs Reels and Songs (1977)
• The Mist Covered Mountain (1980)
• Star-Spangled Molly (1981) (see The De Dannan Collection)
• Best of De Dannan (1981)
• Song For Ireland (1983)
• The Irish RM (1984)
• Anthem (1985)
• Ballroom (1987)
• A Jacket of Batteries (1988)
• Half Set in Harlem (1991)
• Hibernian Rhapsody (1995)
• De Dannan Collection (1997)
• How the West Was Won (1999)
• Welcome to the Hotel Connemara (2000)
• Jigs, Reels & Rock n' Roll (2012)
• Jigs & Jazz II (2014)

References

•  ramblinghouse.org: Frankie Gavin Archived 18 February 2011 at the Wayback Machine, retrieved 27 February 2011
•  Galway Advertiser Archives 1973, retrieved 27 February 2011
•  dublinks’com: Frankie Gavin Archived 28 September 2011 at the Wayback Machine, retrieved 27 February 2011
•  ramblinghouse.org: Frankie Gavin Archived 18 February 2011 at the Wayback Machine, retrieved 27 February 2011
•  culturenorthernireland.org: Frankie Gavin and The New De Dannan, retrieved 27 February 2011
•  irishcentral.com review: Frankie Gavin & De Dannan, retrieved 27 February 2011
•  The Irish Times: Musician plays his way into records books, retrieved 27 February 2011

External links

• Galway Advertiser: Frankie Gavin search results, retrieved 27 February 2011
• The Fiddler's Almanac: Ryan J. Thomson, retrieved 27 February 2011
• allcelticmusic.com: biography, retrieved 27 February 2011
• folkworld.de: Frankie Gavin reviews, retrieved 27 February 2011
• Camden New Journal review 2009: "Irish set fiddles on fire", retrieved 27 February 2011
• irishmusicmagazine.com: Frankie Gavin with Hibernian Rhapsody, retrieved 27 February 2011
• taramusic.com: Frankie Gavin record label unlinked third party reviews, retrieved 27 February 2011
• taramusic.com: Frankie Gavin record label biography, retrieved 27 February 2011
• taramusic.com: Frankie Gavin record label – Hibernian Rhapsody, retrieved 27 February 2011
• peoplesrepublicofcork.com: Frankie Gavin and the Hibernian Rhapsody, retrieved 27 February 2011

Drawing from the Well SAOITHE Frankie Gavin

Frankie Gavin is the world's greatest traditional Irish musician today.  

Frankie Gavin was born in 1956 in Corrandulla, County Galway, from a musical family; his parents and siblings being players of the fiddle and accordion. As a child he played the tin whistle from the age of four and, later, the flute. He received some formal training in music, but his musical ability on the fiddle is mainly self-taught.[1] When 17 years old, he gained first place in both the All Ireland Under-18 Fiddle and Flute competitions.[2][3]

Music career

In the early 1970s Gavin played musical sessions at Galway's Cellar Bar, with Alec Finn (bouzouki, guitar), Mickey Finn (fiddle), Charlie Piggott (banjo), and Johnnie (Ringo) McDonagh (bodhrán).[4] In 1974, from these and further sessions, he founded the group De Dannan with Alec Finn.

When De Dannan split-up in 2003, Gavin founded a new group, Frankie Gavin and The New De Dannan, which led to an acrimonious exchange between Gavin and Finn. In a Hot Press interview, Alec Finn noted that the new group was not De Dannan and that he himself, Alec Finn, had registered the De Dannan name after the split in 2003.[5]

Gavin has played and recorded with Andy Irvine, The Rolling Stones, Elvis Costello, Stéphane Grappelli, and Frankie Goes to Hollywood,[6] and in 2010 became reputedly the fastest fiddle-player in the world, with an entry in the Guinness Book of Records.[7]

Selected discography

Solo

• Up and Away (1995)
• Frankie Gavin (1997)
• Frankie Goes to Town (1999)
• Shamrocks & Holly: An Irish Christmas Celebration (1999)
• Fierce Traditional (2001)

With Alec Finn

• Frankie Gavin & Alec Finn (1977)
• Traditional Irish Music on Fiddle and Bouzouki, Volume II (2018)

With Andy Irvine

• Rainy Sundays... Windy Dreams (1980)

With Elvis Costello

• Spike (1989)

With Stéphane Grappelli

• Stéphane Grappelli in Concert with guest Frankie Gavin (1993) DVD

With The Rolling Stones

• Voodoo Lounge (1994)

With Arty McGlynn (guitar) & Aidan Coffey (accordion)

• Irlande (1994) / Ireland (1997) (live recording at Radio France, Studio 104, Paris, France)

With Sharon Shannon

• Tunes (2007)

With Hibernian Rhapsody

• The Full Score (2008)

With Rick Epping & Jim Foley

• Jiggin' the Blues (2008)

With Paul Brock

• Omos Do Joe Cooley: A Tribute to Joe Cooley (2009)

With Roaring 20s Irish Orchestra

• By Heck: A Toast to the 1920s (2018)

With De Dannan

• De Danann (1975)
• The 3rd Irish Folk Festival In Concert (1976)
• Selected Jigs Reels and Songs (1977)
• The Mist Covered Mountain (1980)
• Star-Spangled Molly (1981) (see The De Dannan Collection)
• Best of De Dannan (1981)
• Song For Ireland (1983)
• The Irish RM (1984)
• Anthem (1985)
• Ballroom (1987)
• A Jacket of Batteries (1988)
• Half Set in Harlem (1991)
• Hibernian Rhapsody (1995)
• De Dannan Collection (1997)
• How the West Was Won (1999)
• Welcome to the Hotel Connemara (2000)
• Jigs, Reels & Rock n' Roll (2012)
• Jigs & Jazz II (2014)

References

•  ramblinghouse.org: Frankie Gavin Archived 18 February 2011 at the Wayback Machine, retrieved 27 February 2011
•  Galway Advertiser Archives 1973, retrieved 27 February 2011
•  dublinks’com: Frankie Gavin Archived 28 September 2011 at the Wayback Machine, retrieved 27 February 2011
•  ramblinghouse.org: Frankie Gavin Archived 18 February 2011 at the Wayback Machine, retrieved 27 February 2011
•  culturenorthernireland.org: Frankie Gavin and The New De Dannan, retrieved 27 February 2011
•  irishcentral.com review: Frankie Gavin & De Dannan, retrieved 27 February 2011
•  The Irish Times: Musician plays his way into records books, retrieved 27 February 2011

External links

• Galway Advertiser: Frankie Gavin search results, retrieved 27 February 2011
• The Fiddler's Almanac: Ryan J. Thomson, retrieved 27 February 2011
• allcelticmusic.com: biography, retrieved 27 February 2011
• folkworld.de: Frankie Gavin reviews, retrieved 27 February 2011
• Camden New Journal review 2009: "Irish set fiddles on fire", retrieved 27 February 2011
• irishmusicmagazine.com: Frankie Gavin with Hibernian Rhapsody, retrieved 27 February 2011
• taramusic.com: Frankie Gavin record label unlinked third party reviews, retrieved 27 February 2011
• taramusic.com: Frankie Gavin record label biography, retrieved 27 February 2011
• taramusic.com: Frankie Gavin record label – Hibernian Rhapsody, retrieved 27 February 2011
• peoplesrepublicofcork.com: Frankie Gavin and the Hibernian Rhapsody, retrieved 27 February 2011

My Trip To Ireland

Many years ago, I had the privilege of being hired to sub on the mandolin and fiddle for a band in Northampton called Klezamir.  There, I met Brian Bender, a piano player who was interested in many styles of  music.  During the break, we chatted about how we got into the styles of music we like to play.  He mentioned going to Israel to study Klezmer.  He asked me if I'd ever gone to Ireland.  Up till then the answer was no.

My Grandfather on my Mother's side was Thomas Kielty.  His family is from County Wicklow, just south of Dublin.  They came to America in the 19th century around the great famine.  My Mother was discriminated against by many people in the early years, but that's another story.  The idea of going over to Ireland was exciting!

The summer of 1995, Brian and I were playing music for a dance at a party in Ashfield, MA.  There, I met an Irish set dancer named Maire Doherty.  She learned about my desire to go to Ireland and invited me to stay with her at her BnB in Kilfenora.  That summer, my wife and I decided to go!

Our trip to Ireland was one of the best trips I've ever taken.  We flew in to the airport and rented a little red car with the steering wheel on the right and the gear shift in the middle.  The journey from Limerick to Kilfenora could have been much faster, but I was jet lagged and not familiar with the car.  The roads in Ireland are narrow and there's only room for one car.  So if someone's coming your way, you have to get over, usually ending up in a bush/hedge or someone's field.

The weather on that first day was overcast, spitting rain.  But the drive to Maire's house was beautiful and I felt like we had entered another world, a magical place.  I maintained this feeling throughout the trip.  We were there for six weeks.  Two in Kilfenora, where I played at Linane's Pub in the center of town, and went to the Kilfenora Set Dance on Thursday nights.  We toured around County Clare, to the Cliffs of Mohr, to Doolin, Lisdoonvarna, and many other places.  One time we went up to Galway and Connemara.  We tried to stay away from tourists, to catch as much music as possible, and to go hiking and walking at every destination spot.

I had the pleasure of learning how to play the treble from Frankie Gavin during a break at a concert in Cork.

My Trip To Ireland

Many years ago, I had the privilege of being hired to sub on the mandolin and fiddle for a band in Northampton called Klezamir.  There, I met Brian Bender, a piano player who was interested in many styles of  music.  During the break, we chatted about how we got into the styles of music we like to play.  He mentioned going to Israel to study Klezmer.  He asked me if I'd ever gone to Ireland.  Up till then the answer was no.

My Grandfather on my Mother's side was Thomas Kielty.  His family is from County Wicklow, just south of Dublin.  They came to America in the 19th century around the great famine.  My Mother was discriminated against by many people in the early years, but that's another story.  The idea of going over to Ireland was exciting!

The summer of 1995, Brian and I were playing music for a dance at a party in Ashfield, MA.  There, I met an Irish set dancer named Maire Doherty.  She learned about my desire to go to Ireland and invited me to stay with her at her BnB in Kilfenora.  That summer, my wife and I decided to go!

Our trip to Ireland was one of the best trips I've ever taken.  We flew in to the airport and rented a little red car with the steering wheel on the right and the gear shift in the middle.  The journey from Limerick to Kilfenora could have been much faster, but I was jet lagged and not familiar with the car.  The roads in Ireland are narrow and there's only room for one car.  So if someone's coming your way, you have to get over, usually ending up in a bush/hedge or someone's field.

The weather on that first day was overcast, spitting rain.  But the drive to Maire's house was beautiful and I felt like we had entered another world, a magical place.  I maintained this feeling throughout the trip.  We were there for six weeks.  Two in Kilfenora, where I played at Linane's Pub in the center of town, and went to the Kilfenora Set Dance on Thursday nights.  We toured around County Clare, to the Cliffs of Mohr, to Doolin, Lisdoonvarna, and many other places.  One time we went up to Galway and Connemara.  We tried to stay away from tourists, to catch as much music as possible, and to go hiking and walking at every destination spot.

I had the pleasure of learning how to play the treble from Frankie Gavin during a break at a concert in Cork.

Frankie Gavin is a fiddle player of traditional Irish music.

Frankie Gavin (musician)
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Background information
Born     1956 (age 57–58)
Corrandulla, County Galway, Ireland
Genres     Irish traditional music
Occupation(s)     Musician
Instruments     Fiddle, tin whistle, flute
Years active     1960–present
Associated acts     De Dannan

Early years

Frankie Gavin was born in 1956 in Corrandulla, County Galway, from a musical family; his parents and siblings being players of the fiddle and accordion. As a child he played the tin whistle from the age of four and, later, the flute. He received some formal training in music, but his musical ability on the fiddle is mainly self-taught. When 17 years old, he gained first place in both the All Ireland Under-18 Fiddle and Flute competitions.

Music career

In the early 1970s Gavin played musical sessions at Galway's Cellar Bar, with Alec Finn (bouzouki, guitar), Mickey Finn (fiddle), Charlie Piggott (banjo), and Johnnie (Ringo) McDonagh (bodhrán).  In 1974, from these and further sessions, he founded the group De Dannan with Alec Finn.

When De Dannan split-up in 2003, Gavin founded a new group, Frankie Gavin and The New De Dannan, which led to an acrimonious exchange between Gavin and Finn, with the latter claiming to have registered the 'De Dannan' name.

Gavin has also played and recorded with Andy Irvine, The Rolling Stones, Elvis Costello, Stéphane Grappelli, and Frankie Goes to Hollywood,[6] and in 2010 became reputedly the fastest fiddle-player in the world, with an entry in the Guinness Book of Records.

-----
A tribute to Frankie:

by Fintan Vallely, Sunday Tribune

2011 saw the release of the latest album by Frankie Gavin and De Dannan 'Jigs, Reels & Rock n' Roll' on the Tara Music label. The album is the culmination of years of work by Frankie to put the De Dannan back where it belongs as one of the foremost performing groups of Irish traditional music.
Frankie, who was born in 1956 in Corrandulla, Co. Galway, comes from a musical family: his father played fiddle, and his mother and all of her family played also. Frankie himself started playing the tin whistle at age four, making his first T.V. appearance three years later. At the age of ten years old Frankie began to play fiddle and by the time he was seventeen he was placed first in the All Ireland Fiddle Competition and in the All Ireland Flute Competition, both on the same day.

Mainly learning by ear, he was strongly influenced by the 78 recordings of Michael Coleman and James Morrison. Sessions in the Cellar Bar, Galway and later in Hughes’ pub in Spiddal led to the formation of De Dannan in 1973.

His Currandulla connection came in useful when De Danann were looking for a singer, and it was he who came up with Dolores Keane from nearby Cahirlistrane. When De Danann brought out their first album, her singing of The Rambling Irishman gained a lot of airplay for the group. Although De Danann has had many highpoints over a quarter of a century, particularly with the singing of Dolores Keane and Maura O'Connell and the box playing of Mairtin O'Connor, Frankie’s powerful virtuoso fiddle playing has always been at the core of the De Dannan sound.

He has recorded 16 albums with De Dannan as well as a number of solo albums, and three collaborations: one a tribute to Joe Cooley entitled ‘Omos do Joe Cooley’ with Paul Brock; a fine collaboration with fellow De Dannan member Alec Finn; and one with Stephane Grapelli exploring the languages of jazz and traditional music. He has also guested with The Rolling Stones on their ‘Voodoo Lounge’ album, with Keith Richards on ‘Wingless Angels’ and with Earl Scruggs the great banjo man.

Exposure to American audiences began in 1976 when he played with De Danann at the American bicentennial celebrations in Washington DC, with artists such as Junior Crehan and Micho Russell. Frankie has also been invited to play for numerous State officials including President John F. Kennedy on historic visit to Ireland in 1962, French president Francois Mitterand and England's Prince Charles. Of a special event in America, United States Ambassador to Ireland, Jean Kennedy Smith is reported to have commented that "The best all 'round performance of the entire week at Kennedy Center was by DeDannan."

2009 saw Frankie Gavin back on the road and with new De Dannan members. The new line up which features Frankie Gavin (Fiddle/Flute/Whistles), Damien Mullane (Accordian), Eric Cunningham (Percussion/Flutes/Whistles), Mike Galvin (Bouzouki/Guitar) and Michelle Lally (Vocals). In Frankie's own words "This recording marks a special time in my musical life and follows a period where it wasn't possible for me to perform as part of De Dannan, a band I first formed and played with in Connemara in the early 1970's."

 
"Innovation may be the buzz-word in Traditional music, but Frankie Gavin's digressions are not in the common areas of tempo and superficial style-impressions. His contemporary borrowings of art-deco and music-hall Irishness are re-jigged in original avenues of exploration. His dextrous treatment of troublesome tunes might get even the Pope out on the floor, his orchestration could break hearts. A superbly uncompromising player, he makes refreshment of the old by picking out and polishing every detail and setting it off in a steady, listenable pace. Gavin edgy and brilliant on both fiddle and flute, with always the most meticulous attention given to tone and variation. Live, his tune sets are perfectionism that drive and are driven by an audience spontaneity that spurs Gavin to push fiddle from shriek to rasping bass. Tears and cheers erupt spontaneously, the goodwill of his mixed-age audiences has always been great sauce. Like herding the mythic creac, Frankie Gavin here whoops a great retrospective before him into the Ogham of Celtic Valhalla."