I was surprised to find that this one hadn't been posted when I went to post the Boston Edge. This is a mix of old favorites, new compositions, and stuff lifted from "the book". Quite a few, he says, he'd never played before preparing this record. Try to pick them without consulting the notes - I couldn't.
Felix Dolan's piano accompaniment is exactly what you want on Derrane's playing.
Joe Derrane is so incredibly gifted. His grounding was at the American ballroom scene and this style has pierced through his playing style which is full of virtuosity. But I've always been a fan of 'music from the heart' in any shape or form and Joe Derrane succeeds in doing this. There's a great story and quite a moving one in some respects behind Derrane's playing career which seen him give up the button box for 30 or so years and come back, albeit with a lack of confidence, and play as good as he ever did at the Wolf Trap Festival in 1994. This album was recorded not too long after he got back to playing. He plays a lot of tunes from O'Neills but they're all good ones. His technique is a lot different from the more 'accepted' accordion techniques but his ability is pretty much outstanding when you listen to him. His variations are cool too and don't stray too much from the tune, even if some do stand out quite obviously. Anyway, I love him. You have to hear him some time and this isn't a bad start.
I was surprised to find that this one hadn't been posted when I went to post the Boston Edge. This is a mix of old favorites, new compositions, and stuff lifted from "the book". Quite a few, he says, he'd never played before preparing this record. Try to pick them without consulting the notes - I couldn't.
Felix Dolan's piano accompaniment is exactly what you want on Derrane's playing.
# Posted on October 19th 2004 by Jon Kiparsky
Give us Another
Joe Derrane is so incredibly gifted. His grounding was at the American ballroom scene and this style has pierced through his playing style which is full of virtuosity. But I've always been a fan of 'music from the heart' in any shape or form and Joe Derrane succeeds in doing this. There's a great story and quite a moving one in some respects behind Derrane's playing career which seen him give up the button box for 30 or so years and come back, albeit with a lack of confidence, and play as good as he ever did at the Wolf Trap Festival in 1994. This album was recorded not too long after he got back to playing. He plays a lot of tunes from O'Neills but they're all good ones. His technique is a lot different from the more 'accepted' accordion techniques but his ability is pretty much outstanding when you listen to him. His variations are cool too and don't stray too much from the tune, even if some do stand out quite obviously. Anyway, I love him. You have to hear him some time and this isn't a bad start.
# Posted on January 16th 2008 by PaddyCmusic