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Becky Taylor: Uilleann Pipes
Mike McGoldrick: Flute
Grace Kelly: Whistle
Dave Kosky: Guitar
James O’Grady: Pipes/fiddle
Tunes featured: ‘Edinburgh Rock’ and ‘the Bunny’s Hat’ by David Lim, and ‘the Trip to Pakistan’ by Niall Kenny.
Video reproduced here with the kind permission of Phil Hardy at Kerry Whistles, check out his site for many other fine videos and recordings.
Available to buy here from our online shop
It’s somewhat of an understatement to say I am hugely proud to be involved with the long-awaited (and much overdue) CD by my musical mentor, maker of my fiddle and old friend Paul Archer. The CD features tunes mainly composed by Paul and features contributions from other well known North-Eastern traditional musicians Martin Matthews, Norman Holmes, Gerry Kaley, Jim O’Boyle and Tom Gilfellon.
As well as being a fine player and composer Paul also makes fabulous instruments – find more out about them at Archer Guitars – you can probably get a hold of a copy of the CD there too. Happy Days!
Waiting for Rain
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Crikey! This takes me back…
This was a day to remember – about to go onstage at the Rock over Volga festival 2012 with Aquarium.
And the gig!
ArtSBridge is a grassroots community organization, dedicated to supporting artists and other creative people, and is based in Sowerby Bridge. Winners of the 2014 Halifax Courier Community Spirit award, they put on cultural events throughout the year, from book launches to film screenings, and a yearly week-long festival in December. The first Sowerby Bridge arts festival was in 2013.
The festival works to showcase local talent and special guests, and works in co-operation with the local library service, schools, churches and community groups, to engage the local community and encourage the young and old to be part of creative arts.
We’re proud of Sowerby Bridge and the ever-developing Community Spirit, and we’re also proud of the creative talents that live and work in the area.
artSBridge welcomes creative minds to join our merry band! We seek artists and performers, those who have time to volunteer services and skills, and all who would like to contribute in administrative, promotional or other capacities.
N.B. This text was copied shamelessly from their fantastic website where you can find out a whole lot more about what’s going on at www.artsbridge.co.uk
GTG are pleased to be a part of this years festival – do come along and support us
 REVIEW FROM www.livingtradition.co.uk |
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| VARIOUS ARTISTS – The Omnibus Northumbrian Pipers’ Society NPSCD01 |
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| This CD sets out to show the breadth of Northumbrian pipe music being played today, with some world renowned players and some less famous. It includes traditional and modern pieces, solos and ensemble playing, French and Irish music, as well as many Northumbrian favourites. Sixteen pipers and various other musicians play over 40 tunes in 19 tracks: well over an hour of music on the Northumbrian smallpipes. Each set of pipes is slightly different, and sometimes this can be clearly heard. The arrangements differ too: pipes and fiddle, pipes and harp, pipes and hurdy-gurdy, pipes and harmonica and of course guitar and keyboard. Familiar names include Kathryn Tickell, Andy May, Chris Ormston, Anthony Robb and Becky Taylor, with Stewart Hardy on fiddle. All the other pipers here are of a very high standard, although some tracks are quite unpolished.With Northumbrian music you expect certain things: hornpipes, rants, slow airs and variations. The Omnibus has all of these in full measure: 3/2 and 4/4 hornpipes by Hill or attributed to Hill or nothing to do with Hill, rants by Pigg or Tickell or neither, plus a whole slew of slow airs, jigs, slip-jigs and marches. There are traditional variations on classics such as Holey Ha’penny and My Dearie Sits Ower Late Up. There are modern virtuoso variations on Grey Bull Hornpipe and Wark Football Team by the inimitable Kathryn Tickell. It’s the unexpected which makes this collection special: a set of French bransles, an air transposed from the Irish pipes, a Swedish waltz and several stunning new slow airs by Northumbrian pipers. Listen to the sweeping beauty of Catcherside, the stately grandeur of Memories Of Wallington, or the heartfelt sadness of Whisky Is Not Enough. If you ever wondered what Northumbrian smallpipes could sound like, here’s your answer.
www.northumbrianpipers.org.uk Alex Monaghan |
Greaves Taylor Gillon brings together three of the region’s most individual talents in a new project rooted in folk traditions. This acoustic trio combines original songs in various genres and traditional folk tunes in a live set that showcases great musicianship without ever losing its sense of fun. Visit our new website here
Greaves Taylor Gillon
Formed in 2014, this trio features:
– Andy Greaves – Singer, songwriter guitarist, mandolinist , poet and noted eccentric who has been at the centre of the Calder Delta music scene since his debut in the 1980s with John Peel favourites the Chinese Gangster Element. Over the last 30 years he has created original music in genres as diverse as punk and country music. Andy currently co-fronts British Bluegrass rebels The Tragics as well as performing widely as a solo artist and poet. 
-Les Gillon – Guitarist, bass-player, singer, composer and arranger, and a highly experienced musician who plays with a wide range or artists regionally and across the country. His alternative rock band Fez recently celebrated their 30 year anniversary and he plays with a variety of other bands including a country rock band, a jazz and blues combo and a group that performs Moroccan trance music.
and
– Becky Taylor contributing her own eclectic mix of Uilleann and Northumbrian pipes, duet concertina, whistles and fiddle to the musical pot.
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Last Autumn I was asked to write an article for the Northumbrian Pipers Society quarterly newsletter. An edited version was published in the Autumn edition, but here is the full version…
Waking up on the morning after my birthday this year I realized with some horror that I had now been playing the pipes for 30 years (you would have thought I would have the hang of it by now really wouldn’t you?!..)
Starting back in 1983 with Dave McQuade’s loan sets to schools and moving on to a particularly decrepit Hedworth set which I played for many years, my early NSP playing was unorthodox to say the least, and heavily influenced by the Irish musicians in the area and my passion for Uilleann piping for which I am perhaps better known. The defining moment in my NSP playing career was when, after many years I finally acquired a beautiful boxwood 17key set from Colin Ross in 2008 – it did take a little persuasion it must be said, as he was concerned that the Bb keys may not have been strictly necessary, with me assuring him that them they were, and subsequently playing many Gminor sets just to make sure I got the good use of them! Anyway, on playing this set it was impossible not to fall in love again with the sound of NSP and I returned to regular playing with renewed enthusiasm.
Over the years my piping career has taken me to some interesting places, most recently in Russia where I was invited to play (Uilleann) pipes as a guest with the legendary Boris Grebenshikov and his (mainly rock based) band Aquarium. After several visits I introduced the smallpipes as my F set very conveniently played in the keys of F and C that my Uilleann sets (being a concert pitched or ‘B’ set) couldn’t, and they were subsequently used on several tracks even making a brief appearance on the (very heavy) album ‘Архангельск’.
Playing NSP in Russia with a (very large) rock band came with its own particular set of challenges, the first of which was getting them there. Travelling through Russian border control with a pipe case containing both Uilleann and NSP is interesting to say the least. The very first word I learnt in Russian was ‘волынка’ pronounced ‘Volinka” and meaning literally ‘bagpipe’ and it is essential information for smoothing the difficult conversation between me (no Russian) and the rather bemused looking immigration staff (little English) when they pointed to my case with a stern ‘open’..