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In this month’s playlist, Pádraic continues his exploration of the Felix Dolan Collection at ITMA.
Felix Dolan (1937-2013) was a pivotal figure in this traditional Irish music scene in New York. An accomplished pianist, Felix provided innovative accompaniment that elevated the performances putting him in big demand for both formal and informal musical events. His ability to seamlessly blend with other musicians and his deep understanding of traditional Irish music made him an invaluable accompanist .We are now in the fortunate position of having received the private collection of Felix Dolan, kindly donated by his son Brendan. Will the generous help from Brendan and Felix’s old friend, Brain Conway, we intend to focus on Felix’s collection in the coming months.
This month we have tracks of Felix playing with many old musical friends including Andy McGann, fiddle (1928-2004) and Martin Mulhaire, accordion (1936-2020) from a memorable concert in Boston College, 1992, organised by another great musician, Seamus Connolly. Paddy O’Brien (1922-1991) was a renowned Irish accordion player who has made a lasting impact on traditional Irish music. Felix got to know Paddy during the many years Paddy and family lived in New York. Felix visited Paddy back in Tipperary after he returned home and was present to record a great session in the Larkin house, Garrykennedy, joined by Paddy’s daughter, a young Eileen and Larkins Dan on fiddle and Jody on piano.
Felix’s house was a frequent venue for musical gatherings over many years, and the collection includes a special recording from 1986, including several renowned musicians. Brian Conway is a celebrated traditional Irish fiddle player from New York City, that we featured last month. Brian is joined by Martin Wynne (1916-1998) renowned for his intricate Sligo-style fiddle playing and as a composer, who had a major influence on Brian’s playing. Joe Madden (1938-2008), accordion, was also present, a close friend of Felix, they frequently performed at music festivals, céilis and Irish cultural events. Two close family friend to the Dolan’s , Rose Clancy (fiddle) and Kevin Killeen (piano accordion) were also there on the night. Hope you enjoy this selection and I look forward to sharing more of Felix Dolan’s collection of music from New York in the coming months,
Padraic Mac Mathuna
