James Keane (musician)
Encyclopedia
James Keane is an Irish
traditional musician and accordion
player. The Italian Castagnari
company issued and continues a line of signature instruments called keanebox in his honor.
James Keane was born in Drimnagh, south Dublin City in Co Dublin. He reportedly began playing at age six, and lilting since before he could talk. The Keane house in Dublin was a musical landmark on the traditional music scene in the 1950s and 1960s. Keane's mother and father were both fiddle players from musical communities in County Longford
and County Clare
, and would play host to the legendary players who traveled from all over Ireland to perform in the capital city. These guests greatly affected James and his brother Seán Keane
, the fiddler with the Chieftains, as did their summer trips to Longford and Clare where they encountered the music at its roots.
By the age of ten, James had become a fixture on the late 1950s Dublin traditional scene regularly performing with Séamus Ennis
, Leo Rowsome
, Sonny Brogan
and Tommy Reck, honing his skills under their guidance. While still in his early teens, James co-founded what would become one of Ireland's most heralded music ensembles, the Castle Céilí Band with Mick O'Connor
, his brother and others. The band would go on to win numerous Oireachtas
competitions, and the All-Ireland Senior Céilí Band competition in Thurles
in 1965.
He won the senior Accordion Championship while still a junior in the Dundalk
open accordion championships in 1964, 1965 and 1966. He won the All-Ireland junior (under 18) Championship at Fleadh Cheoil na hÉireann in Mullingar
in 1963.
Keane emigrated to the United States where he performed in numerous bands, including the Ellis Island
Céilí Band, which was formed for the Smithsonian Institution
's Centennial Celebration honoring Lady Liberty
in New York Harbor. In 1991, Keane was made Traditionalist of the Year by the Irish Echo, and his album Sweeter as the Years Roll By was chosen as one of the top twenty traditional albums of the last twenty years by Irish America magazine
in their anniversary edition.
He is today a founding member of Fingal
, the critically acclaimed group with Randal Bays
and Dáithí Sproule
, he tours regularly, performing music and lecturing in colleges about the history of Irish traditional music. He has been flown back to Ireland on numerous occasions for awards and performances, including a trip to participate when the City of Dublin was deemed a European Capital of Culture by the EU. In 2004 an event to honor Keane was organized by Luke Kelly
's biographer--Des Geraghty
--held at Liberty Hall, and attended by dignitaries including Taoiseach
Bertie Ahern
, prime minister of Ireland.
Group albums.
Artist Compilations
Books & CD
Session Work
Ireland
Ireland is an island to the northwest of continental Europe. It is the third-largest island in Europe and the twentieth-largest island on Earth...
traditional musician and accordion
Accordion
The accordion is a box-shaped musical instrument of the bellows-driven free-reed aerophone family, sometimes referred to as a squeezebox. A person who plays the accordion is called an accordionist....
player. The Italian Castagnari
Castagnari
Castagnari is an Italian maker of accordions, melodeons and bandoneóns, based in Recanati.-External links:****...
company issued and continues a line of signature instruments called keanebox in his honor.
James Keane was born in Drimnagh, south Dublin City in Co Dublin. He reportedly began playing at age six, and lilting since before he could talk. The Keane house in Dublin was a musical landmark on the traditional music scene in the 1950s and 1960s. Keane's mother and father were both fiddle players from musical communities in County Longford
County Longford
County Longford is a county in Ireland. It is part of the Midlands Region and is also located in the province of Leinster. It is named after the town of Longford.Longford County Council is the local authority for the county...
and County Clare
County Clare
-History:There was a Neolithic civilisation in the Clare area — the name of the peoples is unknown, but the Prehistoric peoples left evidence behind in the form of ancient dolmen; single-chamber megalithic tombs, usually consisting of three or more upright stones...
, and would play host to the legendary players who traveled from all over Ireland to perform in the capital city. These guests greatly affected James and his brother Seán Keane
Sean Keane
Seán Keane may refer to:*Seán Keane , fiddle player of The Chieftains*Seán Keane , Irish folk singer; brother of singer Dolores Keane...
, the fiddler with the Chieftains, as did their summer trips to Longford and Clare where they encountered the music at its roots.
By the age of ten, James had become a fixture on the late 1950s Dublin traditional scene regularly performing with Séamus Ennis
Séamus Ennis
Séamus Ennis was an Irish piper, singer and folk-song collector.- Early years :In 1908 James Ennis, Séamus's father, was in a pawn-shop in London. Ennis bought a bag of small pieces of Uilleann pipes. They were made in the early nineteenth century by Coyne of Thomas Street in Dublin. James worked...
, Leo Rowsome
Leo Rowsome
Leo Rowsome was the third generation of an unbroken line of uilleann pipers. He was performer, manufacturer and teacher of the uilleann pipes - the complete master of his instrument...
, Sonny Brogan
Sonny Brogan
Sonny Brogan was an Irish accordion player from the 1930s to the 1960s, and was one of Ireland's most popular traditional musicians. He was one of the earliest advocates of the two-row B/C button accordion in traditional music, and popularised it the 1950s and 60s...
and Tommy Reck, honing his skills under their guidance. While still in his early teens, James co-founded what would become one of Ireland's most heralded music ensembles, the Castle Céilí Band with Mick O'Connor
Mick O'Connor (musician)
Mick O'Connor is from Dublin, Ireland, a flute player and a founding member of the Castle Céilí Band with James Keane and Seán Keane. He is a scholar of Irish traditional music, the subject of a TG4 television production called Sé Mo Laoch, and the patriarch of a musical family that includes Liam...
, his brother and others. The band would go on to win numerous Oireachtas
Oireachtas
The Oireachtas , sometimes referred to as Oireachtas Éireann, is the "national parliament" or legislature of Ireland. The Oireachtas consists of:*The President of Ireland*The two Houses of the Oireachtas :**Dáil Éireann...
competitions, and the All-Ireland Senior Céilí Band competition in Thurles
Thurles
Thurles is a town situated in North Tipperary, Ireland. It is a civil parish in the historical barony of Eliogarty and is also an ecclesiastical parish in the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Cashel and Emly...
in 1965.
He won the senior Accordion Championship while still a junior in the Dundalk
Dundalk
Dundalk is the county town of County Louth in Ireland. It is situated where the Castletown River flows into Dundalk Bay. The town is close to the border with Northern Ireland and equi-distant from Dublin and Belfast. The town's name, which was historically written as Dundalgan, has associations...
open accordion championships in 1964, 1965 and 1966. He won the All-Ireland junior (under 18) Championship at Fleadh Cheoil na hÉireann in Mullingar
Mullingar
Mullingar is the county town of County Westmeath in Ireland. The Counties of Meath and Westmeath Act of 1542, proclaimed Westmeath a county, separating it from Meath. Mullingar became the administrative centre for County Westmeath...
in 1963.
Keane emigrated to the United States where he performed in numerous bands, including the Ellis Island
Ellis Island
Ellis Island in New York Harbor was the gateway for millions of immigrants to the United States. It was the nation's busiest immigrant inspection station from 1892 until 1954. The island was greatly expanded with landfill between 1892 and 1934. Before that, the much smaller original island was the...
Céilí Band, which was formed for the Smithsonian Institution
Smithsonian Institution
The Smithsonian Institution is an educational and research institute and associated museum complex, administered and funded by the government of the United States and by funds from its endowment, contributions, and profits from its retail operations, concessions, licensing activities, and magazines...
's Centennial Celebration honoring Lady Liberty
Lady Liberty
Lady Liberty may refer to:* Lady Liberty , La mortadella, 1972 French-Italian comedy* "Lady Liberty" , written by Al Jardine and Ron Altbach for the Beach Boys...
in New York Harbor. In 1991, Keane was made Traditionalist of the Year by the Irish Echo, and his album Sweeter as the Years Roll By was chosen as one of the top twenty traditional albums of the last twenty years by Irish America magazine
Irish America magazine
Irish America magazine is a bi-monthly periodical that aims to cover topics relevant to the Irish in North America including a range of political, economic, social, and cultural themes. The magazine’s inaugural issue was published in October 1985...
in their anniversary edition.
He is today a founding member of Fingal
Fingal (music group)
Fingal are an Irish traditional music band, based in the United States. The group was formed in New York in 2006, regularly tours across the United States and Europe, and released their debut album in October 2008 to critical acclaim.- Members :...
, the critically acclaimed group with Randal Bays
Randal Bays
Randal Bays is a fiddler, guitarist and composer. The American-born 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. He began playing music at the age of eight and was...
and Dáithí Sproule
Dáithí Sproule
Dáithí Sproule is a guitarist and singer of traditional Irish music from Derry, Northern Ireland. His niece is the singer songwriter Claire Sproule.-Biography:...
, he tours regularly, performing music and lecturing in colleges about the history of Irish traditional music. He has been flown back to Ireland on numerous occasions for awards and performances, including a trip to participate when the City of Dublin was deemed a European Capital of Culture by the EU. In 2004 an event to honor Keane was organized by Luke Kelly
Luke Kelly
Luke Kelly was an Irish singer and folk musician from Dublin, Ireland, notable as a founding member of the band The Dubliners.-Early life:...
's biographer--Des Geraghty
Des Geraghty
Desmond "Des" Geraghty is a former Irish politician and trade union leader. He was president of SIPTU from 1999 to 2004. He stood unsuccessfully at the 1984 European Parliament election for the Dublin constituency as a Workers' Party candidate...
--held at Liberty Hall, and attended by dignitaries including Taoiseach
Taoiseach
The Taoiseach is the head of government or prime minister of Ireland. The Taoiseach is appointed by the President upon the nomination of Dáil Éireann, the lower house of the Oireachtas , and must, in order to remain in office, retain the support of a majority in the Dáil.The current Taoiseach is...
Bertie Ahern
Bertie Ahern
Patrick Bartholomew "Bertie" Ahern is a former Irish politician who served as Taoiseach of Ireland from 26 June 1997 to 7 May 2008....
, prime minister of Ireland.
Discography
Solo albums.- "The Irish Accordion of James Keane" (1972) Rex Heritage Disc 808
- "Roll Away the Reel World" (1980) Green Linnet 1026
- "That's the Spirit" (1994) Green Linnet] 1138
- "Toss the Feathers" (1996) Green Linnet
- "With Friends Like These" (1998) Shanachie 78015
- "Sweeter as the Years Roll By" (1999) Shanachie 78031
- "James Keane & Friends - Live in Dublin" (2002) Lavalla Records LA01
Group albums.
- "Fingal" (2008) New Folk Records 0502
Artist Compilations
- "Live at the Embankment" (1965) Keane accompanied by Dónal LunnyDónal LunnyDónal Lunny is an Irish folk musician. Lunny has been at the forefront of the evolution of traditional Irish music for more than thirty-five years and has participated within the renaissance of traditional Irish music in that time period...
- "Sweet and Traditional Music of Ireland" (1971) classic album also featuring Paddy Reynolds]
- "Irish Traditional Instrumental Music" (1997) Rounder RecordsRounder RecordsRounder Records, originally of Cambridge, Massachusetts, but now based in Burlington, Massachusetts, is a record label founded in 1970 by Ken Irwin, Bill Nowlin and Marian Leighton-Levy, while all three were still university students...
- "The Rights of Man" (1991) The Concert for Joe DohertyJoe DohertyJoe Doherty is a former volunteer in the Belfast Brigade of the Provisional Irish Republican Army who escaped during his 1981 trial for killing a member of the Special Air Service in 1980...
- "Atlantic Wave" (1997)
- "The Boston College Gaelic Roots" (1997) Kells Music
- "The Tocane Concerts" (2000) with Kieran HanrahanKieran HanrahanKieran Hanrahan is an Irish radio host and musician, born in Ennis, Co. Clare in 1957. He began playing traditional Irish music on the tenor banjo at the age of fourteen, and had won the All-Ireland banjo championship by the time he was eighteen...
Books & CD
- "Menus & Music, the Irish Isle" (1996) arranged and performed by James Keane with Sharon O'Connor, Séamus EganSéamus EganSéamus Egan is an Irish musician.-Early days:Séamus Egan was born in Hatboro, Pennsylvania to Irish émigrés Jack and Ann Egan. At the age of three his parents moved the family back home to County Mayo, Ireland....
, Winifred HoranWinifred HoranWinifred Horan is an Irish-American fiddler. After classical training, she played with the all-female Celtic music ensemble Cherish the Ladies before becoming an original memberof the Irish traditional music group Solas.-Biography:...
, Sue RichardsSue RichardsSue Richards is a Canadian artist and social entrepreneur living in Guelph, Ontario. Sue moved to Guelph in 1981 to attend the University of Guelph...
(harp)
Session Work
- "Uncommon Bonds" (1984) Mick MoloneyMick MoloneyMichael "Mick" Moloney is a traditional Irish musician and scholar. Born in Limerick, County Limerick, he was an important figure on the Dublin folk-song revival in the 1960s. In 1973, he moved to Philadelphia, Pennsylvania...
& Eugene O'Donnell - "Long Black Veil" (1995) RCA Victor 62702, The ChieftainsThe ChieftainsThe Chieftains are a Grammy-winning Irish musical group founded in 1962, best known for being one of the first bands to make Irish traditional music popular around the world.-Name:...
, Ry CooderRy CooderRyland Peter "Ry" Cooder is an American guitarist, singer and composer. He is known for his slide guitar work, his interest in roots music from the United States, and, more recently, his collaborations with traditional musicians from many countries.His solo work has been eclectic, encompassing...