BRIAN CONWAY: FIRST THROUGH THE GATE
Brian Conway: fiddle
Andy McGann: fiddle
Patrick Mangan: fiddle
Felix Dolan: piano
Mark Simos, John Doyle: guitar
Pat Kilbride: cittern
Myron Bretholz: bodhran, bones

New-York-born Brian Conway is widely acknowledged as one of the best Irish-style fiddle players in the US and as a leading exponent of the so-called New York Sligo style, inherited from great players of the 1920s like Michael Coleman, James Morrison, Paddy Killoran, and Lad O'Beirne through the next generation of players represented by Andy McGann and Martin Wynne. Conway's highly ornamented, fluid, yet bouncy playing is in evidence throughout, and his choice of tunes makes frequent references to the early sources of his music, the 78 recordings of the great Sligo masters. A magical sound is heard on the duets with Andy McGann, one of his mentors, or Patrick Mangan, a former star pupil who won the All-Ireland title at age 10, and on the trio tracks where Conway combines forces with both McGann and Mangan. Conway pays tribute to the late Martin Wynne, another most important influence in his development as a fiddle player, by playing four reels composed by Wynne. Stellar accompaniments are provided throughout. An exceptional album of genuine traditional music.

Rating: ****

Price: $16.99
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Contents:
1. Reels: The Liffey Banks/The Concert Reel/The Donegal Traveler
2. Slip Jigs: The Foxhunter/ Barney Brallaghan/Comb Your Hair and Curl It
3. Reels: The Mullingar Lea/Dowd's No. 9/ The Lass of Carracastle
4. Jigs: Up Sligo No. 2/Contentment Is Wealth/The Scotsman Over the Border
5. Reels: The Blackberry Blossom/The Silver Spire/The Dawn
6. Hornpipes: The Cuckoo/Flowers of Spring/Dunphy's
7. Reels: The Dairy Maid's Reel/The Reelof Bogie/Langton's Favorites
8. Highlands: O'Flynn's Fancy/Casey's Pig/Jimmy Lyons'
9. Reels: Paddy Ryan's Dream/Never Was Piping So Gay/John McGrath's
10. Reels: Jenny's Welcome to Charlie/Tom Steele
11. Slow Air: An raibh tu ag an gCarraig? (Were you at the Rock?)
12. Reels: Martin Wynne's Nos. 1,2,3 and 4
13. Hornpipes: Minnie Foster's Clog/The Newcastle Hornpipe/Fly by Night No.2
14. Jigs: Jerry's Beaver Hat/Scatter the Mud/Kitty's Wedding
15. Reels:The Spike Island Lasses/Tom Moylan's Frolics
See also:
Consider the Source
& Joe Burke: A Tribute to Andy McGann