Sean Moloney: Music on the Wind

SEAN MOLONEY: MUSIC ON THE WIND

Sean Moloney: flutes, tinwhistle, fiddle

Irene Moloney: fiddle, mandolin, bodhran

Triona Moloney: fiddle

Kieran Moloney, Stephen Moloney: flutes

Kevin Moloney: concertina

Seamie O'Dowd, Greg Cotter: guitars

Pat Eade: bouzouki

Mary Long: harp

Noel Hynes: spoons

Sean Moloney is the grandson of Stephen Moloney who played flute with the original Ballinakill Ceili Band back in the 1920s. Sean's father Eddie and his uncle Ambrose were highly regarded flute players in the East Galway tradition as well. Not surprisingly, Sean inherited not only a taste for playing the "potstick," as his father would call the timber flute jokingly, but also a lot of music. He recorded some of it a few years back on an album entitled "Bridging the Gap," which he made with another uncle, Kevin, who played the fiddle, and is now deceased. Obviously, Sean Moloney has a lot of music in him he wants to record: he produced not one, but two new CDs this year, the other being called "Potsticks," and both CDs have over twenty tracks each. While Sean plays mostly the simple system flute, the "potstick," on the latter, here he concentrates more on Boehm system flutes, instruments which were favored by his father Eddie and other East Galway players because they lend themselves to playing in flat keys. Although it was recorded in a studio, the album has an informal feel throughout, sometimes even a bit of an under-produced quality (accompaniments are sometimes rather basic), which makes it sound like it might have been made in someone's kitchen. But this is hardly a criticism. That water is straight from the well, and it's mighty tasty, although not in a conventional way. (10/2004)

Rating: ****

Price: $22.99