Mary Isadora Lawlor Shurtleff

While on the island this week, awaiting the arrival of a grand-baby and finding myself with time on my hands that has allowed me to do a little digging into the family archives, I came across this photo of my great-grandmother Shurtleff, about whom I know very little except for the fact that she was the grandmother that my mother spent summers with as a child, and in whose house she played games with her cousins on summer nights in the glow of kerosene lantern light (a couple of which I have, but now electrified). I raised my children in a house that was built next door to the Shurtleff family farmhouse, on land that will also be home to the new baby, Mary Shurtleff's great-great-great-grandchild. It boggles my mind to think that my mother's grandmother, this long-ago figure, is now, on some level - me.

Mary Shurtleff is my most direct and probably only actual genetic connection to Ireland (if such things matter); her parents, James and Mary Lawlor, both having been born and died in Naas, County Kildare. 

I often think, if the people who have died actually don't go anywhere; if they are still quite close by - as I believe they are - that Mary Shurtleff must be amused at seeing her great-granddaughter playing, and enamored so with Irish music.







My Great-granny Mary Shurtleff








The Shurtleff Homestead today.

The Tinker's Son, Norwell, January 19, 2011

My travel schedule this week allowed me to stop at Stuart and Laura's session at The Tinker's Son on Wednesday night, which makes for a long trip back to Boston, but well worth it. It's always a pleasure to see and play with Stuart, but I did miss Laura (who was reportedly off tending to her students at a school concert). The music was brilliant, I might add, a different sub-set of tunes - new to me, anyway - the tunes, as always, being determined by the ever-changing configuration of musicians and instruments, which on this night included, in addition to the folks I perceived to be the regulars (my brilliant conclusion, based on my attending a total of two times): two Kevins, one on pipes and flute, the other on box, and Rose Clancy on fiddle. I first met Rose and piper/flutist Kevin back at Paddy Barry's, what now feels like many sessions ago, but was actually only last winter/spring, so it was fun to see them again. I love this aspect of the music, the "small world" feeling. I miss Paddy's - kind of a wild and woolly place; loud, with a preponderance of stumbling drunks, but that was half the fun. After all, Paddy's was my first intro to the Irish Seisiun. In some ways, Paddy's will always be my foundation, the standard upon which I measure every other session.

All shot with G12/RAW/manual/f2.8@3o/ISO 3200. I've reached my limit with this low-light/noisy style of photography and will soon be making some changes...


I post the videos, below, not with the idea that I am any kind of videographer (but I would love to learn this medium, not that I need another project in my life - ha ha), but more as an aid to learning the tunes.





Kevin Quinn, Rose Clancy, Stuart Peak, and North American bodhran champ, Peter Smith. With the old pews and the stained glass, it's a little like being in a church-pub, which is as good a combination as any, I suppose. Besides, the playing of music with friends is surely as good as any religion.





Kevin and Rose.



Kevin and Kevin.



Rose



Rose and Stuart.
  

West Tisbury, January 19, 2011

I love the large, rollicking session, but also appreciate a one-on-one when the opportunity arises. On Wednesday morning I had the pleasure of meeting up with David for a few tunes on the island. The beauty of one-on-one, of course, is that there is time to take a tune apart and work stuff out slowly. Also, David has a very good grasp of the music and gave me some very good pointers.



Hector the Hero









Lovely mandolin, a great find by David's mom, Susie.  I suspect that I will end up with a mandolin someday. It would be so sweet to find a treasure like this one in a thrift shop or yard sale somewhere.

Hibernian Hall, Watertown, January 16, 2011

I'm a party animal, I guess. Today there were three events I tried to get to: the once-monthly Hibernian Hall session in Watertown, a house session in Cambridge, and a playoffs/birthday party in Brookline. I couldn't quite squeeze all three into the afternoon, despite my noble intentions, but I did manage to get to the Watertown session and the Brookline party.

I'm so glad I made it to the Hibernian Hall, because Dennis Galvin was there with a group of his young students. What a joy to see and hear these kids play their fiddles - a delight - taking me back to the days when my son Jonathan and I were studying violin on the Cape with Miss Sykes (taking the ferry over from the island every week), and my life was a steady stream of little kids and violins. How wonderful to see the music being passed to the next generation, and how lucky these kids are to be learning the music at a young age - though they don't know it yet, of course. I told Braden, age eleven, since I only started playing this music one year ago, "You've got a fifty-year head start on me." Hearing the children play was a treat, an honor, really.

I thought the attendance would be low due to the big Pats/Jets game scheduled to kick off at 4:30, but clearly football is not a priority with this crowd, as the hall was filled with musicians, dancers, families, and children of all ages (and the game would not have been a draw for me either had it not also been the birthday party of a friend).

It occurs to me that a People that makes music and dances together stands as good a chance as any, as a culture, to survive - probably more so. Let's throw staying in touch with its children in there, too.











Fiona, Braden, and Brigitte, with Billy in the background.









Fiona











Fiona and Braden.









Dierdre











Frank and Flan.











Dennis, Billy, and Braden.











Frank, Tom, and Mike.











Tom and Frank.























Connie, (Dennis, hidden), Billy, Braden, and Brigitte.











Braden











Braden, Brigitte, Billy, and Siobhan.











Fiona











Braden and Brigitte.











Frank and Tom.























Peter(?) and Connie.























Flan










Frank



Peter (?)

Caoimhin!

Snagged off of Caoimhin's site today: Caoimhin O Raghallaigh and Mick O'Brien. Wow.

The Greenbriar, January 10, 2011

Glad to be having two weeks in a row off from my travels, and how could I resist another opportunity to get over to the Greenbriar. I amuse myself in thinking I'm now a regular over there, but realize this is only a temporary state of affairs since I will be back on my regular commuting schedule next week. I do love this place, though, and the people - at least one of whom I've known for thirty years, a few I've only come to know in the past year from this and various other venues, and many who now seem like old friends even though my attendance here is sporadic. I enjoy the slow session - and continue to realize that even though I do spend time playing at home on my own (which sometimes feels like practicing, which I'm not crazy about), it is in the context of playing in the group, even tunes I don't even realize I know - stretching myself beyond my comfort level (quietly, so as not to annoy if I really don't have a clue; not so quietly as the tune begins to take shape) - it is in this context that I make the most progress, especially with the subtleties of the rhythms, the heart of the music. I was complimented in my bouzouki playing last night, for playing it softly, though interestingly, I am focusing more and more on fiddle and feel less need to play back-up, especially if there are other back-ups playing. I cringe when I think of how little I knew in the beginning. I expect that I will someday cringe again, realizing how little I knew in January of 2011.

I do love that big table in the front room/regular session, the way it fills up and pulses with music and life, and have started to understand the scheme of things. And while I do appreciate the slow pace of the early session, there's something wonderful about the way the fast pace of the regular session forces me to even more deeply engage with the music. I especially love the way that table feels like a family, and the way that Larry obviously cares about each person there.

I also had the pleasure of Wynter's company last night. I had been working on "her" College Groves, so I had her on my mind when my phone rang, and it was she, inquiring as to whether I was going to the Briar, so it worked out that we ended up traveling together. (And later in the evening when Larry invited Wynter to play a tune and The College Groves was her choice, I think she looked to me to play along - oops, did I mention that I just barely began learning this tune? - sorry, no help at all, which turned out to be of no consequence really, as she played it brilliantly, mostly solo, and to everyone's delight).

Maybe I've mentioned this, but this blog combines the two biggest loves of my life: music and photography; three, actually, if you count writing, though I've been way off of long writing projects for a while now - thanks to eight very recent years of school - with no real desire (yet) to get back to any in-depth writing projects. 

Thursday at Tommy Doyle's, 1/6/11

My fourth night out in a row. Not bad for this grandma. A good circle of musicians tonight, though we are missing Sean, who is in Ireland at the moment. (And I wonder if he's at some pub in Ireland, thinking of us and singing, "Missing you, all for the price of a flight.") Also, Cormac and Alex have not yet returned from their travels abroad. Still, for a cold January night, there was a good crowd - a nice mix of regulars, folks who knew each other from other venues, and folks meeting for the first time. Good to have David back among us, as well.

All shot with G12 on Low Light setting, mostly at ISO 3200, though a couple were shot at 6400. 






Jon, David, Liam, Chris.






Jon, David, Liam.And daddy won't you take me back to Muhlenberg CountyDown by the Green River where Paradise layWell, I'm sorry my son, but you're too late in asking Mister Peabody's coal train has hauled it away.From John Prine's Paradise.



Clockwise, from top, center: David, Liam, Chris, Wynter, Rosanne, Ben, Levi, Eric, Jon.


Rosanne