Bumblebees buzzin’ Beehave Records BBCD001

Many years ago, Mary first heard this reel played by a group called "Shegui" on the local radio station Clare FM. It was brought to mind again recently by our friends, the ever-vivacious French-Canadian group Barachois from Prince Edward Island, Nova Scotia while on a trip to Cape Breton. The second, a Scottish reel, we got from Cape Breton piano player Mac Morin and the last was made popular by master fiddle player Tommy Peoples from Donegal.

2. Goodbye Eddy Street - Russ Barenberg

We fell in love with this swingy American tune by Russ Barenberg, a great guitar and mandolin player from America.

3. The Salt Wedding (Nico Brown)/Across the Divide(Mary Custy)/Le Petit Cheval Rouge

Colette got the first tune from Nico Brown, a multi-instrumentalist musician and composer. It is a wedding tune from the Steven Greenhorn play "The Salt Wound". The second, a jig which was originally a waltz, was written by Co. Clare musician Mary Custy. The last is a lively French-Canadian reel which we got from Lisa Ornstein from Maine.

4. De Saint Paul A Terrebonne

Liz heard this tune from a French-Canadian band Les Freres Brunet via Canadian fiddler Pierre Schryer on one of his extended visits to Ireland.

5. The Ruby/Marie Sauce Ton Pain/The Judique Flyer/Charles Sutherland(J. Murdoch Henderson)

Mary learned The Ruby a few years ago from Aine Hensey’s programme on Clare FM. It was played by Chuck Fleming, Tom Gilfellon and Martin Matthews of The Champion string Band. The second tune comes from the playing of the mighty French-Canadian band La Bottine Souriante. The Judique Flyer was the name of a train in Inverness county, Cape Breton and Charles Sutherland is a traditional Scottish reel.

6. Miss Catherine Jane Sprees(Brian McNeill)/The Roaring Barmaid(Tony Sullivan)/Siney’s Jig

Liz heard this first tune from multi-instrumentalist Brian McNeill. The second was taught to us by the mad, Manchester fiddler Andrew Dinan while on one of his trips to Galway. Cheers Andy! Siney’s jig came from the playing of the Irish group Sliabh Notes from Sliabh Luachra in the south-west of Ireland.

7. Dermot Grogan’s Hornpipe

We learned this hornpipe from our friends Mary Staunton and Gerry Mulvihill who heard it from Mayo musician Dermot Grogan.

8. Jimmy’s Return/Union Street(Paul Cranford)/Break Yer Bass Drone(Gordon Duncan)

We first heard piano accordionist Seamas Meehan play this traditional Irish reel at sessions about ten years ago. Fiddler Paul Cranford wrote the second after a big-time party house on Union Street in Sydney, Cape Breton. The third is a Scottish reel which we first heard from our great fiddling friend Duncan Chisholm from Invernesshire.

9. Nos Braves Habitant(Madame Mary Bolduc)/The Cameron Highlanders(James Skott Skinner)/Daisy’s Tune(Mary Shannon)

Yet another tune from La Bottine Souriante. The second, we learned from the early recordings of Stockton’s Wing. Mary wrote the last tune, a polka while playing tunes in Laoise’s house in Galway!

10. Den Vindskaeve(Ivan B. Damgard)

At a workshop in Copenhagen the roles were reversed when Colette was taught this tune by one of her students Henrik Kjelin.

11. Eddie Kelly’s/Farewell to Chernobyl(Michael Ferry)

The first tune was learned from the recording of Irish musicians Paddy Glackin and Jolyon Jackson. The second we heard at sessions down through the years with Michael Ferry, Karen Tweed and Vincent Blanc.

Guest Musicians :

Noel Bridgeman : Tambourine, djembe, shaker and congas, track 2. Djembe and shaker, track 11. Gerry O’Beirne : Slide and 12 string guitar, track 2. Guitar, track 3. Guitar, track 11. E-bow and guitar, track 10. Trevor Hutchinson : additional mandola, track 11. Double bass track 3. Tracks 2, 3, 5, 6, 8, 9, 10, 11 produced, engineered and mixed by Trevor Hutchinson. Recorded at Marguerite Studios, Dublin 1999. Tracks 1, 4, 7 produced by Bumblebees, engineered by Paul Guerney and mixed by Trevor Hutchinson and Ed Kenehan. Recorded at LG Studios Longford 1998.

All tracks mastered by Robyn Robbins at Mid-Atlantic Digital.

Artwork by Michael Kelly.

Photography by Christy McNamara.