This
Year's (2002) Guest Artists
|
and Brian McGrath
|
--
Frankie
Gavin
Brian
McGrath
(Thanks to Gary and Alaska Folk Music)
The guest artists for the 28th Annual Alaska Folk Festival will be Frankie Gavin and Brian McGrath. They have been a major influence and continuing source of inspiration to generations of Irish musicians, both in America and abroad. -
- Frankie Gavin was born in Corrandulla, County Galway, Ireland in 1956. His father played the fiddle. His mother and Frankie's uncles, on his mothers side of the family all played either fiddles or accordions. Frankie began playing the tin whistle when he was 4 years old. He made his first TV appearance at the age of seven.
- His formal training was confined to
some lessons from Martin Rabbitt in
Galway who taught Frankie to read music,
but he is largely self- taught. In
1973 Frankie won the All Ireland fiddle
championship. He went on to win the
All Ireland flute championship that same
day. He began to play in sessions
around the Galway area. It was there he
first met Alec Finn, Johnnie "Ringo"
McDonagh and Charlie Piggot. In 1973 he
formed the Irish traditional super
group De Dannan. Over the next 30 years
Frankie's fiddle playing would
remain a central feature of De Dannan's
repertiore.
- Frankie Gavin was drawn at an early
age to the 78-rpm recording of early
Irish musicians such as James Morrison,
Michael Coleman and the Flannagan
Brothers. Phillippe Varlet wrote of him:
"Frankie Gavin's fiddle playing is
technically complex, unabashedly
brilliant, and has a pronounced, driving
swing which harkens back to the sound of
the 1920's."
- Frankie Gavin has collaborated with a
diverse range of artists, from The
Rolling Stones and Keith Richards to the
late Stephane Grappelli and Yehudi
Menuhin. He arranged and recorded the
original sound track for the TV series
The Irish RM.
- Frankie Gavin has recorded seven solo
albums and 16 albums with De
Dannan. He now lives near Oughterard on
the west shore of Lough Corrib, with
his wife and children.
- Brian McGrath, originally from Fermanagh, now living in Galway, is one of Ireland's most popular traditional musicians for both touring and recording today. He is highly respected by his fellow musicians as both a piano accompanist and banjo player. He can be heard on recordings of some of Irelands finest traditional musicians, including Frankie Gavin, Noel Hill, Arty McGlynn, John Carty, Charlie Lennon and Brian Rooney to name just a few. He teaches both piano and banjo at FONN Traditional Music Summer School Galway and at BLAS Summer Music School at University of Limerick.
Cambalache |
- In addition to the Guest Artists, Frankie Gavin and Brian McGrath, the Folk Festival has arranged something new for AFF 28, a Guest Dance Band: Cambalache.
- The Alaska Folk Festival is pleased
to present "Cambalache" as our 2002
dance guest artist. A nine-piece salsa
band from Seattle, Cambalache has
been heating up the Northwest salsa scene
over the last several years.
-
Their music is a blend of great salsa classics and contemporary tunes, with an eclectic style that reflects the richness and diversity of Latin America. They will be performing for two hours at the Armory on Saturday night, and teaching several workshops on Saturday afternoon.
The artists are: Pancho Chavez, Scott Baker, Clifton Swiggett, Nelda Swiggett, Mike Dorr, Mario Barrera, Nathan Vettter, Gonzalo Cerna, and Ernesto Pediangco. This is the first time we've invited a Latin music group as a Guest Artist - don't miss them!
If you'd like to find out more about the band, visit their website at www.cambalachesalsa.com
-
Warren Argo
(photo from Doug Plummer's page)- This year's Guest Dance Caller -- a Familiar Face Ten years ago (at AFF18 in 1992), Tom Paul, then an Alaska Folk Festival Board member, championed the idea of having a Guest Dance Caller in addition to the traditional Guest Artist. The first Guest Caller was Warren Argo. This year, to help celebrate the 10th anniversary of the Guest Dance Caller, Warren will be back doing double duty as Guest Caller AND Chief Sound Engineer.
- Warren writes: I called my first
dance in 1979. I have played dance music
since the early sixties. I prefer dances
that are easy to learn for
newcomers, but are deep enough for
experienced dancers to really have room
to work out the subtle bits. I like
cheery dances with lots of attention
for the partner. I am fascinated by the
history of American set dancing,
and I like to lead workshops that explore
the underpinnings of today's zesty
dances. I like to help dancers to
understand and appreciate the mighty
connection between the glory of the dance
experience and the magic of the
music.
