KELLY S HEROES

Alan Kelly has turned the much-maligned piano accordion on its head, and he has the audacity to stand back and laugh at the shapes it throws.

Mosaic is the product of Kelly s second soirie in the studio, his first being 1997 s critically acclaimed Out Of The Blue. With more than a nod and a wink in the direction of samba, jazz and sundry Latin rhythms, Mosaic is more likely to wend its way into the music collections of modernists rather than purists.
For the last couple of years, I was part of the houseband with TG4 on a programme called Smbmn , he offers, anxious to dispel the myth that all piano accordionists are consigned to the outer periphery of the session. My role there was to write the crmoch ceoil, a short two-minute piece from somewhere different in the world, which might be Argentina, Brazil, France and so on. That was a great challenge for me, to have to research it and come up with something new every time. And I think that s when the idea first popped into my head to do an album like this.
Does Kelly feel that he s had to pay his dues in some way within the tradition, before being able to broaden his musical horizons?
Yeah, I suppose so , he nods, cautiously. Out Of The Blue was a fairly traditional album, I think, and Steve Cooney put a lovely slant on it. It was mostly reels and jigs and polkas, and I think it was important to do that kind of an album first before taking that step, and showing the other side. With albums, I think it s a building process.
In between gigs, Alan Kelly is finding his feet in the world of theatre, having just finished a run (both acting and playing) in Brian Friel s Wonderful Tennessee, and in Peter And Wendy in New York and LA in the company of Susan McKeown and Scottish fiddle supremo, Johnny Cunningham.
Even with this album, it s nowhere near where I d like to go. I d probably like to push it out much further. I d really like to go more with the Latin/salsa vibe so we ll see where that takes us.

Watch out for Alan Kelly playing live in Vicar St. Dublin on January 18th. His album is available on Tara Music.
Website: www.blackboxmusic.ie