The first time you witness James Keane playing his accordion youíre liable to experience an epiphany of colossal proportions. It's not just his musicianship that startles, but the sheer depth of passion that ignites his playing.
He's been a long time New York resident, with only annual forays back home to Dublin for a replenishing of the musical spirit. Hot Press managed to catch up with him on his most recent return visit, as he hightailed it across the country, basking in the glory of yet another magnificent CD. This one's called Sweeter As The Years Roll By, its title a tribute to Keane's wife Theresa Ní Shé, (and also the first line in an old Baptist hymn), its playlist a testament to its author's boundless energy and unstinting appetite for the music.
"It's great to hear the CD getting plenty of airplay," he smiles, weary after a fortnight of constant travel, but buoyed by the rapturous reception he's received in places as far afield as Kerry, Mayo and Dublin.
Sweeter As The Years Roll By is a tribute to the passions of youth and the wisdom of experience. Conceived by Keane as a collaboration between himself and some of the rising young talent here, he had to do no more than transplant himself to Liam Clancy's recording studios in the Ring Gaeltacht in Waterford and the rest followed.
Keane is quick to credit his old Castle Ceilí bandmate, Mick O'Connor, with fuelling the dream from the beginning.
"When I was recording my last album, With Friends Like These, I took time out to visit my dear friend Mick," he explains, "and when we were playing in a session over in Comhaltas in Monkstown, I heard this magnificent harp player by the name of Michael Rooney. To tell you the truth, I had never heard that advanced style of playing the harp ever. Then later that evening, after we'd had dinner in Mick's house, we gathered round with all of Mick's family. We all tore into a few tunes and when I left that night, I had plenty of time to think about the day. And I couldn't stop thinking about all these young musicians. I wanted to expose them somehow. I wanted other people to hear them. It's like when you read a good book. You'd love someone else to please read it too, so you can share it."
As well as the new blood, James was lucky enough to have his brother Seán agree to share a tune with him on the CD. It was a session that was long overdue.
"The last time we played together was in 1980," he recalls, "and before that, with the exception of the odd session here and there, it was 1967 with the Chieftains. What struck me was we seemed to have - I hope Seán thinks the same - the same interpretations of the tunes. Tunes that we hadn't even ever played together before. One take of Micho Russell's, 'The Little Pig Lamenting The Empty Trough' and 'Paddy Taylor's Reels' and it was done! It was terrific."
Location also proved significant.
"Recording in the Gaeltacht was a big plus to me," he avers. "I immersed myself in it, and even though I don't speak Irish, I never lost my love for the music. I still play this turf music, and by going down there, the friendship of the people was like stepping back into an old world again. It reminded me of trips to Pádraig O Catháin's pub in Carraroe and Donal Staunton's pub in Spiddal, where we used to visit when we were kids. It was a privilege to play in Mooney's pub down there. We just came to life there. The whole community welcomed us there.
Keane's somewhat less enamoured of the recent developments in traditional music that have seen vastly different interpretations of how the music should be played.
"I went to see Riverdance, and without doubt it was a musical extravaganza," he says. "But aside from the piper and the box player, I hadn't heard a note of Irish music from start to finish. I heard other ethnic musics alright. As far as young musicians are concerned, I think they've seen music take a so-called 'progressive' turn, only to see it return to the main road again.
"Throughout the years there have been several people who tried to take a progressive attitude towards Irish music," he continues, "but you can't improve on something that's already perfect. So leave the shagging thing alone.
"To be honest, I don't feel that musicians who try to return after all that experimenting should be given the same welcome when they decide to come back to the original music. A lot of them did it in the States, so-called 'progressive' musicians, and as soon as the dust settles they all want to come back and do the head-down music again. This is after violating nearly every rule in the book. I really don't think that our music is up to getting kicked around all the time. Now that it's respected as traditional music ought to be, I find it self-defeating to interfere with the real thing. I get mad over it."
James Keane's a man of passion. Just lend an ear to his latest CD and you'll hear it for yourself. n
* James Keane's latest CD, Sweeter As The Years Roll By, is available now on Shanachie Records.