John Lavelle - Irish Music

John and Scott at Groovin' in the Grove 2011

2011-08-27T21:47:00.000-07:00

On Saturday, May 28, 2011, John and Scott once again participated in the Groovin' in the Grove benefit to help keep music alive in Redwood City schools. More information can be found here:

http://www.rcef.org/groovin/

The setlist:

Forget Me Not / Running the Goat (1st two parts)
The Ship in Full Sail / The Kesh
Two Polkas
Drowsie Maggie

St. Patrick's Day Music/Dancing at Preschool

2011-03-17T08:23:00.000-07:00

In honor of St. Patrick's Day, John played at his granddaughter's preschool on March 16, 2011 with his son-in-law. Two of his daughters danced for the preschoolers and got them to try out some dance steps of their own. Happy St. Patrick's Day!

Annie Walsh - Buckley's Fancy - Ricky Sherlock's

2010-10-30T09:20:00.000-07:00

Here's a set of some of John's favorite Reels:

Annie Walsh - Buckley's Fancy - Ricky Sherlock's

Some of these tunes are known by multiple names.

Merrily Kiss the Quaker - The Gleantann Slide

2010-06-27T19:41:00.000-07:00

John recently recorded a set of slides that he loves to play:

Merrily Kiss the Quaker - The Gleantann Slide

John and Scott at Groovin' in the Grove

2010-06-03T21:58:00.000-07:00

On Saturday, May 29, 2010, John and Scott took part in the Groovin' in the Grove benefit to help keep music alive in Redwood City schools. More information can be found here:

http://www.rcef.org/groovin/

The setlist:

Polka / The Trip to Durrow (first ever combo!?)
Cooley's / The Wise Maid
Saddle the Pony / Lark in the Morning

Wonderful Picture from 1959

2009-07-08T07:01:00.000-07:00

John recently received a surprise in his inbox from Tommy Masterson. Per Tommy, "My mom came across this picture and I thought you would like it. It is from Nov of 1959. We don't know the venue; may have been a wedding."

L-R Jim Ruddin Jr; Tom Masterson Sr.; Paddy Looney;Johnny Lavelle.

As noted previously on this blog, John first met Joe Cooley at Tom Masterson's house.

Thanks to Tommy for the great pic!

Traditional Music Following the 2009 Annual St. Patrick's Day Mass in Mountain View, CA

2009-04-21T23:10:00.000-07:00

Here's an excerpt from the reception following the Annual St. Patrick's Day Mass at St. Joseph's Catholic Church on 3.12.09 in Mountain View, CA.

Musicians include John, Michael Robinson and Vicki Parrish, and others.

Enjoy!

The Way Inn - Tonragee, Co. Mayo, Ireland

2009-03-29T21:59:00.000-07:00

Here's some footage from the archives of John performing at The Way Inn back in 1986. The occasion was a family gathering.

Setlist:

The Boogie / The contradiction / Cooley's (Reels)
Drowsie Maggie (Reel)
Dear Doctor John (Cod Liver Oil)
Cobbler Song

O'Flaherty's - 12.08.2008 - Video

2009-01-08T22:49:00.000-08:00

Here is video from the Irish Music Session at O'Flaherty's Irish Pub on December 08, 2008.

O'Flaherty's - 12.08.2008

2008-12-15T23:07:00.000-08:00

John recently led a session at O'Flaherty's Irish Pub in San Jose, CA. If you missed it, he'll be leading another one on Sunday, December 21, 2008. Here are some pics from the last session. Video clips will be posted shortly.

John and Scott

John and Scott

Fellow musicians and Michael Robinson of The Standing Stones (playing Dobro Mandolin)

John and his fellow musicians with the bar in the background.

The Cup of Tea / The Drunken Landlady

2008-09-02T22:21:00.000-07:00

This week, John played a set of reels: The Cup of Tea / The Drunken Landlady.

John Lavelle - Accordion
Scott Lynch - Guitar

Enjoy!

Up to Your Knees in Sand, Maurice Casey's Fancy, John Brennan From Sligo

2008-08-27T12:15:00.000-07:00

Here's the complete second track from John's CD:

2. Up to Your Knees in Sand, Maurice Casey's Fancy, John Brennan From Sligo

This set of Reels can be found on John's CD, @Home Alone. Additional samples are here, while purchasing information can be found here.

Enjoy!

Nora's Wedding Set

2008-07-30T08:05:00.001-07:00

John recently played a set of tunes at his daughter Nora's wedding. He and Nora then danced the Father/Daughter dance as his son-in-laws played the O'Carolan waltz, Planxty Irwin.

John Lavelle - Accordion (Tracks 2-8)
Scott Lynch - Guitar/Mandolin (Tracks 2-8/Track 10)
Bill Hawkins - Guitar (Track 10)

01 - Intro
02 - Two Polkas
03 - Merrily Kiss The Quaker - Gleantann Slide
04 - Shandon Bells - The Kesh
05 - Drops Of Brandy - O'brien's
06 - Saddle The Pony - Lark In The Morning
07 - Introducing Nora And Anne
08 - Maid Behind The Bar - Drowsy Maggie
09 - Introducing Bill
10 - Planxty Irwin
11 - Round Of Applause For Bill, Scott And John

Video will be added soon.

The Wise Maid

2008-07-25T22:22:00.000-07:00

This week, John played one of Joe Cooley's favorite reels: The Wise Maid.

John Lavelle - Accordion
Scott Lynch - Guitar

Joe Cooley can be seen playing the same tune some 35 years ago here.

Banish Misfortune - Gillan's Apples

2008-07-06T22:29:00.000-07:00

This week, John was joined by his fellow Rogues on a couple of jigs. The tunes are 'Banish Misfortune / Gillan's Apples'.

John Lavelle - Accordion
Gene O'Donnell - Tin Whistle
Scott Lynch - Guitar
Tom Landry - Mandolin

John Lavelle and Joe Cooley

2008-06-30T00:00:00.000-07:00

As mentioned in John's bio, he, Joe Cooley and Joe Leary toured Ireland together in 1963. Ciaran MacMathuna recorded a session at Bridie Lafferty's house in Homefarm Road in Dublin for Radio Éireann. Charlie Piggott dug a copy of that radio program from the RTE archives and sent it to John. It arrived at John's house in San Jose, California on St. Patrick's Day, 1993, exactly 30 years to the day that Joe Cooley and John landed in Ireland in 1963. Some of this recording session can also be heard on the famous Cooley album.

John Lavelle, Billy Soden and Joe Cooley in the Blarney Club ballroom.

John remembers meeting Joe Cooley:

"I first met Joe Cooley in the house of Tom Masterson, a very well known and respected leader of Comhaltas Eireann. It so happened that fiddle immortal Sean McGuire was also present. We were all there for the Craic. At first, I mistook Joe for a member of the Aughrim Slopes Ceili Band. That band included the great Kevin Keegan R.I.P. When I started to play, I got tremendous support from Cooley who also felt the affinity in the air. Shortly thereafter, I made a trip to England and met all of Joe's friends from 'the old days'. I have always considered it an honor to have played with Joe. I hope you enjoy listening to him speak and play in the tunes included in this blog post.

More to come in future blog posts.

Papa John"

Now the tunes:

01 - Introduction - Tommy Cohen's Reel
02 - Ciaran MacMathuna Introduction
03 - Tommy Cohen's Reel
04 - Ciaran MacMathuna Interviews John Lavelle
05 - The Trip To Durrow
06 - Ciaran MacMathuna Welcomes Joe Cooley Home
07 - Queen of the Fair - The Carraroe Jig
08 - Dowd's No. 9 Introduction
09 - Dowd's No. 9
10 - The Humours of Tulla - The Skylark - Roaring Mary Introduction
11 - The Humours of Tulla - The Skylark - Roaring Mary
12 - Dick Darby The Cobbler Introduction
13 - Dick Darby The Cobbler
14 - The Bucks of Oranmore Introduction
15 - The Bucks of Oranmore
16 - The New Custom House Introduction
17 - The New Custom House
18 - My Love She's in America Introduction
19 - My Love She's in America

More Recent Tunes

2008-06-27T23:16:00.000-07:00

Here's some more recent footage of John playing with his fellow Rogues. The tunes are 'The Trip To Durrow' and 'Merrily Kiss the Quaker / The Gleanntan Slide'.

John Lavelle - Accordion
Gene O'Donnell - Tin Whistle
Scott Lynch - Guitar
Tom Landry - Mandolin

The Trip To Durrow (Reel)

Merrily Kiss the Quaker - The Gleanntan Slide (Slides)

Saddle the Pony - Lark in the Morning

2008-06-20T23:27:00.000-07:00

Here's some recent footage of John playing with a couple of his fellow Rogues. The tunes are 'Saddle the Pony / Lark in the Morning'.

John Lavelle - Accordion
Gene O'Donnell - Tin Whistle
Scott Lynch - Guitar

About John

2008-06-18T00:17:00.001-07:00

Some of the "old timers" remember John from the 50's and 60's when he played in Chicago at every kind of event imaginable.

John picked up the accordion strictly on his own, starting out with a plastic toy that a neighbor had which was essentially a miniature melodeon. John moved on to a more authentic melodeon, and finally to a rather grandiose Italian accordion with his name emblazoned on the front, as was the custom at the time.

John's music is a sum of lots of influences including not only his dearly departed friend Joe Cooley, but also his father and sister, who played fiddle/piano. It's sure he heard lots of traditional music while still in the womb.

John continued to favor learning tunes more from fiddlers rather than from accordion players, and was fortunate enough to play with and learn from the likes of Aggie White, Pat Kenny, Tony Lowe and John McGreevy, to name but a few. (That's Tom Masterson Sr. behind Johnny in the photo.)

All are shown here in some rather dated pictures.

Aggie White Ryan took the time to teach John the "Trip to Durrow", the "Earl's Chair", and the "Chattering Magpie" during John's wonderful visit to Woodford, County Galway, in the summer of 1962. John brought these tunes back to Chicago; Trip to Durrow became a Joe Cooley standard. Cooley influenced John mostly in terms of tempo and life in his music.

When Joe Cooley, Joe Leary and John toured Ireland together in 1963, Ciaran MacMathuna recorded a session at Bridie Lafferty's house in Homefarm Road in Dublin. John played the Trip to Durrow on that program; Joe Cooley didn't know it yet. What fun was had that year!

Thanks have already gone out to Charlie Piggott who dug a copy of that radio program from the RTE archives and sent it to John. It arrived at John's house in San Jose, California on St. Patrick's Day, 1993, exactly 30 years to the day that Joe Cooley and John landed in Ireland in 1963. Some of this recording session can also be heard on the famous Cooley album.

One of Joe and John's favorite tunes is given the name "Peter's Well" because Joe didn't know the name of it and nobody else seemed to either. Peterswell, of course was Joe's hometown where Joe and John had many a tune in Sherry's, day and night. You'll find this tune on the CD coupled with "Summer in Ireland", which, of course, was Joe's name for Dowd's no. 9.

As is evident in the tunes selected for the CD, many of which are also played on the Patrick Street series of CD's, John's current favorite accordionist is Jackie Daly.

John dedicates the CD to the memory of Frank Thornton Sr., from County Kerry, Ireland, great Chicago musician and organizer who did so much for John and other Irish-American "starters" throughout his lifetime in Chicago.

Frank is shown far right in this photograph with the performers of the famous 1959 "Irish
American" Irish music, dance and song concert tour. Frank, then a leader in the Irish Musician's Association of America, worked tirelessly with members of the growing Comhaltas Ceoltoiri Eireann (CCE) movement all over Ireland to make this tour a success. It is well known that this tour was contributory to the continued successfulness and fast growth of the Comhaltas Ceoltoiri Eireann (CCE) movement. Also, many thanks to Jim Thornton, Frank's son, another great musician with heart to match his music.

Thanks also to Bill Black for researching the names of tunes on the CD.

We also would like to fondly remember the others mentioned here that are no longer with us.

To list all the Irish musicians worldwide that John has played with and learned from over the years would take a book. Most are well known in their own right.

As depicted on the cover of the CD, John spent many years playing for the entertainment of his family and neighbors quite outside of the Irish music scene. Now that the children are raised, he is once again concentrating on his music and hopes to share it with others, in particular the young folks, who might be interested in learning.

Sample Tunes From John's CD - @Home Alone

2008-06-17T23:39:00.000-07:00

John's latest CD is appropriately titled "@Home Alone". All of the tunes were performed and recorded in John's home in San Jose, CA. Below, you'll find a copy of the tracklisting of the CD.

Bucks of Oranmore {Reel: 2:05} - Sample
Up to Your Knees in Sand, Maurice Casey's Fancy, John Brennan From Sligo {Reels: 4:37}
Connie the Soldier, McKenna's, Clancy's {Jigs: 3:38}
Concertina, Earl's Chair {Reels: 3:14}
The Last Chance, Johnny O'Leary's, The Glen Cottage, Weaver's Delight, Pat Enright's {Polkas: 4:30} - Sample
Garret Barry's, Paiden O'Rafferty's {Jigs: 3:59} - Sample
Summer in Ireland, Peter's Well {Reels: 2:20}
The Coalminer, Heather Breeze, Turf House {Reels: 2:49}
Maurice O'Keefe's No. 1, Maurice O'Keefe's No. 2, Jim Reardon's {Polkas: 3:39}
Mouth of Tobique, Bill Wilson's {Reels: 2:46}
The Golden Eagle, Sault's Own {Hornpipes: 3:24}
Trip to Durrow, John Dwyer's, George White's Favorite {Reels: 4:16}
Joy of my Life, Kennedy's, The Bloody Hollow {Haymaker's Jig Medley: 5:34}
Jackie Tarr, the Flowing Tide {Hornpipes: 2:40}
Walsh's Medley {Polkas: 3:21} - Sample

Buy John's CD - @Home Alone

2008-06-16T23:27:00.000-07:00

John's latest CD, "@Home Alone" is now available for purchase. You can order a copy through the Ossian USA Music Store.

Code: 01042-CD
Price: $15.00

Ossian USA
118 Beck Road
Loudon, NH. 03307
www.ossianusa.com

Tracklisting information and sample tunes are also available for your convenience.

If you have any further questions about the CD, you can email John directly at papa_lavelle@yahoo.com.