REVIEW FROM www.livingtradition.co.uk

MATT MOLLOY & JOHN CARTY WITH ARTY MCGLYNN - Out Of The Ashes 
Racket Records RR012

Two great musicians in the Sligo-Roscommon tradition, fluter Matt Molloy and fiddler John Carty's second duet recording comes from a live performance in Matt's famous Westport watering hole, the pair accompanied by superb sideman Arty McGlynn. When they released their outstanding duet album, Pathway To The Well, a decade ago, Matt had done pretty much everything a traditional musician can do: long stints with Planxty, the Bothy Band, the Chieftains, world tours, awards, and finally his own pub. Carty on the other hand was just making a name for himself as the new fiddler on the block, having started on the banjo in London and picked up on the retro Irish music of the 1930s at the same time as Frankie Gavin, Joe Derrane and a number of others. Since then, John Carty has become one of the finest fiddlers in that style, and a sought-after figure in Ireland and abroad, who more than holds his own on this new recording. I don't think he has a pub yet though.

I was lucky enough to see this trio live at the Camden Town festival a couple of years ago, and they put on a great show. Most of that energy and verve transfers to CD here: driving reels, bouncing jigs, cheeky hornpipes, jaunty polkas, a couple of grand marches and even a brief slow air. On the hifi systems I have, the fiddle comes across stronger than the flute but there are some great balanced duets too: the McDonagh Brothers' Reels ending with The Red Haired Lass, the set of three jigs starting with one I know as Pet Of The Pipers but here called The Humours Of Ballinafad, and the showpiece march Napoleon Crossing The Alps.

There are a few tuning issues, as happens in live performances, particularly on the surprise Scottish tune Glendaruel Highlanders, but in general the sound is very clean for a concert recording. It's nice to hear James Murray's Reel here, written by a somewhat neglected figure of the Sligo flute and fiddle tradition who is still playing locally. James Watt Henry's music is also well represented in the final set of reels. The notes are full of background information, and each track deserves careful listening to absorb every spark of tradition which Molloy and Carty have raked Out Of The Ashes. As they say in Ulster and Cape Breton, keep 'er lit!

www.johncartymusic.com 

Alex Monaghan