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The commodification of all things Irish is a relatively recent phenomenon. There was a time, long before Riverdance and U2, when Guinness was hard to find in this country and traditional Irish music even harder. So when Cincinnati native Grey Larsen was studying at Oberlin in the '70s and wanted to learn traditional tunes, he had to be creative. When he heard that some Irish immigrants gathered in Cleveland every week for a private jam, he started showing up.
The result was a musical education no classroom could have provided and a passion for the Irish flute. That devotion resonates throughout Dark of the Moon. Perhaps because it's used less frequently than the fiddle, the flute lends traditional Irish music a slightly different quality -- more ethereal somehow, more emotive. Paddy League's accompaniment on bodhran, the Irish percussive instrument, and guitar is first-rate, but it's Larsen's mastery of the flute that makes Dark of the Moon a worthy addition to any discerning fan's collection. |
