Words from Harry Bradley

[NicoMoreno]

Now I'm aware that Mr. Bradley's a Dublin man, and that he plays in a variety of styles, but in the clip presented I hear a West of Ireland thing, not dissimilar from what you might hear Kevin Henry play. Would others find that not too out of line?

Not that it matters that much, but Harry is from Belfast. No matter where you are from, it's pretty hard not to be influenced by North Connacht flute players, since there are a lot of really good ones from John McKenna on down. Harry's album with Jesse Smith, as well as his album with Paul O'Shaughnessy, both have great tunes and influence from a lot of those musicians.

B

And it'd likely be especially hard to avoid sounding like John McKenna (probably moreso than Kevin Henry), when you've specifically studied him, copied him, and play his sets and tunes.

[dunnp]

Jack never has a positive thing to say on here about Irish music.
His Scottish flute site is indispensible to my learning though so I can forgive him that.
I think you'll find Harry's from further north.
I hear Tom Morrison, Frankie Gavin, Seamus Macmathuna, etc in a highly individual
expressive player whose influence has been huge in recent years.
Some would call him a "Northern, or Belfast style player." I would call him Harry Bradley.
Though not a million miles from Kevin Henry.
Basically he made it cool to sound old again for a lot of younger players.

[Nanohedron]

Thanks for the correction, Brendan. I was trying to remember where Harry was from, so what did I do but Google. And look where it got me.

[LorenzoFlute]

it's pretty hard not to be influenced by North Connacht flute players, since there are a lot of really good ones from John McKenna on down.

I don't know about that. Many claim to be influenced by McKenna, but they end up sounding way different, more in line with Molloy's way (usually without his awesomeness though).

And it'd likely be especially hard to avoid sounding like John McKenna

Which players are you refering to? Not Harry, he sounds A LOT like himself...

[NicoMoreno]

Continuing what Brendan said, there's definitely a McKenna-esque quality to Harry's playing. There's also a Tom Morrison influence present, for the same reasons. That said, he still definitely sounds like Harry!

(As for the Molloy comment, that's very true... in the piping world you get people saying they play "in the traveller style", when really they just play a poor imitation of Paddy Keenan's later style.)

[Nanohedron]

There is a session in Galway where some great musicians play really fast (but it doesn't sound not rushed).

Oh, I forgot to ask, Lorenzo: I take it by the above that you meant to say, "...it doesn't sound rushed".

[BrendanB]

it's pretty hard not to be influenced by North Connacht flute players, since there are a lot of really good ones from John McKenna on down.

I don't know about that. Many claim to be influenced by McKenna, but they end up sounding way different, more in line with Molloy's way (usually without his awesomeness though).

Hey Lorenzo,

I think there is a difference between being influenced by a particular musician and sounding like them. My point was only that there is such a strong flute tradition from Sligo, Roscommon, Leitrim, etc. that it's hard not to be influenced by those flute players. Going back to the original quote attributed to Harry, an important part of learning to play the flute is listening to good players and learning from them (I know you'd agree with that sentiment). To me, there's just so many great flute players from that part of Ireland that you can't help but be influenced by them - even though it's a group covering lots of different eras and styles - John McKenna, Tom Morrison (if we're counting Galway), the Henry's, Peter Horan, Eddie Cahill, Josie McDermott, Seamus Tansey, Patsy Hanley, Matt Molloy....and the list could go on and on.

Here's an example of influence vs. sounding like someone. In my case, I don't sound like Harry, but I've been heavily influenced by his playing. For instance, I've learned the importance of playing with a strong rhythmic pulse, to focus on tune settings, appreciate older flute players, and think of phrasing in different ways. To echo an earlier comment, I also really appreciate that he helped bring back an older style of flute playing and made it cool again.

Anyway, interesting things to ponder. Glad to hear that Galway is working out for you. Say hi to George Grasso if you see him.

B

[JackCampin]

Remember that Mr. Campin had never heard of Planxty either, and he referred to Liam O'Flynn's playing and arrangement as "dimwitted".

Of course I've heard of Planxty. (I haven't listened to them very much since the time when their records first came out, though, and I doubt I could ever have named everybody in their lineup).

On the other hand, I really haven't heard of Liam O'Flynn, so I can't have made that comment about him, by name anyway.

I hear quite a bit of Cathal McConnell locally. That's one Irish style I prefer to what Bradley is doing in that clip.

[JackCampin]

Listened to the jig clip and liked that a lot more.

I also realized I'd have liked both clips a lot more if I hadn't been listening to them from two inches away from Bradley's mouth. Why the hell do sound engineers do that? It puts the listener closer to the source of the breath noise than even the player's own ears are. Knowing that Bradley breathes in through his nose counts as too much information for me. It didn't seem to be a noisy room, there are plenty of mikes that would have worked from several feet away.

[bogman]

In the clip the sound quality is determined there by the video camera that's recording it. The sound engineer has miked the flute in the normal way. A mic several feet away would certainly not have worked. That's just nonsense. You may not like the style but not appreciating the mans class is just simply odd.

[jim stone]

I think H B is phenomenally good, and I also think it's OK not to like the particular clip. There's no point in criticizing someone
for not liking what I do or we do. Hopefully folks will listen to more of the musician.

[JackCampin]

I have used mikes that work far enough away to lose all the breath noise. I know it can be done. Close-miking flutes is completely unnecessary - I guess it's a practice started by the rock music business, since you don't have much option with a loud stage rig. Solo flute in a silent room is as far away from that as you can get. It's not like Bradley is beatboxing.

Doing it right:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PXfel_lxiic

[bogman]

If you listened to the first clip you'll here that it wasn't a solo show, these were solo spots. Unless Harry Bradley specified something else the mics would be sm58's or similar, which they are judging by the clip. You're mistaking what you hear on the clip for what the audience were hearing. The sound engineer miked the flute in the normal way, and it has nothing to do with rock music on a loud stage.

[benhall.1]

Again, not that it matters, but I thought that Harry was a Fermanagh man, who then lived in Belfast (among other places) for a bit. I haven't made that up, have I?

[LorenzoFlute]

Hey Brendan, of course I agree with what you're saying. When I was writing I was probably thinking of something else and didn't realize (although I knew it of course) that North Connacht groups Sligo, Roscommon and Leitrim. Move on...

Will say hi to George when I see him (tomorrow probably)

Thanks Nano, edited now...