Irish session player Brian Hebert teams up with legendary octave mandolin champion and Berklee professor John McGann and virtuoso bodhran (Irish drum) player Joey Sullivan to create a unique musical blend of The Beatles and Traditional Irish and American Flatpicking tunes. Includes 26 morphed Beatles songs arranged as Jigs, Slip Jigs, Reels, Hornpipes, Slow Airs, and instrumental covers. With guest performance by Irish piper Pelham Norville.
After hearing the
Beatles on the Ed Sullivan Show in February 1964 when he was 8, Brian Hebert started to play rock and pop songs on the guitar. As a teen he went on to play blues harmonica, clawhammer banjo, classical guitar and then, after hearing the Boys of the Lough in 1974, Irish and Scottish fiddle, octave mandolin and tenor banjo. He's played at many Irish sessions around the Boston area since the late 1970's. He started morphing Beatles songs into jigs, slip jigs, hornpipes, and reels after a pilgrimage to Liverpool in 2006, which led to the
Any_Time_At_All.
In addition to being a big Beatles fan,
John_McGann is a multi-instrumentalist specializing in mandolin family instruments, electric and acoustic guitar, steel guitar, and dobro. He is a professional composer, arranger, performer, recording artist, producer, and educator. He is an Associate Professor in the Strings Department at the Berklee School of Music in Boston, where he teaches Improvisation and Celtic Ensemble. He was the 1985 US National Mandolin Flatpicking Champion. He continues to work with a variety of idioms including Jazz, Bluegrass, American traditional music, Rock and Roll, and Traditional Irish dance music.
Joey Sullivan took up the drums at the age of 8 and, after hearing the Beatles on Ed Sullivan in 1964, Ringo became his major musical influence. In the 1990's Bill Carson introduced Joey to the Bodhran. Joey now plays every year at the Cuckoo Fleadh held in Kinvara, County Galway. In addition to the Bohdran, Joey plays drums with a number of Blues and Rock 'n' Roll bands including the Roger Ceresi's All Starz and JoJoMima. He recently played at the CW 56 lanuch party for 'According to Jim' backing up Jim Belushi and James Montgomery.
Pelham_Norville began his musical career at an early age, with both voice and trumpet. In 1995, he began studying Irish traditional music in on fingerstyle guitar and took up the uillean pipes and whistle in 1997 and later the Irish flute in 1999. Pelham has studied piping in both the United States and Ireland under great pipers Martin Nolan, Eoin O'Riabhaigh, Tommy Keane, Cillian Vallely, Kieran O'Hare, and Robbie Hannan.
Celtic Radio Comments:
Once in a great while we get a CD submitted by a musician (or musicians in this case) that expands upon Celtic Music in ways that displays a creative genius that is very hard to find these days. Brian Hebert & Friends have done just that with their release of "A Session Picker's Tribute to The Beatles. As the title implies, this CD is a tribute to The Beatles and on it you will find a generous listing of 26 tracks of some of your favorite Beatle songs played during the early half of the Beatles catalog, or what some call the Red Album period. Brian likes to call these tracks Morphs which he has arranged as Jigs, Slip Jigs, Reels, Hornpipes, Slow Airs and instrumental covers. Now you know why we are featuring the Beatles on Celtic Radio!
The album itself is just beautifully relaxing and it brings the memories of that fabulous 4 that have been a constant reminder of our now fading youthful past. And that is the magic that Brian Herbert and Friends have created, a gentle reminder of those wonderful glory days of The Beatles played masterfully in Traditional Irish and American Flat-picking style. With the Beatles release of their Re-mastered
Originals and of course our youth discovering The Beatles through the recently released Harmonix Beatles
RockBand, you might be feeling a bit left out. Go ahead and let Brian Hebert and Friends help you relive your Beatle Memories through "Any Time at All" - 5 Golden Stars from Celtic Radio!