Andy McGann (October 5, 1928 – July 13, 2004) was an Irish-American
fiddle
A fiddle is a Bow (music), bowed String instrument, string musical instrument, most often a violin or a bass. It is a colloquial term for the violin, used by players in all genres, including European classical music, classical music. Althou ...
player and a celebrated exponent of
Sligo
Sligo ( ; , meaning 'abounding in shells') is a coastal seaport and the county town of County Sligo, Ireland, within the western province of Connacht. With a population of 20,608 in 2022, it is the county's largest urban centre (constituting 2 ...
-style fiddling. He was born in New York to immigrant parents from
County Sligo
County Sligo ( , ) is a Counties of Ireland, county in Republic of Ireland, Ireland. It is in the Northern and Western Region and is part of the Provinces of Ireland, province of Connacht. Sligo is the administrative capital and largest town in ...
, living first in west
Harlem
Harlem is a neighborhood in Upper Manhattan, New York City. It is bounded roughly by the Hudson River on the west; the Harlem River and 155th Street on the north; Fifth Avenue on the east; and Central Park North on the south. The greater ...
before moving as a child to Mott Haven in the Bronx. McGann received violin instruction from Catherine Brennan Grant, a teacher grounded in both
classical and
Irish traditional music
Irish traditional music (also known as Irish trad, Irish folk music, and other variants) is a genre of folk music that developed in Ireland.
In ''A History of Irish Music'' (1905), W. H. Grattan Flood wrote that, in Gaelic Ireland, there we ...
, and played in parochial school orchestras. He also got informal instruction and encouragement from County Sligo fiddle great
Michael Coleman, who was a friend of the family. At a very young age, McGann found a place among the elite of New York's Sligo-style fiddle players, including Coleman,
Paddy Killoran
Patrick J. Killoran (1903–1965) was an Irish people, Irish traditional fiddle player, bandleader and recording artist. He is regarded, along with James Morrison (fiddler), James Morrison and Michael Coleman (Irish musician), Michael Coleman, as ...
, Martin Wynne, Louis Quinn and James "Lad" O'Beirne. In the 1950s, McGann formed a partnership with Longford-born fiddler Paddy Reynolds. With Reynolds and others, McGann played with The New York
Céilí Band, an all-star group that traveled to Ireland in 1960 to compete at the All-Ireland
in Boyle, County Roscommon.
McGann's first studio recording was the 1965 LP ''A Tribute to Michael Coleman'' with button accordionist
Joe Burke and piano accompanist Felix Dolan. When Shanachie Records">Joe Burke (accordionist)">Joe Burke and piano accompanist Felix Dolan. When Shanachie Records was established in the 1970s, McGann released a solo recording and a duet album with Paddy Reynolds – both with guitar backing from Paul Brady – as well as ''The Funny Reel'', a reunion LP with Burke and Dolan.
Discography
*1965 ''A Tribute to Michael Coleman'' (Shaskeen)
*1976 ''Andy Mcgann & Paddy Reynolds'' (Shanachie)
*1977 ''It's a Hard Road to Travel'' (Shanachie)
*1979 ''The Funny Reel – Traditional Music of Ireland'' (Shanachie)
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:McGann, Andy
1928 births
2004 deaths
Musicians from Manhattan
People from Harlem
Deaths from cancer in New York (state)
American fiddlers
Irish fiddlers
American people of Irish descent
20th-century American violinists