James or Jim Morrison (3 May 1893 – 1947), known as "The Professor", was a notable south

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 Irish

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 ...

Life

Morrison was born on 3 May 1893 near

Riverstown Riverstown, historically called ''Ballyederdaowen'' (), is a village in County Sligo, Ireland. Known for its musical tradition it is located at a bridging point of the River Unshin (Arrow), 17.2 km (10 miles) south of Sligo town and 4 ...

, County Sligo at the townland of Drumfin. Morrison grew up in a community steeped in traditional Irish culture especially music and at the age of 17 he was employed by the

Gaelic League (; historically known in English as the Gaelic League) is a social and cultural organisation which promotes the Irish language in Ireland and worldwide. The organisation was founded in 1893 with Douglas Hyde as its first president, when it eme ...

to tutor the

Connacht Connacht or Connaught ( ; or ), is the smallest of the four provinces of Ireland, situated in the west of Ireland. Until the ninth century it consisted of several independent major Gaelic kingdoms (Uí Fiachrach, Uí Briúin, Uí Maine, C ...

style of step dancing at the Gaelic League school in

County Mayo County Mayo (; ) is a Counties of Ireland, county in Republic of Ireland, Ireland. In the West Region, Ireland, West of Ireland, in the Provinces of Ireland, province of Connacht, it is named after the village of Mayo, County Mayo, Mayo, now ge ...

. In 1915, at the age of 21, he emigrated to

America The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 U.S. state, states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 ...

and settled in

New York City New York, often called New York City (NYC), is the most populous city in the United States, located at the southern tip of New York State on one of the world's largest natural harbors. The city comprises five boroughs, each coextensive w ...

. In 1918, Morrison won the fiddle competition at the New York Feis. Morrison become associated with other leading Irish musicians such as Michael Coleman, Paddy Killoran who were also from County Sligo. Morrison was one of the leading Irish music teachers in New York in the 1930s and '40s. In addition to the fiddle, he could play the

flute The flute is a member of a family of musical instruments in the woodwind group. Like all woodwinds, flutes are aerophones, producing sound with a vibrating column of air. Flutes produce sound when the player's air flows across an opening. In th ...

, tenor banjo and button accordion (and wrote a tutor on the latter) and taught hundreds of young Irish-American students to play traditional music.

Style and repertoire

The Sligo style of fiddle music Morrison played was typically highly ornamented and fast, with a fluid bowing style. Recordings of Morrison's playing were imported to Ireland in great numbers, and had an extraordinary impact. In many areas, local playing styles fell into disuse because of the popularity of the style and repertoire of Morrison and Michael Coleman. This repertoire included predominantly reels, rather than jigs and hornpipes, and were often played by Irish musicians in the same order as on the original recordings. According to Seamus MacMathuna, "More than thirty years after Coleman's death ... one seldom hears 'Bonny Kate' without 'Jenny's Chickens'. 'Tarbolton' is inevitably followed by 'The Longford Collector' and the Sailor's Bonnet'." The great Canadian fiddler Jean Carignan was much influenced by Morrison. James Morrison is well regarded by Frankie Gavin: "the approach he had to fiddle playing and the approach he had to any tune he touched just...can't be beaten...nobody can play like that today."Nuala O'Connor (1991) ''Bringing It All Back Home''. London: BBC; pp. 87-89

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Morrison, James 1890s births 1947 deaths Irish emigrants to the United States Irish male fiddlers Musicians from County Sligo Irish vaudeville performers American fiddlers 20th-century American violinists People from Riverstown, County Sligo 20th-century Irish fiddlers 20th-century Irish male musicians 1910s in Irish music 1920s in Irish music 1930s in Irish music 1940s in Irish music