Martin Hayes and Dennis Cahill are two of the world’s leading artists in traditional Irish music. Since the mid-1990s the Irish fiddler and American guitarist have been changing the shape of Irish music, exploring and expanding the tradition in intimate and electrifying ways.  "As close to a spiritual experience as [music] can be" is how the The Irish Examiner described them.

Martin and Dennis met in Cahill's hometown of Chicago, just after Martin had relocated there from Ireland in the 1980s.  They formed the jazz/rock/fusion band Midnight Court and began experimenting with a variety of new music styles -- loudly! Later, when Hayes reclaimed his traditional roots in the '90s, he and Dennis began a new musical relationship, delving deeply into the lyrical music of Martin's native East County Clare. 

In concert the duo would play long, sometimes thirty-minute sets starting from the simplest of melodies, Martin's fiddle getting inside the tune while Dennis created space with sparse chords and unusual harmonies.  The sets built in intensity, both musicians leaning into the music with an almost telepathic connection, leaving audiences spellbound but never abandoning musicality. "The duo push Irish music in impressionistic direction," says The New York Times.

"Our allegiance is to the spirit of the moment," says Hayes.  "Our primary wish is that the musical experience be one that lifts our spirits and those of the audience."

The duo's first album The Lonesome Touch (1997) and the concert recording Live in Seattle (1999) were considered groundbreaking releases.  Their third and latest CD, Welcome Here Again (2008, Compass), was called "outstanding" in The Wall Street Journal.  "It will only burnish the duo's reputation." 

Last March, Hayes and Cahill performed for President and First Lady Obama at the White House on St. Patrick's Day.  The two have collaborated with artists from jazz guitarist Bill Frisell to new-grass musicians Darol Anger & Mike Marshall to Irish rocker Gavin Friday (Virgin Prunes).  In 2008 Martin was named Traditional Musician of the Year by Irish broadcaster TG4, and received a full-length profile in The Wall Street Journal.  

Recently Martin and Dennis have been involved in some extraordinary new projects. This April will see the US touring debut of MASTERS OF TRADITION, Hayes's curated festival with some of Ireland's finest musicians including Dennis Cahill and singer Iarla O'Lionaird (Afro Celt Sound System). Last summer, they set the Irish world abuzz with their new super-group THE GLOAMING, featuring Iarla O'Lionaird and New York downtown artist Thomas Bartlett (Laurie Anderson, David Byrne, Yoko Ono).  (The band's recent NYC debut was recorded by NPR.) In 2010, Hayes and Cahill debuted a new commissioned work by rising Irish composer David Flynn with the RTÉ Concert Orchestra at Dublin's National Concert Hall.  And Martin has also been recording with New York classical quartet Brooklyn Rider (Yo-Yo Ma).

"Tradition in music is not frozen at a point in time," says Hayes. "It's a process in motion that's undergoing constant change and refinement, just like people's lives."

On stage, on record, and in collaboration, Martin Hayes and Dennis Cahill are charting new directions to convey the centuries-old dance music of Ireland.

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Individual Profiles 

For many people, Martin Hayes epitomizes the fiddle music of Ireland and County Clare.  With a profound sense of the tradition's history, Hayes is at the forefront shaping the future of Irish music today.  Raised in a family of musicians, he began playing at seven years old and by the age of thirteen was touring with his father's celebrated ceili (dance) band, the Tulla Ceili Band.  While he has drawn musical inspiration from sources as diverse as the Estonian composer Arvo Pärt, the Spanish viola da gamba master Jordi Savall, and the jazz genius John Coltrane, Martin remains grounded in the music he grew up with in East County Clare. His awards include Ireland's Traditional Musician of the Year in 2008; Folk Instrumentalist of the Year by the BBC;  Man of the Year from the American Irish Historical Society; a National Entertainment Award (the Irish ‘Grammy’); and winner of six All-Ireland fiddle championships.

A master guitarist, Dennis Cahill is a native of Chicago born to parents from the Dingle Peninsula in County Kerry, Ireland. Dennis studied at the city’s prestigious Music College training in classical and jazz, before becoming an active member of the local music scene. His spare, essential accompaniment is acknowledged as a major breakthrough for guitar in the Irish tradition. In addition to his work with Martin, Dennis has performed with such artists as Kevin Burke, Liz Carroll, and Christy Moore.

martinhayes.com

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Video
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Press

"...widely regarded as the top Irish fiddler in the world..." -Hartford Courant

"Hayes is to trad fiddlers what Gypsy-swing icon Django Reinhardt is to guitarists—incomparable. Live, the duo gives each tune space to build as a breathless tension mounts; when the climax arrives, it feels as though he and the room might levitate." - Time Out New York

"The County Clare musician imbues the traditional tunes of his native land...with vast emotional depths and breadths, and dares a sparse, measured improvisatory approach."—London Sunday Times

"The long-running duo of the fiddler Martin Hayes and the guitarist Dennis Cahill...push Irish music in impressionistic directions...a Celtic complement to Miles Davis' Sketches of Spain or Steve Reich's Quartets."  - New York Times

"Hayes has one of the most ravishing violin styles in all of Celtic music...Cahill's gentle, supportive accompaniment adds precisely the right touch." - Los Angeles Times

"The remarkable duo has honed a ravishing repertoire by distilling the melodic essence of traditional tunes. The two have distinguished themselves by bringing chamber music's intensity and dynamic control to folk tunes created for community celebrations."  Seattle Times

"Welcome Here Again is a superb-sounding record from start to finish, abounding in space and atmosphere.  It captures the magic that's possible when two musicians are confident enough...to serve the music so fully that they disappear entirely."  - PASTE Magazine 

"As close to a spiritual experience as a musical recording can be.  This magnificent presentation is food for the soul." -Irish Examiner