Martin Hayes & Dennis Cahill

Sparsely accompanied fiddle music has rarely
sounded so complete and so essential.
-- Q magazine

Irish fiddle virtuoso Martin Hayes and American guitarist Dennis Cahill possess a rare musical kinship, ranking them among the most memorable partnerships of our era. Together they have garnered international renown for taking traditional music to the very edge of the genre, holding listeners spellbound with their slow-building, fiery performances. The duo opens the doors of traditional Irish music and releases its pure, distilled beauty while incorporating sensibilities from the worlds of classical, blues and jazz. The New York Times calls them "a Celtic complement to Steve Reich’s quartets or Miles Davis’ ‘Sketches of Spain.’"

Martin Hayes’ accomplishments extend far and wide, both artistically and geographically. He has been an All-Ireland fiddle champion six times over, and has taken home a National Entertainment Award, the Irish equivalent to the "Grammy." He and Dennis have also appeared internationally on television and radio, including NBC Nightwatch, PRI’s A Prairie Home Companion, and the BBC’s Jools Holland Show. The duo has collaborated with Sinead O’Connor, Iarla O’Lionáird and photographer Steve Pyke in a special stage performance and film of Timothy O’Grady's book, I Could Read the Sky, an acclaimed novel of Irish emigration. Martin has also appeared as a guest artist on recent recordings with Darol Anger and Irish composer Gavin Friday.

Born in Ireland and now residing in Seattle, Martin plays in the slow, lyrical style of his native East County Clare. He grew up playing traditional music with his father, P.J. Hayes, leader of the famed Tulla Ceili Band. The younger fiddler has a great reverence for the old players, whose music contains the longing and essence that moves you at the level of your soul. Martin brings that same depth to his own playing, rendering it unique with passion and intimacy.

Dennis Cahill is a master guitarist, versed as well in classical, blues and rock as he is in traditional music. A native of Chicago born to parents from County Kerry, Ireland, he studied at the city’s prestigious Music College before becoming an active member of the local music scene. Cahill’s innovative accompaniment is acknowledged as being a major breakthrough for guitar in the Irish tradition. In addition to his work with Hayes, Dennis has performed with such renowned fiddlers as Liz Carroll, Eileen Ivers and Kevin Burke.

Martin met Dennis in Chicago when he first moved to the States in the 1980s. They formed a jazz/rock/fusion band called Midnight Court, in which they experimented with a variety of new music styles. Eventually, though, they both turned back to their traditional roots, and after recording two acclaimed solo albums, Hayes began a new musical relationship with Cahill. The news of their riveting, galvanizing performances spread like wildfire on both sides of the Atlantic. In 1997 they released The Lonesome Touch (Green Linnet), a recording that has helped take Irish music beyond the world music realm by exposing its inner meaning in an accessible way to listeners of classical, jazz and modern music.

The musical rapport between Hayes and Cahill is so strong that it is often said they appear to be playing one instrument, "working on a seemingly telepathic level," as CMJ describes it. While Martin pursues a melody, Dennis explores the harmony and rhythms within the tunes. He seems to know intuitively Hayes’ next move, consistently matching it with astonishing skill and grace. Their live performances weave tunes that stretch up to thirty minutes long, in what Hayes describes as "a three-way conversation between the two of us and the music."

They have brought their audience into the dialogue with the recording of Live in Seattle, their second duet recording, and the first to capture the fire and chemistry of their live concerts. The disc was recorded during a concert at the Tractor Tavern in Martin’s adopted hometown of Seattle, and reflects both the intimacy of their live performance and the exponential power of the duo’s imagination. Hayes and Cahill work off each other like two jazz masters, exploring the tunes, spinning medleys that expand and contract with intensity. "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."