Jack Talty – In Flow album review: concertina renaissance man

The renaissance of the concertina continues unabated, bolstered by the release of this thoughtful collection from Ensemble Ériu's Jack Talty. A self-described "snapshot in time", In Flow is a plain-speaking postcard from a musician who has continually sought out the rarely illuminated corners where the concertina thrives.

Talty's considered tune choices are matched by his uncanny ability to marry tunes with a common thread. His wedding of The Morning Star with The Rising Sun renders a set whose whole is clearly greater than the sum of its parts, while his own tune compositions reveal an ear for the sublime and an appetite for those inexpressible moments in life that propel musicians back into the session.

Sleeve notes rich in picaresque detail add immeasurably to the pleasure of this collection, as do John Blake and Ruairí McGorman’s guitar and bouzouki accompaniment.

[ raelachrecords.com ]