Born in Drimnagh, Dublin in 1948, James Keane took up the button accordion at age six, drawing his primary inspiration from his mother, father and uncles (musicians all) and the rich cultural legacy of their home counties of Longford and Clare.
While still in his early teens, James co-founded, with his brother, fiddler Seán Keane (of Chieftains fame) and flute player Mick O’Connor, what would become, in a few short years, one of Ireland’s most heralded music ensembles, the Castle Ceili Band, featuring such legendary players as Joe Ryan, John Dwyer, Liam Rowsome, Michael Tubridy, Bridie Lafferty and West Clare fiddler John Kelly. They won the All-Ireland Ceili Band Championship in 1965, and James eventually took four solo titles of his own, three of which were consecutive wins in the senior accordion division, an achievement that has yet to be equaled.
He emigrated to New York in 1968 and for the next decade became a mainstay at the legendary John Barleycorn and other clubs and concert halls on the Manhattan Irish scene. In 1980, James relocated to Halifax, Nova Scotia, to shore up the instrumental side of the successful Irish ballad group Ryan’s Fancy, with whom he toured, performed on television and, eventually, recorded three more albums.
In the early 1990’s James began a series of appearances as both a performer and an presenter on two shows broadcast by New York Public Television, the weekly music program, Irish Eyes, and its current-affairs counterpart, Erin Focus.
His third solo album, That’s The Spirit, was released by Green Linnet in 1994, and his fourth, With Friends Like These, on Shanachie Records featured such musical friends as former Bothy Band fiddlers Paddy Glackin and Tommy Peoples, Planxty founding member Liam O’Flynn, Chieftains vocalist Kevin Conneff, and an alumnus of all three of the aforementioned groups, Ireland’s finest flute player, Matt Molloy.
Discography:
The Irish Accordion of James Keane (Rex Heritage Disc, 1972)
Roll Away the Reel World (Green Linnet, 1980)
That’s the Spirit (Green Linnet, 1994)
Toss the Feathers (Green Linnet, 1996)
With Friends Like These (Shanachie, 1998)
Sweeter as the Years Roll By (Shanachie, 1999)
James Keane & Friends – Live in Dublin (Lavalla Records, 2002)
Fingal (New Folk Records, 2008)
Heir of the Dog (New Folk Records, 2012)
Author: Angel Romero
Angel Romero y Ruiz has dedicated his life to musical exploration. His efforts included the creation of two online portals, worldmusiccentral.org and musicasdelmundo.com. In addition, Angel is the co-founder of the Transglobal World Music Chart, a panel of world music DJs and writers that celebrates global sounds. Furthermore, he delved into the record business, producing world music studio albums and compilations. His works have appeared on Alula Records, Ellipsis Arts, Indígena Records and Music of the World.
