Martin Hayes and The Common Ground Ensemble to Release “Peggy’s Dream”

Martin Hayes and The Common Ground Ensemble will release their new album, “Peggy’s Dream,” on March 24th via 251 Records. The album is dedicated to Hayes’ mother, Peggy, and to Dennis Cahill, who recently passed away and was a long-time collaborator of Hayes.

The Common Ground Ensemble was formed by Hayes to bring together musicians from various backgrounds with connections to Irish music, which is the common ground that inspired their name. The group includes Cormac McCarthy on piano; Kate Ellis on cello (also the Artistic Director of Crash Ensemble); Kyle Sanna on guitar (a collaborator with Edgar Meyer and Chris Thile); and Brian Donnellan on bouzouki, harmonium, and concertina (an alumnus of The Tulla Ceìiliì Band, like Hayes).

The ensemble members are highly talented and come from different genres, including traditional Irish music, contemporary classical, jazz improvisation, and experimental music. They combine these genres together with the core elements of the tradition to create a unique sound that showcases each musician’s remarkable talents. As Hayes puts it, the goal is to have “the most fun” possible while performing on stage.

How does the Common Ground Ensemble distinguish itself from Martin Hayes‘ many other projects? “I’ve usually tended to gather a group of people together and just see what begins to emerge,” considers Hayes. The larger picture in terms of mood, feeling, harmonies and overall arrangement is mostly driven by my aspirations for the tunes. I make a rough arrangement sketch that we then collectively fill out. One of my goals is also to create space and opportunity for all the different musical personalities, styles, and genres to be freely expressed within this band. I feel that the ensemble’s potential is best realized when the totality of each musician’s capacity and musical personality can be fully utilized and freely expressed.”

Author: World Music Central News Room

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