| Michael Coleman | | Date Created: Apr 09, 2005, 02:49 AM |
 Michael Coleman, second row left
By Richard L. King
If someone decided to compile a list of the most influential Irish musicians of the 20th Century, fiddler Michael Coleman’s name would (and certainly should) appear at the top. Coleman’s impact resounded far from the small south Sligo farm on which he was born in 1891. The son of a noted flute-player (James) and brother of a well-regarded fiddler (Jim), Michael learned from the many nearby fiddle players a style that he recreated into what became known world-wide as the Sligo style. Like many young men from Ireland, Coleman felt the pull of America and eventually settled in New York, where he began his recording career in 1921.
It was this Coleman-stamped Sligo fiddle playing style, combined with the musician’s masterful playing ability plus the technological advancement of the 78 rpm record album, that greatly influenced Irish musicians in Ireland and elsewhere. Coleman’s playing style has been described by his biographer (Irish radio and record producer Harry Bradshaw) as extremely emotional and instantly recognizable with a "smooth, rich tone, catchy infectious lift, and the ability to propel a tune with great speed and embellish it with intricate ornamentation and dazzling variation while never losing its intrinsic character." Coleman’s tremendous influence, through no fault of his own, has not been without a detrimental cost to Irish music, however, and inadvertently contributed to the 20th Century decline of regional styles of Irish playing.
Regional styles in Ireland can be defined as the varying ways of playing from region to region; at one time Ireland had many different regional styles, but today only a few survive (major ones are Sligo, Donegal, Clare, Galway, and Sliabh Luachra on the Cork/Kerryborder). One reason for this decline can be explained in two words: Michael Coleman. Traditional musicians throughout Ireland would hear Coleman’s record albums and decide to imitate his Sligo techniques of articulation, phrasing, bowing and dynamics, which soon became considered the Irish standard. One such musician was Donegal’s Hugh Gillespie (1906-1986), who came under the Coleman spell in New York and learned his Sligo fiddling style; while he remained a wonderful fiddler in his own right, his own traditional Donegal style became changed (some might say tainted, though Gillespie probably didn’t think this was a problem). Even when Gillespie returned to Ireland in the 1970s, his fiddling style was neither Donegal nor Sligo but remained colored by his American sojourn.
Writing in a detailed study of Coleman’s life that accompanies the standard 2-CD collection of his music (40 original 78 rpm albums containing tunes still played at sessions internationally are reproduced by Viva Voce of Gael-Linn records), Bradshaw discussed the Sligoman’s impact on Irish traditional music:
"Until the 1920s, generations of musicians had learned music in the age-old way—from their parents, neighbours, and local musicians. Poor communications and the inability to travel beyond short distances added to the isolation of many communities and their musicians, and resulted in a profusion of local music styles throughout Ireland. These old ways changed due to the arrival of the new 78 records. The local player had now to compete with music on disc from Michael Coleman, James Morrison, accordionist P.J. Conlon, flute player John McKenna and many other performers. Each new record was listened to with rapt attention, the musician’s every inflection was copied, and new tunes were added to the local repertoire."
Bradshaw claims that while the loss of regional styles is to be regretted, it should be remembered that Coleman’s influence came at a time when Irish traditional music was going through a decline. "Without the renaissance spearheaded by the Sligo musicians in the 1920s, we might very well not have the vibrant live tradition we have today," he writes.
Even Sligo’s regional style can be categorized into Pre-Coleman and Post-Coleman eras, as the recordings of Coleman (and Morrison) "had an immediate and powerful effect on that style as other musicians became captivated with the new idiom, and turned away from their old, simple ways of playing in order to imitate it," according to Paddy Ryan. Ryan wrote "Important Archive Recordings," an article in Treoir magazine (published by Irish traditional music organization Comhaltas Ceoltoiri Eireann, Iml 31 Uimhir 4 1999). For those interested in hearing what Sligo playing was like before the Coleman revolution, Ryan recommends a recently released CD titled The McDonaghs of Ballinafad and Friends Play Traditional Music of Sligo (from Comhaltas archives). Apparently, the McDonaghs held on to the old style of playing throughout their lives.
Another interesting Coleman impact was the creation of what would become a 20th Century tradition: the playing of Irish tunes in sets of three. As Bradshaw explained in the "Michael Coleman" article in The Companion to Irish Traditional Music (1999), "Indeed, his (and, of course, others’) medium of the 78 rpm record itself has determined the duration of sets of tunes to this day: players still stick to the three-tune ‘track’ which would fill one ‘side’ on a standard 78." Persons attending an Irish session for the first time may be mystified when they hear musicians play (as they often do) three tunes back-to-back without a pause. One reason for this: Michael Coleman and the duration of 78 rpm!
The Coleman booklet contained in the Gale-Linn album contains many fascinating anecdotes of this great fiddler’s colorful life. An example is told by musician James Morrison: Once in Depression-era New York Coleman had been paid $5 in advance to play at the graduation party of the daughter of a large, tough policeman. Well, somehow Coleman mixed up his dates, and one week too late knocked on the door of the policeman’s house and stood wondering where the party was. The policeman called him to the top of the stairs, then quickly gave him a punch that knocked him back down the stairs. Coleman quickly picked himself and his fiddle back up and walked out, but he never returned the $5 playing fee, either.
By the end of his life in 1945, Coleman had recorded 80 commercially made sides, plus a host of miscellaneous recordings. A modern generation accustomed to quality vinyl and CD recordings may find Coleman’s re-released (on CD) recordings a bit of an acquired taste, but musicians still learn from them and Coleman’s influence is still appreciated and debated by Irish music fans who recognize and appreciate his outstanding impact.
COPYRIGHT 2005
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