Search - Nuala Kennedy :: New Shoes

Born in Dundalk, Co. Louth, the Irish flute and whistle virtuoso, composer, singer, and educator Nuala Kennedy has mined inspiration from throughout the Celtic world. She began by playing in a ceilidh (dance) orchestra before moving to Scotland for a time, where she joined the critically-praised group, Fine Friday, and developed a strong affection for Canada's hardy, Gaelic-speaking Cape Breton traditions. Later collaborations have included gigs with The Unusual Suspects and Harem Scarem. She is affiliated with the popular trad band, Anam, and is a musician-in-residence at New York's Omi International Arts Center, where she and fifteen other composers of various nationalities are completing a work set to be premiered in August 2007. The New Shoes is not only the title track of this album but the name of her new band and on it, she explores her heritage while updating it with all-acoustic sounds, adding on an extra bit of swing and flair. With her pure, chilled-out mezzo-soprano and dulcet woodwind stylings, she plays a tune inspired by the sounds of Brittany (a Celtic homeland in western France), spins out soulful ballads, gets the house up off it and dancing and even borrows some chugging attitude from Django Reinhardt's Parisian le jazz hot. Fans of Lúnasa will surely love this one. --Christina Roden