Eliot Grasso - Standing Room Only (illen odyssey EG001)
by Aidan Crossey
published in Pay the Reckoning / January 2005
It isn't often that a debut album by a traditional musician disproves an accepted truth; that it takes 21 years to play the pipes. However Grasso's CD not only disproves this often-repeated "fact", it kicks it out of the stadium altogether.
Grasso first came to Robbie Hannan's attention as a stripling in his mid-teens (he's barely in his twenties at the time of writing) and, as he states in the liner-notes, Grasso's "... technique and tone had already developed to astonishing levels of excellence and richness and his repertoire was seemingly endless".
With that glowing recommendation, from one of Ireland's most respected pipers, any further endorsement by Pay The Reckoning is a tad superfluous. However we couldn't let this CD pass without comment. For here is a piper of tender years, from the other side of the big pond, who has applied himself assiduously to the far-from-easy task of mastering the pipes and in the process has found a unique and compelling musical voice.
The selection of tunes is top-drawer. Grasso is equally content to take on "big" tunes such as "The Tailor's Twist" (which, incidentally, has long been one of our favourite hornpipes) as well as staple (and rather unfashionable) tunes such as "My Darling Asleep" and "The Blarney Pilgrim". In the process he comes to own the grand tunes and reclaims those regarded as being somewhat "lesser". For this latter fact he has earned Pay The Reckoning's grateful thanks; we've long-contended that some of those tunes which are sniffed at by the haughty do not deserve such treatment. Grasso proves that these tunes have as much life, as much scope for lifting the soul, as those more hefty tunes which have become the focus of many players' plaudits.
Grasso demonstrates that he has a great gift for composing. Tunes such as "O'Hare's Tilt", "The Grandmaster" and "The Chiaroscuro Jig" are well-made tunes, brimming with character and lift.
Grasso is supported on this collection by Jim Egan (fiddle), Patrick Mangan (fiddle), Zan McLeod (guitar, bouzouki) and Andy Thurston (guitar, mandola).
There's a poignancy in the album's title, which refers to the fact that the funeral of Grasso's teacher - Paul Levin - was well-attended. A big funeral is a fine tribute to a life lived to the full. But this album is a very personal tribute and one which any teacher of so gifted a student would surely have savoured. Given his youth, we expect to hear a lot more from Grasso as he continues to forge his music and nurture further the seeds sown by Levin. We wish him every success in his endeavours and look forward to his next recorded outings.
To find out how to get your hands on a copy of the CD, which so far isn't generally available in retail outlets, email Eliot direct on illenpypr@yahoo.com
