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ANTONI O’BRESKEY & RONNIE DREW - From Dublin To Bilbao 

ANTONI O’BRESKEY & RONNIE DREW - From Dublin To Bilbao 
Nomadic Piano 

Combinations in Irish music have been responsible for some thrills and spills, but this one has been unknown until now. Dubliner Ronnie Drew’s collaboration with Italian pianist Antoni O’Breskey is at once typical of Drew eclecticism and also an intriguing cross-cultural collaboration.

The Italian pianist/composer Antoni O’Breskey was born in Italy with Argentine roots. He graduated in piano at Conservatorio Luigi Cherubini of Florence and introduced improvised-style piano into Irish and Flamenco music, blending it with blues and creating a positively new and original jazz piano style described by Harry Long in The Waltons Guide To Irish Music as “unique and superb. He has released several solo albums and some collaborative efforts with Irish and European musicians. He also lived in America in the 80s, immersing himself in New Orleans jazz and blues styles.

Ronnie Drew worked extensively with Antoni and performed as special guest in countless concerts and in many of his albums. The results of their 13 years of musical performances together is gathered in this compilation, originally released in 2007. Now re-issued, the collection bridges a gap in Ronnie Drew’s discography as well as introducing a talent that knows no musical boundary but has created his own take on Celtic music. Mixing elements of Irish, Austrian, Italian and Moorish idioms, they have created something unique. Not since the late Mícheál Ó’Súilleabháin has the piano sang so sweetly within an Irish context, underscoring the baleful As I Roved Out, Nora, and Song For Carla. The combination on the rollicking Ojos Negros or the jazz flavoured Bizkala Maite is hauntingly different and altogether beguiling. From Dublin To Bilbao is a unique border crossing experiment which deserves wider exposure.

www.nomadicpiano.com

John O’Regan


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This album was reviewed in Issue 127 of The Living Tradition magazine.