Dán is a new live collaboration between a large number of European musicians exploring the relationships between their various traditional musics with a modern, jazz-influenced sensibility. The brainchild of the Irish group Guidewires, and featuring the members of Kan, a Breton quartet and Alyth McCormack, this project brings together fourteen musicians from a variety of musical and cultural backgrounds to form a touring ensemble, as they describe it: ‘melding traditional and jazz musical cultures from Ireland, France and Scotland, with elements from the Middle East and Galicia.’

Presented, as they put it, as a ‘choreographed set of distinct ensemble works, the concert will explore musical synergies found in original, traditional, re-arranged and shared material, moving from intimate collaborations to the full force of the ensemble.’ The music ranges over Irish jigs and Scottish stratspeys to English hornpipes and Breton gavottes, bringing together the traditions of the players in a large-scale, contemporary production.

The musicians are as follows:

Alyth McCormack - Vocals

(From Kan)
Aidan O’Rourke - Fiddle
Ian Stephenson - Guitar
Brian Finnegan - Flutes / Whistles
Jim Goodwin - Drums

(From a Breton quartet)
Etienne Callac - Bass
Geoffroy Tamisier - Trumpet / Bugle
Jacques Pellen - Guitar
Janick Martin - Accordion

(From Guidewires)
Karol Lynch - Bouzouki
Pádraig Rynne - Concertina
Paul McSherry - Guitars
Sylvain Barou - Flutes / Uilleann pipes
Tola Custy - Fiddle

Concerts confirmed in Ireland to date are:

Wednesday, 15 August: Glór, Ennis at 8pm;  €18/€16 conc. Tel: 065 684 3103
Thursday, 16 August: National Concert Hall, Dublin at 8pm; €20/€18 conc Tel:01 417 0000
Saturday, 18 August: Fleadh Cheoil na hÉireann 2012, Town Hall, Cavan at 8pm; €25
Sunday, 19 August: Kilkenny Arts Festival, St Canice’s Cathedral at 8pm; €22 / €19 conc.

guidewiresmusic.com/dan.