Randal Bays (born 1950) is an American

fiddler A fiddle is a Bow (music), bowed String instrument, string musical instrument, most often a violin. It is a colloquial term for the violin, used by players in all genres, including European classical music, classical music. Although in many ...

guitarist A guitarist (or a guitar player) is a person who plays the guitar. Guitarists may play a variety of guitar family instruments such as classical guitars, acoustic guitars, electric guitars, and bass guitars. Some guitarists accompany themselv ...

and

composer A composer is a person who writes music. The term is especially used to indicate composers of Western classical music, or those who are composers by occupation. Many composers are, or were, also skilled performers of music. Etymology and Defi ...

. This Irish-style fiddle and guitar player first gained international recognition through his recordings and performances with Co. Clare fiddler Martin Hayes in the early 1990s.

Early life and education

Born in Indiana in 1950, Bays relocated to the Pacific Northwest as a teenager and has made his home in Oregon and Washington since then. He began playing music at the age of eigh, and his musical life included serious study of the classical guitar, prior to taking up Irish fiddling in the 1970s. At the time, he lived in Portland, Oregon, and was strongly influenced by Co. Cavan accordion player Michael Beglan, also fiddler Kevin Burke and guitarist

Mícheál Ó Domhnaill Mícheál Ó Domhnaill (; 7 October 1951 – 7 July 2006) was an Irish singer, guitarist, composer, and producer who was a major influence on Irish traditional music in the second half of the twentieth century. He is remembered for his innovativ ...

Career

Since then Bays has recorded and performed with many of the leading Irish traditional musicians, including James Kelly, Martin Hayes,

Gearóid Ó hAllmhuráin Gearóid Ó hAllmhuráin (born 28 May 1955) is an Irish ethnomusicologist, author, musician and historian specialising in Irish music, diaspora, cultural and memory studies. Profile Born in Ennis, County Clare, Ó hAllmhuráin was a former mem ...

, John Williams, Aine Meenaghan,

Dáithí Sproule Dáithí Sproule (born 23 May 1950) is a guitarist and singer of traditional Irish music. He is the grandson of Frank Carney and uncle of singer Claire Sproule. Biography Born and raised in Derry, Northern Ireland, at the age of 18 he moved t ...

and James Keane. He now tours mostly as a solo performer and with various duet partners. In 2002 Bays co-founded the Friday Harbor Irish Music Camp in Washington's San Juan Islands, and served as Artistic Director until the camp's demise in 2011. He is now Program Director of the Cascadia Irish Music Week a yearly music week in Washington state. In 1995 Bays began releasing his own albums under the Foxglove Records label, which he founded, including ''Out of the Woods'', ''The Salmon's Leap'', ''House to House'' with Roger Landes — voted best traditional album of 2005 by the Irish Times - ''Overland'' with

, and several more. In 2011 he released his first solo

fingerstyle guitar Fingerstyle guitar is the technique of playing the guitar or bass guitar by plucking the strings directly with the fingertips, fingernails, or picks attached to fingers, as opposed to flatpicking (plucking individual notes with a single plectr ...

CD, ''Oyster Light'', which has been highly praised by such guitar luminaries as Tony McManus and Daithi Sproule.

Critical reception

Don Meade wrote in ''The Irish Voice'' (New York, Jan. 2001) that Bays is "still best known to many for his beautiful guitar accompaniment on fiddler Martin Hayes' early recordings, utRandal is himself a marvelous fiddler, one of the best in the country." The ''

Irish Examiner The ''Irish Examiner'', formerly ''The Cork Examiner'' and then ''The Examiner'', is an Irish national daily newspaper which primarily circulates in the Munster region surrounding its base in Cork, though it is available throughout the country. ...

'' deemed Bays "a rare beast, a master of both the fiddle and the guitar," and ''Fiddler Magazine'' said he is "among the best Irish style fiddlers of his generation."

Discography

Albums

* ''The Quiet Pint'' - 2014 (Foxglove Records) * ''A Rake Of Tunes'' - 2014 (Foxglove Records) * ''Oyster Light'' - 2011 (Foxglove Records) uitar album* ''Dig With It'' - 2009 with Dave Marshall (Foxglove Records) * ''Fingal'' - 2008 with Dáithí Sproule and James Keane (New Folk Records) * ''Katy Bar The Door'' - 2006 (Foxglove Records) * ''House To House'' - 2004 with Roger Landes (Foxglove Records) * ''Overland'' - 2004 with Dáithí Sproule (Foxglove Records) * ''The Salmon's Leap'' - 2000 (Foxglove Records) * ''Out Of The Woods'' - 1997 (Foxglove Records) * ''Pigtown Fling'' - 1996 with Joel Bernstein (Foxglove Records) * ''The Rashers'' - 1988 with Joel Bernstein * ''Celtic Music Of The Northwest'' - 1982 with Wildgeese

Guest appearances

* ''Lost River, Volume 1'' - 2011 Dáithí Sproule (New Folk Records) * ''Masters Of The Irish Guitar'' - 2006 various artists (Shanachie Records) * ''Steam'' - 2001 John Williams (Green Linnet Records) * ''World Festival of Sacred Music: Europe'' - 1999 various artists (CCnC Records) * ''Wayfarer'' - 1999 John Doan (Hearts Of Space Records) * ''Eire: Isle of the Saints (A Celtic Odyssey)'' - 1997 John Doan (Hearts Of Space Records) * ''Wind On The Water'' - 1995 Nancy Curtin (Foxglove Records) * ''John Williams'' - 1995 John Williams (Green Linnet Records) * ''Under The Moon'' - 1995 Martin Hayes (Green Linnet Records) * ''Songs From Vanyel's Time'' - 1994 Shadow Stalker (Firebird Records) * ''Martin Hayes'' - 1993 Martin Hayes (Green Linnet Records) * ''The Traveler's Return'' - 1990 Nancy Curtin * ''Above The Tower'' - 1985 Magical Strings (Flying Fish) * ''Nancy Curtin'' - 1985 Nancy Curtin

References

The Irish Times, Dublin 2005 - Review of "House to House" **** (Four stars)Dirty Linen Magazine (US) April, 2001 - Review of "The Salmon's Leap"Tradition Magazine (UK) - (by Judith Gennett)Fiddler Magazine (Nova Scotia, Canada) - Review of "The Salmon's Leap" The Irish Voice (New York), Jan. 2001, - Review of "The Salmon's Leap"Folkworks Magazine (US)Rating: ***** - Dennis Stone, "Folkworks" Jan. 2001 - Review of "The Salmon's Leap"Tradition Magazine (UK) - (by Judith Gennett)Dirty Linen Magazine, March 1997 "The Pigtown Fling" 1996 "Ebullient, buoyant Irish music...must be heard to be believed." Irish America Magazine, February 1997 "The Pigtown Fling" 1996 "One of the Top Ten Celtic CDs of the year." Dirty Linen Magazine, "Out of the Woods" 1997 "Dazzling...a must for any fan of fiddle or guitar."

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Bays, Randal 1950 births Living people 20th-century American guitarists 20th-century American violinists 21st-century American guitarists 21st-century American violinists American fiddlers Guitarists from Indiana Irish fiddlers