released January 1, 2020

North by NorthWest

Eliot Grasso uilleann pipes & flute
Dave Cory banjo, guitar & octave mandolin

1. Reels: Billy McComiskey’s*/Dan Breen’s Reel/The Beauty Spot

Eliot composed the first reel for the great Brooklyn-born accordion player and Baltimore resident, Billy McComiskey. Dan Breen (1894-1969) was born near Soloheadbeg, County Tipperary. In 1919 he participated in the first engagement of the Irish war of independence. The Beauty Spot is a great piping tune.

2. Jigs: The Fly in the Porter/Gan Ainm

The first jig Eliot learned from piper Robbie Hannan. The phrasing of the second jig is very odd and allegedly comes from a recording of Trian in the 1990s.

3. Reels: The Nine Points of Roguery/Famous Ballymote

The Nine Points of Roguery is a northern reel that also goes by the name The Black Mare of Fanad. Famous Ballymote, named after a town in County Sligo, needs no introduction.

4. Reels: The Blackberry Blossom/Slate Hill§

Slate Hill was composed by the Cork-born fiddler John Daly and was originally set in the key of G minor. Between 1841 and 1902, fourteen of the houses in the neighborhood where John grew up were built of stone that came from a small quarry on the farm his parents bought in 1961. Quarrying ceased in 1903, but roofing slate continued to be harvested there until 1906. A century later, the place continues to be referred to locally as Slate Hill.

5. Jigs: The Purse Rusted Shut*/The Green Lady*/Morgan Andersen’s Forêt*

These three jigs are all compositions of Eliot's. The first is named for a select few who would rather pay to have their lawns mowed than for a proper music lesson. The second is named for what might possibly be the finest sushi roll on earth. This sumptuous item contains yellow tail, cucumber, mint leaves, and freshly cut limes and is sold at a premium at $11 American. It can be obtained from Edo Sushi in Lutherville, Maryland. The last tune was composed in honor of the great bow maker, Morgan Andersen. The forêt is a hand-operated French tool designed to bore the eyes out of a bow's frog.

6. Reels: The Musical Priest/Farrell O’Gara

These reels are well-known tunes. The Musical Priest is transposed here to A minor from B minor.

7. Set Dance & Reel: Rodney’s Glory/The Watchmaker

Rodney’s Glory is no. 1784 in O’Neill’s Music of Ireland and is a set dance version of O’Carolan’s air The Princess Royal. The title was derived from verses by the poet Eoghain Rua Ó Súilleabháin written to commemorate a naval battle fought in 1782 between British Vice Admiral, George Brydges Rodney (1718-1792), and a fleet of Frenchman. The Watchmaker is a Donegal version of the Scottish fiddle tune, Neil Gow’s Wife and can be found in the Skye Collection scored as a strathspey in G minor. We thought that the F naturals in both tunes made them a complementary pair.

8. Reels: Up Against The Buachalawns/The Old Pinch of Snuff

The Buachalawn is a yellow-flowered weed poisonous to horses and cattle. Perhaps the composer of this tune had a field overrun with the plant, endangering his livestock. This version of the Pinch of Snuff is the more comely and concise of the tunes bearing that name.

9. Air & Set Dance: The Fallen Bridge/The Princess Royal

Eliot wrote The Fallen Bridge and dedicates it to the memory of Nick Marsalek, an incredibly gifted jazz guitarist whose contribution to music will be remembered by all who encountered him. Eliot learned The Princess Royal, composed by Turlough O’Carolan, via Barry Foy from a live performance of Tommy Peoples recorded in 1974.

10. Hornpipes: The Come Hither Stare*/Poll Ha’Penny

Eliot composed The Come Hither Stare in April 2006. There is some speculation that the second hornpipe, Poll Ha’Penny, is derived from the air, Molly McAlpin, which was collected and published by Edward Bunting in 1796. The blind harper, Turlough O’Carolan, was purportedly quoted to have said that he wished he had written it. This would indicate that the tune predates his death in 1738.

11. Jigs: The Thrupenny Bit†/The Bowels of the Earth†/The Falls of the West*

The first two jigs are compositions of Meath-born banjo player and Baltimore resident Peter Fitzgerald. The Thrupenny Bit was titled to commemorate the old Irish coin which sadly disappeared when Ireland joined the EEC in 1973. "Let us descend to the bowels of the earth," was Frank Claudy’s customary invitation to descend into the subterranean basement of his Regester Avenue home in Baltimore. Eliot composed The Falls of the West for his wife, Kate, after his first visit to the West Coast. The waterfalls on Mount Rainier left an indelible impression.

12. Reels: Smith O’Couster/The Jolly Tinker/Farewell to Ireland

The first reel is a Shetland tune composed by fiddler Tom Anderson (1910-1991) who recorded it on The Silver Bow: The Fiddle Music of Shetland. This version of the Jolly Tinker is one indigenous to Donegal. This version of Farewell to Ireland comes from the piping of Kieran O’Hare.

total running: 41:59


all tunes and tracks traditionally arranged by Eliot Grasso and Dave Cory except where noted:

* composed by Eliot Grasso
† composed by Peter Fitzgerald
§ composed by John Daly


All original music used with permission

©2006 Eliot Grasso & Dave Cory

File under world/irish

illen odyssey EG002

Eliot plays Kirk Lynch concert pitch uilleann pipes and an Eamonn Cotter E-flat flute

Dave plays a 1930s Bacon and Day Silver Bell #1 banjo, a Flatiron octave mandolin, and a 1950s Martin D-18.



Recorded at Eastside Studios, Portland, OR June 9 & 10, 2006

Engineered by Mike Kelly

Mixed/Mastered by Jason Wells

Produced by Eliot Grasso & Dave Cory

Photos by Eliot & Kate Grasso

Design & layout by Tim Mazurek

Liner notes by Eliot Grasso & Dave Cory


Thanks to all our family, friends, and fellow musicians on the West and East Coasts of America and Ireland, Peter Fitzgerald and John Daly for the use of their music, Sammy Lind for the D-18 Martin guitar, Rocky Araki for the Flatiron octave mandolin, and Kieran O’Hare for his editorial advice.