Joe Derrane is an American (Boston, MA, to be exact) box player of Irish parentage,
who became famous through his 78 recordings, both with his teacher Jerry O'Brien
and solo, in the late 1940s and early 1950, before sort of suddenly disappearing
from the Irish music scene. He was then "rediscovered" in the 1990s, when he
managed to make an impressive come-back playing the button box (it turns out he
mainly played the piano-accordion and other keyboard instruments during the
years inbetween) at the Wolf Trap Irish festival. He has recorded several albums
since.
Joe has a very unique style, using mainly triplets as ornamentation. He plays a box
tuned D/C#, so the D row on the outside, a system that is still occasionally found in
the US but hardly elsewhere - including Ireland. Originally he played an old black
Baldoni (made in Italy for the US market) box, but now has a Gaillard box with a bass
end of his own design.
[Joe recently (Nov. 2000) did a workshop at the Music School in Groningen, in the very North of Holland. The pictures below were taken there. Note the Hohner box beside him, which he had to use during most of the workshop, as hardly anyone in Holland plays in D.]
|
|
|
|
or