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"Helping Hands," Jerry Holland's final CD

Paul Keating

Irish Voice Newspaper Columnist

Published Tuesday, November 3, 2009, 2:34 PM

Updated Tuesday, November 3, 2009, 3:15 PM

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Read more: Jerry Holland, John Doyle, Cape Breton, Entertainment, Music, New Music Releases, Celtic Colours International, Dublin, Asheville, Boston

Jerry Holland and John Doyle at ICONS Festival in 2008.

Photo by Photo by Paul Wells

It was as if Jerry Holland came back from the grave to say he was in a better place now and that he had one more gift for those he left behind.

Even as he battled cancer in the past few years, somehow his music still managed to remain as incredible, including one last collaboration that will be talked about for years. With the release of a new CD last week, Helping Hands, featuring Holland and Dublin guitarist John Doyle up in Cape Breton as part of the 2009 Celtic Colours International Festival, his sizeable legacy will have one more fantastic chapter.

The title comes from his last composition appearing on the new CD recorded just a few weeks before he died as a way of acknowledging all those fellow musicians, friends and fans who were there for him in the remaining days of his life.

Holland summoned up enough strength to record 18 tracks with Doyle, who flew to Cape Breton to complete the project last June which documented one of the more dynamic performance duets in recent years in Celtic music.

In 2006 special sparks flew when Holland and Doyle sat and played inventively across from one another at the Swannanoa gathering in Doyle’s adopted home of Asheville, North Carolina, and again at the Celtic Colours International Festival club in Holland’s Cape Breton Island homeplace.

At Boston’s 2008 ICONS Festival, three weekend gigs cemented their pairing as one of the most exciting and complimentary acts, encouraging them to do a recording together as soon as possible before Jerry’s time had come to leave us.

Not only were the live performances technically and artistically brilliant, but the pure joy and camaraderie that passed between Holland and Doyle was both magic and escapist when considering the fierce battle that Jerry was waging against the disease where music and friendship were his best allies.

Long time friends Paul MacDonald and Paul Cranford help shepherd the project into final production, and the liner notes reflect not only Holland’s role as a tradition bearer but a final thank you to all those who shared the music with him during his long-distinguished career.

The new CD can be ordered from Jerry Holland Jr. at www.jerryhollandjr.net.

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Posted by cbfiddle on November 20,2009 | 03:46PM

It would have been great if the facts had been researched better. The tune helping hands was to say thank you to all that helped him the last few years of his life when his life took a different turn. Paul Mac Donald & Paul Cranford didn't shepherd this project. Paul MacD was hired to record it because that was convenient for Jerry because it was to be done in Roberta Head's house and she was vey instrumental in making sure this recording was done. This same writer did an article about the Tribute to Jerry Holland and more facts that were incorrect. Even leaving out of that article that Jerry Holland Jr. performed at his father's tribute along with Jerry's student Gillian Head. Gillian Head performed with Jerry just about everywhere he played on the island. Also the writer stated that Allan Dewar was from Halifax and was given the fiddle because he was the director of the Judique Interpretive Centre which is also incorrect.

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Irish folk music is the generic term for music that has been created in various genres on the entire island of Ireland. Collections of Irish folk music date from the 18th century, but ballad printers were not established in Dublin until the 19th century. By the mid-20th century, Irish folk music had fallen out fashion. Festivals such as the Fleadh Cheoil exposed people to folk. The English folk music scene also gave Irish musicians the chance to find new audiences. With the success of the Clancy Brothers in the US in 1959, it became trendy again to listen to Irish music. Later, the international success of the Chieftains made the folk music of Ireland a global brand. In the 1980s, the Pogues helped fuse Irish folk with punk rock, giving a whole new audience a chance to listen to songs influenced by the folk tradition. Enya achieved international success with New Age/Celtic fusions. Irish music also contributed a subgenre of folk metal known as Celtic metal with exponents of the genre including Cruachan, Geasa and Waylander. Audiences do not just listen to Irish music in concert halls or arenas, but in much more informal settings as well. In recent decades, patrons can listen to Irish folk musicians at pub sessions. Many fans don’t just listen to Irish music &emdash; they dance to it at weddings and saint’s days. When you listen to Irish folk music, one instrument you are likely to hear is the fiddle. The fiddling tradition of Sligo is perhaps most recognizable to outsiders, due to the popularity of American-based performers like Lad O'Beirne, Michael Coleman, John McGrath, James Morrison and Paddy Killoran. Other instruments to listen for include the flute, tin whistle and Uilleann pipes.

"Helping Hands," Jerry Holland's final CD

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