Obit: Dennis Cahill, guitarist (1954-2022)

Subject: Obit: Dennis Cahill, guitarist (1954-2022)
From: Felipa
Date: 25 Jun 22 - 05:43 PM

I was familiar with Dennis Cahill through his partnership with Irish-born fiddle player Martin Hayes, whom he regularly accompanied on guitar. Dennis died on 20 June 2022 and through the tributes paid to him I have become more aware of his musical versatility.

https://www.irishtimes.com/obituaries/2022/06/25/dennis-cahill-obituary-celebrated-traditional-musician-who-was-a-mentor-to-many/

One of the finest guitarists to play traditional music passed away last Monday, due to complications arising from a prolonged illness. Dennis Cahill was Chicago born and bred, and was unequivocal in declaring his identity as an American and not an Irish American. But with two parents from Ballydavid in west Kerry, it might have seemed inevitable that this cosmopolitan musician who had a passion for jazz and popular music would be lured to Irish traditional music eventually.

Cahill was born in Chicago and had one older sister, Mairéad. His father was also named Dennis and his mother was Anna, née Ashe, a relative of Thomas Ashe, a founding member of the Irish Volunteers. He grew up in Gresham and attended Little Flower Grade and High Schools on the south side of Chicago. He started learning the guitar at the age of nine and, after high school, enrolled in DePaul University, later transferring to Roosevelt University to study classical guitar. He did not complete his degree, as he was busy gigging and pursuing a career as a singer-songwriter during the folk revival, regularly gigging at the Earl of Old Town (along with John Prine and others). Cahill couldn’t understand why his professors were locked in a classroom talking theory and not performing. For some years he was a busy singer/musician in the Irish folk pub scene.

The most formative musical relationship of his life was with east Clare fiddle player Martin Hayes, with whom he forged a remarkable partnership. A jobbing musician when he first met Hayes in the 1980s in Chicago, Cahill invited him to join Midnight Well, a jazz/folk outfit. In 1992, Hayes moved to Seattle but the pair reunited in 1996 and released their seminal debut, The Lonesome Touch, the following year.

Cahill’s love of jazz, and of the music of Bill Evans and Bill Frisell, informed his musical philosophy. With Hayes, he embarked on an odyssey where the pair mined the melodic detail of every tune, stripping them bare to reveal their raw beauty. As Hayes put it in an interview with this paper in 2019, they sought “to sculpt a sound that is somewhat minimalist but based on revealing the latent expressive potential of the melody”. Cahill’s minimalism may occasionally have been perceived as simple, but it was never that. Beneath the bare bones of his guitar lines lay the most complex and carefully crafted arrangements. Cahill was never simply an accompanist.

He and Hayes were steadfast musical partners on a journey of discovery where every night’s performance heralded something new. Live in Seattle, released in 1999, captured the dervish-like energy of their legendary live performances and in 2008, they released Welcome Here Again, a finely sculpted collection of shorter tune sets, in contrast to the swooping and soaring extended sets of their live predecessor.

The duo’s approach to their music was the perfect fit to Cahill’s temperament, allowing him to shape his chosen chords with intense precision. Musically fulfilling, it was ideally suited to his gentle, kind and generous personality and for many years was his life’s passion and purpose.

Always musically curious, Cahill paid as close attention to the songs of Lyle Lovett as he did the guitar arrangements of Paul Simon. He had great admiration for musicians who had honed and rigorously mastered their craft. He was a member of the hugely successful The Gloaming and was also a member of the Martin Hayes Quartet with Doug Wieselman and Liz Knowles.

Having enjoyed a deep friendship with Hayes for more than three decades, Cahill was considered a member of the Hayes family, where a bedroom in their Feakle home was long known as Cahill’s room.

Hayes, in an online memorial to Cahill, said: “We came from different musical worlds, but together we made our own world of music and I think we made a difference.” President Michael D Higgins said that “Dennis brought a unique and innovative style to his guitar playing, while being deeply respectful of the essence of traditional Irish music.”

Cahill’s first wife, Gwen Sale, died in a car accident in 2002. He met Mary Joyce, a New Yorker, in Feakle in 2007 and it quickly became clear that they were soul mates. He also developed a close bond with Mary’s daughter, Clíodhna. Cahill and Joyce married on his birthday In 2012. He was an accomplished photographer who also loved to debate politics and was a very talented carpenter, cook, gardener, and a connoisseur of coffee and chocolate.

Cahill was quiet and reflective by nature, with a sharp wit. He was a mentor to many, and his wife Mary recalls him saying that “it’s up to us old guys to help the younger musicians”, a role he readily embraced with the same gusto he applied to all aspects of his professional life.

He is survived by his wife Mary, stepdaughter Clíodhna and his sister Mairéad.

Subject: RE: Obit: Dennis Cahill, guitarist (1954-2022)
From: Felipa
Date: 25 Jun 22 - 05:57 PM

https://www.legacy.com/us/obituaries/name/dennis-cahill-obituary?id=35315862

Tributes are pouring in following news of the death on June 20, 2022 of Dennis Cahill, one of the most acclaimed guitarists in traditional Irish music.

"His unique guitar playing had a huge impact on the Irish music tradition; he has left a beautiful catalogue of music behind him," says Minister Catherine Martin. President Michael D Higgins said "it is with great sadness that those with a love of traditional Irish music across Ireland, his native Chicago and around the world will have heard of the death of Dennis Cahill."

Dennis Cahill, whose parents were from Co.Kerry, Ireland was born on Bloomsday, June 16,1954 in Chicago. He started learning guitar at nine years of age, eventually studying at the Chicago Music College. He was regarded as one of the most respected and innovative guitar players in the world of traditional Irish music, developing his own unique style of playing and performing his music around the world. He was probably best known for his musical partnership with fiddler Martin Hayes. The two played as a duo and also as part of the Irish traditional supergroup The Gloaming.

Dennis and Martin collaborated or played with artists including Sting, jazz guitarist Bill Frisell, Grammy-winning bluegrass and country star Ricky Skaggs, newgrass artists Darol Anger and Mike Marshall, and the Irish Chamber Orchestra. Together they played in venues in Australia, Japan, Italy, Germany, France, Holland, India, Scandinavia, Canada, the U.K., and Ireland as well as stops in Hong Kong, the People's Republic of China, Poland, and Mexico.

In 2011 they were the featured performers at the White House for President and Mrs. Obama, the Vice-President, and the President of Ireland. With The Gloaming, they performed in Brussels in 2013 to celebrate Ireland's Presidency of the European Union, and in 2014 at London's Royal Albert Hall for the historic first state visit by the Irish President.

A statement posted by musician Jimmy Keane shared the news "Dennis passed away peacefully on Monday evening, with his beloved wife, Mary, by his side as she has been throughout his journey. Just moments before - we were comforting Dennis while The Lament for Limerick from Dennis' album with Martin was on in the background - and as the track advanced to My Love is in America, Mary turned off the player, leaned over to hug and kiss Dennis one last time – and then he was gone." the statement continues. "Play a tune today. Sing a song. Tell a corny joke. Sip a whiskey. Cherish a memory My loving condolences to Mary, Cliodhna, the Cahill family, and all of Dennis' many friends Love you Dennis and rest gently in peace "
.
Ar dheis Dé go raibh a anam.

Subject: RE: Obit: Dennis Cahill, guitarist (1954-2022)
From: Felipa
Date: 25 Jun 22 - 06:03 PM

There are several video links to Dennis Cahill and Martin Hayes performances at https://www.folkradio.co.uk/2022/06/traditional-musician-dennis-cahill-has-died/

including a solo performance by Dennis Cahill
and
a Tiny Desk concert, Dennis Cahill and Martin Hayes

Subject: RE: Obit: Dennis Cahill, guitarist (1954-2022)
From: gillymor
Date: 25 Jun 22 - 11:39 PM

So sorry to hear this, when I was learning to play backup guitar (still am) I soaked up everything I could from Mr. Cahill's very sensitive and harmonically sophisticated playing behind Martin Hayes. What a pair they were. Rest in peace.

Subject: RE: Obit: Dennis Cahill, guitarist (1954-2022)
From: Waddon Pete
Date: 27 Jun 22 - 11:16 AM

Thank you for the clips you posted Felipa. They give an insight into his skill and dexterity. I have entered him into the "In Memoriam" thread and send my condolences to all those who know and love him.

RIP