VILLAGE OF LIVERPOOL – Five years ago fiddler Joe Davoli and pianist Bob Halligan teamed up to record Davoli’s second compact disc, “Golden Rule.” Halligan engineered the album and contributed craftsman-like piano parts, lively bass guitar lines and bewitching vocal harmonies.
“Golden Rule” featured Davoli shining brightly on fiddle, mandolin and tenor banjo, and Halligan’s contributions well-complemented Davoli’s instrumental virtuosity. One of the best acoustic albums ever recorded locally, “Golden Rule” focused on several old Irish tunes. Davoli and Halligan channeled the Emerald Isle from O’Carolan to “Danny Boy,” from jigs to reels, from waltzes to hornpipes.
This year, Davoli and Halligan will celebrate St. Patrick’s Day a few days early by playing a free concert at 2 p.m. Sunday, March 11, at Liverpool Public Library, as part of the library’s Melting Pot Music series.
Having honed his chops playing bluegrass for the Delaney Brothers, Irish rock with Halligan’s band, Ceili Rain, and Irish pub tunes with the Flyin’ Column, Davoli now stands at the peak of his game. In 2017 he was inducted into the North American Fiddlers’ Hall of Fame.
Tunes from “Golden Rule” which Sunday’s audience may hear include O’Carolan’s “Planxty Fanny Powers” and the rarely recorded “O’Carolan’s Concerto.”
The beloved standard, “Danny Boy,” appears on the record as “Derry Aire,” one of the titles of the ancient Irish melody on which the popular song was based.
Davoli’s recorded instrumental version is aptly reverent and deliciously unrushed as he tremolo-picks his mandolin over Halligan’s splendid piano comping.
The library’s winter-spring concert series, “Melting Pot Music,” continues at 2 p.m. Sunday, April 14 with lively African dance tunes performed by the Kambuyu Marimba Ensemble.
The “Melting Pot Music” series is presented by the library in collaboration with the Liverpool Is The Place Concert Committee; with financial support from NYS Council on the Arts administered by CNY Arts; 315-457-0310; Lpl.org. For more information visit joedavoli.com.
