Recorded with New England guitarist Carol Barney, and featuring guest artists Bridget Fitzgerald, Roger Burridge and Sue Mogan-Mattison, this album was the culmination of 2 years of mostly long-distance collaboration between Carol and myself. At our initial meeting in 1996 we knew that our playing styles combined powerfully, with a musical communication link between us that at times bordered on the uncanny. This helped us rise above the geographical separation that limited our playing and practicing time together, and we were very pleased and proud of the result.
Sadly, Carol lost a year-long, courageous battle against non-Hodgkins lymphoma in April of 2000. The release of this recording, and the reaction to it from both her friends and the world at large, was certainly a comfort and spiritual source of strength for her in her last months. To find out more about this exceptional musician and human being, please see the Carol Barney Memorial Page
"John and Carol show their mastery of the Irish style of playing instrumental music... Ceol Anam will take its place among a choice collection of CDs, which I keep near to hand for regular listening." Aidan O'Hara, Irish Music
"Carol's and John's guitars play off one another with an easy give and take that's not always so easy to pull off... a very pleasant recording." Roger Mock, Andy's Front Hall
"Guitar duets in Irish music are as rare as a bagel and lox sandwich in Dublin. So this CD by fingerstyle guitarists Carol Barney and John Sherman is a welcome addition to the genre... [a] delightful album." Art Edelstein, Acoustic Guitar
Presenting a mix of Irish and Scottish traditional tunes and contemporary Celtic songs, Celtic Core (Dave Hawkins, Peg O'Callan, Neal Havener and me) started as a St. Patrick's season pickup band, and have expanded our efforts to performing regionally and (in Dave and Peg's case) internationally at festival and concert venues. In 1998 we had one of our live performances digitally taped onto 16 tracks of ADAT and decided to make a CD from it. It's wonderfully clear audio snapshot of our stage show, and one were proud to offer the public.
Though the cover and recording of this combined book/CD offering were taken from my self-produced 1996 release (see below) the book actually contains all the guitar arrangements, in tablature and standard notation, that are on that album plus 7 tunes from my earlier release, "Farewell to the Creeks". The back of the book also contains a resource section for those interested in finding out more about DADGAD and other alternate tunings.
While this album is nominally a solo effort, I enlisted the support of 11 friends to help me give it the variety and texture I was looking for and, while all the tunes are Irish or Scottish, they are in some cases melded with other musical idioms, ranging from North African percussion to bluegrass to jazz.
"A sensitive and innovative guitarist in the Celtic Fingerstyle idiom, the equal of many better known pickers... Sherman's playing is of the highest calibre. Full of unfailingly delightful renditions of Celtic instrumentals, this is a real find." Steve Winick, Dirty Linen
"Sherman's playing is steady and lively, and his arrangements always interesting..." Michael Parrish, Sing Out!
"An inspired effort..." The Columbus Dispatch
This was my debut album, containing arrangements not only for guitar but in combination with the bouzouki (then a fairly new toy for me) as well. Flute, whistle, drums and Highland pipes were added to spice things up a bit, too. It was featured on the popular public radio Celtic music program, "The Thistle and Shamrock" and dozens of other radio stations nationwide and in Canada. Originally released on vinyl LP and cassette, the recording is now available on request as a CD from yours truly, now that personal computers are full-fledged sound factories.
"I was actually surprised by how good the album is...just goes to show how many great musicians there are that nerds like me never get to hear...In short, I recommend it." Steve Winick, Dirty Linen