Chieftains look south of the border: Latest project mixes Celtic and Mexican sounds

By Craig S. Semon TELEGRAM AND GAZETTE STAFF

The Chieftains, a band that has been synonymous with Irish traditional music for nearly a half a century, soon might also be known for Mexican traditional music if the early buzz for the band’s new record, “San Patrico” is any indication.

An unprecedented blend of the musical heritage of Ireland and Mexico, “San Patricio” brings to life the story of the San Patricio Battalion, Irish-Americans who deserted the United States Army to join the Mexican side in the Mexican-American War.

“It’s an untold story, a tone poem, you might say this album,” Paddy Moloney, founder and frontman of The Chieftains said during a recent phone interview. “I set out just basically to do maybe six or seven songs, but with all these great sounds and these great artists, why not go the whole hog and include more of the great songs, paint a picture of Mexico and the Irish battalion down there.”

The Chieftains — which also includes flutist Matt Molloy, fiddle player Sean Keane and bodhran player and vocalist Kevin Conneff — will be performing Tuesday at The Hanover Theatre for the Performing Arts in Worcester. “San Patricio” (the Spanish name for St. Patrick) will be released the same day. The album also features Ry Cooder (who collaborated with The Chieftains on the project), as well as guest stars Linda Ronstadt, Los Tigres del Norte, Los Folkloristas, Moya Brennan, Lila Downs, Van Dyke Parks, Los Camperos de Valles, Liam Neeson, 92-year-old Mexican ranchero singer Chavela Vargas and many other celebrated Mexican, American and Irish musicians and singers.

Moloney, who plays Uilleann pipes and tin whistle, founded The Chieftains in 1962. This “story of history untold” of the San Patricio Battalion is one that has been in the back of his mind for a good quarter-of-a-century, he said. The end result is an amazing feat, especially considering Moloney credits his introduction to Latin music to a jingle for Donnelly Irish Style Sausages sung to the tune of “The Mexican Hat Dance” that he heard on the radio in the ’40s growing up near Dublin.

“Unfortunately, a lot of the Irish guys got hanged for desertion. There’s certain amount of reason for this great story not being in the history books because there is a lot of shame attached to it,” Moloney continued. “I’m not into politics or religion. I like to not to get involved in that, the present-day stuff particularly. But there is a way of telling stories through music, song and dance, and I think this is my way of doing this.”

This isn’t some stuffy history lesson. This is a celebration of music and spirit that is deeply rooted in the history of Mexico, Moloney said. And it is already getting accolades from music critics (The New Yorker recently listed “San Patricio” among the most eagerly awaited new albums of 2010) and, more importantly, the Mexican people.

“The Mexican ambassador to Ireland thanked us for doing this,” Moloney said. “The Mexican people know this story inside and out. They love the Irish down there for what happened. There’s a tremendous appreciation for the whole thing being made and the approach and the different colors, so it’s not all doom and gloom. The Mexican people absolutely adore the music.”

It took Moloney and year and a half to make the record and it was “one of the best, most enjoyable projects that I even done.”

“It was my intention in the beginning to write music for symphony orchestra, use certain songs from Mexico and the Irish portion of music,” Moloney said. “Having heard so many of these great pieces of music and some of these great Mexican artists, I said I’ll go the whole way and represent the country as well, bring their music and fusing some of ours with it.

“The artists that recorded for me were totally in awe of the whole project,” Moloney said. “They just loved what was happening. And a lot of them have called me since to say this is a brilliant album. Coming from the Mexican people, that’s a great honor.”

While there will be a fair amount of tunes from “San Patricio,” (including “The Sands of Mexico” and “March to Battle,” the latter which will feature a local pipe band), Moloney assures that Tuesday’s show is going to be a regular Chieftains concert, the kind that fans have loved and enjoyed for decades. It will feature Scottish vocalist Alyth McCormack, the Canadian acrobatic dancing team of brothers Jon and Nathan Pilatzke, traditional Irish dancer Cara Butler, Irish harpist Triona Marshall, Nashville singer Jeff White and fiddle player Deanie Richardson

“We won’t be shy at what we do best, traditional Irish music,” Moloney said.

And, if the new mayor of Worcester is listening, Moloney, who has won six Grammys with The Chieftains, proudly displays on his wall the Key to the City he received about 40 years ago from the then-mayor.

He is hoping to get another one to add to his collection.

“I got a key to the city, a big brass key,” Moloney said. “(Tell the mayor), the other one got rusty.”