Jimmy Keane
| Jimmy Keane | |
|---|---|
| Born | London, England |
| Genres | Irish Folk, Contemporary |
| Occupation(s) | Musician |
| Instruments | Piano accordion |
| Years active | 1970s – present |
| Associated acts |
Green Fields of America Moloney, O'Connell & Keane Dennis Cahill Aengus bohola |
| Website | www.jimmykeane.com |
Jimmy Keane is a London-born English musician of Irish origin and a specialist piano accordion player. In addition to his solo career, in the 1980s, he was part of the folk trio Moloney, O'Connell & Keane, then in ensemble Green Fields of America. In the 1990s, he was in Aengus and formed the duo bohola with Pat Broaders. He has recorded and produced a number of albums.
Keane was born to Irish-speaking parents originating from Connemara and Kerry. His father Jimmy Keane was an old style sean-nos singer. Both him and his mother encouraged him to take up traditional Irish music. specialising in the piano accordion, he won five consecutive All-Ireland titles and many accolades. In the 1970s, he started his professional career with fellow All-Ireland fiddle champion Liz Carroll in Chicago and the duo was named All-Ireland Senior Duet Champion in 1975.
In the early 1980s, he joined with guitarist and singer-songwriter Robbie O'Connell and banjoist and singer Mick Moloney to form Moloney, O'Connell & Keane releasing two critically acclaimed albums: There Were Roses in 1985 (including the first recording of the iconic Irish song There Were Roses penned by the famous Irish folk singer-songwriter Tommy Sands and Kilkelly in 1987 including O'Connell's signature song "Killkelly".
In the mid-1980s, he became part of the revamped Green Fields of America an ensemble which performs and promotes Irish traditional music in the United States with Mick Moloney, Robbie O'Connell, fiddler Eileen Ivers (from Riverdance), multi-instrumentalist Seamus Egan (from Solas) and Donny & Eileen Golden recorded an album called The Green Fields of America: Live in 1989. Keane has also collaborated with musician and guitarist Dennis Cahill for three decades.
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