Karan Casey
Karan Casey is an Irish-American folk singer and jazz singer
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Irish years
Karan was born in Ballyduff, County Waterford, Ireland in about 1969. Her family encouraged her to sing in the house, in a church choir and at school. At Waterford Regional Technical College she studied piano then took music at University College Dublin in 1987. Having learned to copy Ella Fitzgerald's scat singing, she performed in a Dublin bistro several nights per week while still a student. At the Royal Irish Academy of Music she studied classical music and sang in a jazz band, then a folk-ballad band then another jazz band. She also fell under the influence of Dublin folk singer Frank Harte.
Emigration to the USA
In 1993 Karan moved to New York. There she studied jazz at Long Island University. When she encountered folk music sessions in New York she started singing traditional music again. For most of 1994 she sang with a group called Atlantic Bridge. At the end of the year she joined Seamus Egan and others in Solas. She sang five songs on their first album in 1996. In the same year she sang in Tramps club in Manhatten, accompanied only by a percussionist. They mixed jazz and folk. In 1997 she recorded a solo album "Songlines", inspired by the novel of the same name by Bruce Chatwin. It was produced by Seamus Egan and included several members of Solas. There were a few traditional songs and some contemporary folk songs.
Children's music
In 2000 Karan collaborated with several other singers on "Seal Maiden – A Celtic Musical". It was a musical version of the film "The Secret of Roan Inish", designed for children. It concerns the mythical creature called the silkie – a seal-woman. Two other solo albums followed in 2001 and 2003. She has recorded several songs in Irish. She also features on the DVD "Solas Live".
discography
solo albums
- Songlines (1997) - Seal Maiden (2000) - The Winds Begin To Sing (2001) - Distant Shore (2003)
some recordings with Solas
as session musician
- Dancing at Lughnasa (film) (1998) - Waking Ned (film) (1999) - "Celtic Solstice" by Paul Winter