Patsy Brown
Patrick A. 'Patsy' Brown (1872 in Ireland – 1958 in
His earlier work was styled after that of the Taylor brothers, with broad rectangular keys along the back of the chanter, operated by small touches that wrapped around to the front of the chanter. The regulator keys at first resembled the Taylors' design, though Brown mounted them in wooden blocks, rather than between metal plates, as the Taylors did. His keywork is generally nickel-plated brass, though some are chromed (some chanters have both nickel- and chrome-plating ).
There is a story that he obtained the ivory used in the mounts from the elephant keepers at Boston's Franklin Park Zoo. They would trim the tip of the tusks, to make the ends blunt for the safety of the keepers and the other elephants. Those ends wound up in Patsy's hands, and ultimately in his pipes.
In later years his style changed to a more hybrid style, with
He is believed to have made only concert-pitch sets. It appears that he always used a popping valve on his chanters.
Other makers in the Boston area, who overlapped with Brown to some degree were Ned White of Roxbury, and Green. White's style was even closer than Brown's to that of the Taylor brothers, which may indicate that he was older and had personal contact with them. He is mentioned in O'Neill's Irish Minstrels. Some of his sets are still extant.
It is reported that Patsy Brown taught Seán McAloon to make reeds, by correspondence.[1]
References
- ^ Na Piobairi Uilleann – Patrons Archived 2007-11-19 at the Wayback Machine
External links
- http://www.uilleannobsession.com/diary_2005.html (search for 'Patsy Brown')