Jamming with John Williams and Dean Magraw

Williams and Magraw
John Williams and Dean Magraw are celebrating the release of their new album "Raven."
Image courtesy Compass Records

The two musicians have played together regularly but never released a CD, so it's eagerly awaited by their fans.

Magraw is famed for his ability to play everything from folk to rock. Williams is a giant in the Irish music scene in the U.S. as a soloist and a founding member of Solas. They told Minnesota Public Radio's Euan Kerr they'd admired each other for a long time before they actually played together.

Dean Magraw says he was playing at the Cedar Cultural center in Minneapolis with another Chicago musican, fiddler Martin Hayes. Williams was in the audience that night. The rest is musical history.

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