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As we ALL know now, Tommy is the pipemaster with Celtic Woman and a very nice gent.

http://pipertommymartin.com/  is his website.

I found these on Youtube:  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3yUlGllGJms

and http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_ttQcvwkiM8

Great find! Tommy is very talented. Thanks Jim for taking time out from eating ice cream to share. ;D

Yes, Tommy is very talented.  I've had the pleasure of meeting and talking with him and he is a very nice guy.

I really doubt that there is an even more difficult bagpipe to play than the ullean pipes... but the sound is just great!
Thanks Jim for finding! :)

     Great find Jim!  He has really impressed us with his tremendous play on numbers such as Isle of Hope and with Anthony on Amazing Grace last tour!  He adds tremendously to the group.  I guarantee though--Lisa K will never get him to get up and dance during At the Ceili!

The Fox Chase is one of my absolute favorite tunes on the pipes! Hearing Tommy play it is amazing! The tune is meant to mimic an actual Fox Chase. The sounds of the ducks, etc are replicated. Every time I listen to it I hear something new. It's the whole reason I bought his Shady Woods CD. So few pipers can actually play it well or at all.

Tommy Martin, the one that plays the ullean pipes and god knows how many different whistles. He's a band member.

Tommy is the pipemaster with Celtic Woman.  One of the best in the world.  Check his website and read his bio.
And, maybe get his cd.  I'm going to order one, and maybe a pipe, too, for my next career.

He also plays the mandolin on some songs.

Yeah pipemaster is the right title for him I think :D Never seen anything like it!
You're getting a pipe? What kind of pipe are you thinking of? :)

Oh, I don't know -- haven't done any research yet, but I'm already saving up the hot air I will need.
I will probably just try whichever is easiest to play.  Just something to mess around with in my spare time.

Cool! :)

Well you won't immediately start off with the pipes, you start with the practise chanter (like a flute). :)
If you ask me, ullean pipes are the hardest ones of them all. Ok, I don't know which one you prefer but would you mind telling me when you've decided? Because if it's the GHB (Great Highland Bagpipe) then maybe I could give you some advices or so. :)

No, I won't be trying bagpipes -- I meant a flute or similar -- maybe I could be the next Zamphere - Master of the Pan Flute! ;)

Oh sorry, whenever someone talks about pipes I immediately think of bagpipes! :D

No problemo, Ben.  I just ordered Tommy's cd and asked him for suggestions for an instrument I can play around with.

If you watch the video he has posted, the Southern California one (SCUPC), you can see how amazing he is on the pipes.

BTW, in Atlanta, on one song, Tommy was standing at one end of the stage playing a flute/whistle(?) and David was standing near the piano playing one as well.  I hope that makes the dvd.

Jim is was probably a whistle that David was playing. I know he plays from some friends in Ireland. The way to tell the difference if the flute is played perpendicular to the mouth/body, kind of pointing to the side. A whistle points straight out of the mouth. Tommy also plays the low whistle in the show and that is the larger, longer, silver one. A hard whistle to play and even harder to make is sound as beautiful as he does!!

Flutes are hard to play and the wooden flute Tommy plays is REALLY hard. You have to have amazing breath control. You should start out with a whistle, often called the tin or penny whistle. It's what almost every Irish musician starts off on as a child.  I want to buy one of the ones Tommy makes. I have a piper friend who wants to get a set of the pipes Tommy makes but needs to save up. He said maybe he should just get Tommy to make him reeds, since his have to be magic considering the sound he gets out of them!! And being able to make them sound perfect in every venue no matter what! A lot of pipers wouldn't even try at places like Red Rocks.

Yes, you are correct, it would have been a whistle David used, as it was pointing away from him.  I believe it was silver in color.
I don't remember flutes on Tommy's site.  I should have known what a flute is after watching many videos of Ray Thomas with The Moody Blues.  He plays a flute, or did, as he has now retired.
I'll wait and see what Tommy says I should try, but the simpler the better for me as I have never played anything.
Thank you.

Tommy makes pipes? What kind of pipes? Do you happen to know?
The reeds don't have to be magic. :D I mean it just depends on quite a few things how well a reed works, you know things like temperature, humidity, if there's mould on them or so etc... Besides, if you have your pipe tuned correctly, the sound is always great. I'm no expert, actually I'm still a beginner on the pipes, considering the fact that I've only started 2 years ago. But this is the stuff I got explained and you soon make the experience yourself.
A piper, like every musician, always wants his instrument to sound perfectly. And well sometimes it seems really hard, but it's not always impossible.

Ok I don't want to be smart here, just talking about my experiences and hope I'm not boring you or talking nonsence. But if you know otherwise, please tell me. :) I'm eager to learn new things. :)

Ben - click on the link to his website.  He has photos of the pipes he makes.

Ah yes, thanks Jim.

Received a reply from Tommy - he said he sent my cd and he says I should start with a D whistle, so I will order one soon.

Cool! Can you maybe give us a short review of the songs on the CD please?

After I get home and get the cd.  Maybe around the end of the month.

Tommy is playing this week at John D. McGurk's in St. Louis -- there are links on his website.
Here is a clip:  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_ttQcvwkiM8

I have his cd now and have listened to it a few times.  It is very good.  There are 11 tracks.

And, I have ordered a D whistle.

I talked to Tommy at the Atlanta show and he told me he had mailed my whistle just before he went back on tour so it should be waiting for me at home next time I get there.

That's cool Jim, have fun playing when you get back! :)

Thank you, Ben.  Looking forward to it.

I now have the whistle.  It is brass and plastic.  Maybe someday I will be able to play a tune with it.

You could take it with you on your journeys and when you have time practise a little bit :)

That is my plan. :)

Tommy is performing in Miami, FL, on Sept. 21st, and in McDade, TX, on Sept. 22 & 23.  Details are on his website.

Then he is off to South Africa with CW.

  Yes, it looks Jim like they perform in Johannesburg, SA on Sept 28 & 29.  And we thought Texas was "south"!  LOL!

I now have Tommy's Shady Woods cd -- 13 tracks -- excellent pipe music.  The insert booklet is very nice, too, with the history of songs and several photos.  The last track is Green Grow the Rushes O. :)

Tommy has posted on his website that he will be at the Hiawatha Traditional Music Festival in Marquette, Michigan, on July 19 & 20, and the Dublin, Ohio, Irish Festival on August 1, 2 & 3.

Tommy will be in Seattle on Feb. 12, 13 and 14, "teaching" - - from his website.