Eileen Ivers and Immigrant Soul - About the Band

TOMMY McDONNELL (vocalist, percussion)
Bronx, New York native Tommy Mc Donnell is an inspired vocalist who has been performing professionally since the age of 15. The son of a carpenter and professional actress/singer/dancer, Tommy brings a deeply soulful aspect to the multidimensional thrust of the Eileen Ivers & Immigrant Soul. Tommy played drums until 1988, when he decided to embark on a singing career. He has appeared as a featured performer in Universal Pictures Blues Brothers 2000, on David Letterman with Dr. John and on SNL and The Super Bowl with the Blues Brothers. Tommy has also shared the stage with such greats as BB king, James Brown, Eric Clapton, Lou Rawls, Isaac Hayes, Wilson Picket, to name a few, and was a member of the "ORIGINAL Blues Brothers Band" with Dan Aykroyd, John Goodman and a host of music legends.

BUDDY CONNOLLY (accordion, whistles, keyboards)
Three time All-Ireland accordion champion Buddy Connolly hails from Newark, New Jersey with parents from Clare and Galway in Ireland. Buddy credits the teaching of button box master John Whelan for that individual success and the late Martin Mulvihill for numerous titles in other group categories. Some influential players during those formative years were New York City's best-John Nolan, Joanie Madden, Mike Rafferty and Eileen Ivers As a freelance musician, Buddy was soon touring all over the USA with many bands. In 1995, he moved to Nashville and was introduced to bluegrass, Cajun and country music. There were worldwide gigs/recordings with the likes of Tim
O'Brien, Kathy Mattea, Rodney Crowell, Christian rockers Ceili Rain, Orleans, Matt Molloy (Chieftains), Joel Sonnier and many others. Since 2001, Buddy has resided in Morris County, New Jersey with wife Joanna and their three children.

GREG ANDERSON (guitar, backing vocals)
Multi-instrumentalist and producer Greg Anderson hails from the musical melting pot of New York City. Greg has performed and recorded with a wide variety of international artists in an even wider variety of musical genres. A mainstay in the folk and traditional music worlds, he has performed with (among others) Cathie Ryan, Susan McKeown, Richard Shindell, Tommy Sands, Seán Tyrrell, and Steeleye Span fiddler Peter Knight. He has also worked with many artists in rock, jazz, and contemporary music, having played bass for the avant-rock group Doctor Nerve, with whom he has recorded and toured throughout the world, and also with The Klezmatics, accompanying them on tours of Itzhak Perlman's In The Fiddler's House. He also cofounded the NYC celtic-jazz fusion group Whirligig. As a producer, he is a recognized expert at the blending of traditional music with contemporary sounds and production values, and has produced albums for Richard Shindell, Eamon O'Tuama, The Klezmatics, Whirligig, Patrick Mangan, and James Keane, among many others.

LEO TRAVERSA (bass guitar)
Bassist Leo Traversa is a native New Yorker and has been at the forefront of the world music scene there for many years. A founding and current faculty member of the Bass Collective in New York City, he has taught at the Collective since1987. His extensive knowledge of a variety of musical genres and cultures and his mastery of their playing techniques makes him one of the most versatile and proficient bassists on the scene today. He studied at the Berklee College of Music in Boston and at A.A.S. Five Town College in New York, and has performed and recorded
worldwide with a wide range of internationally known artists. These include Tania Maria, Eliane Elis, Ben E. King, Astrud Gilberto, Michael Brecker, Don Byron, Cesar Camargo Mariano, Dave Valentin, Toninho Horta, Gerry Mulligan, The New York Voices, Oscar Hernandez, Phil Woods, The Caribbean Jazz Project, Steve Kimock, Leslie Uggams, Gato Barbieri, Ivan Lins, Dr. Chris Washburn’s “Syotos” band, and many others. He has also garnered many television, film, and Broadway credits during the span of his remarkable career.

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