hiː wʌzɐ ɹˈɛɡjʊlɚ pɚfˈoːɹmɚɹ æt wˈiːkli dʒˈæm sˈɛʃənz ɐlˈɔŋ wɪð ʃᵻkˈɑːɡoʊ fˈɪdlɚ lˈɪz kˈæɹoʊl, hˌuː lˈeɪɾɚ dᵻskɹˈaɪbd hˌɪm æz bᵻlˈɔŋɪŋ tuː "ðæt vˈɛɹi nˈæɹoʊ sˈɛt ʌv pɚfˈoːɹmɚz fɹʌm ˌɛni mjˈuːzɪkəl ʒˈɑːnɹə nˌɑːt dʒˈʌst ˈaɪɹɪʃ hˌuːz ˈɛvɹi nˈoʊt ɪz pˈɜːfɛkt".
He was a regular performer at weekly jam sessions along with Chicago fiddler Liz Carroll, who later described him as belonging to "that very narrow set of performers from any musical genre – not just Irish – whose every note is perfect".