Over the last ten years Jazz has gathered a new momentum in Ireland. On the international stage we have long had the representation of Louis Stewart, a truly great and highly thought of musician who won the Press Prize at the 1968 Montreaux Jazz Festival and in 1969 won the Grand Prix Prize as best soloist. Somehow this information made little impact on the Irish public so that Louis, and musicians like him, have persevered without much recognition at home. Thankfully, this has now changed: Louis recently received a Doctorate in Music from Trinity College Dublin and is being appreciated more and more by audiences throughout Ireland. He also is the Artistic Director of the West Clare Jazz School, which has been very successful - long may it continue!
So what has happened to bring Jazz to the fore in Ireland? The dedication of people like Louis, Jim Doherty, John Wadham, Noel Kelehan and Peter Ainscough are just a few of the people who have kept the flag flying. Naturally they influenced many up-and-coming musicians and things have grown from that. Nowadays we have the Newpark School of Music and the Improvised Music Company, two organisations responsible for - and dedicated to - bringing Jazz to audiences in Ireland. The initiative of Ben Jackson has also had a great effect on the scene. His company, Note Productions, has been responsible for bringing international artists to play in Vicar Street, Dublin over the last two years. This, coupled with the now annual ESB Jazz week in Dublin, has given audiences a chance to sample the whole varied array of Jazz music. For many years the Dublin and Limerick Jazz Societies have been the mainstay of the scene in Ireland, despite having little outside help until recently. In Belfast Brian Carson runs Moving on Music and last, but by no means least, we have the Guinness Jazz Festival in Cork every October. Jazz is definitely growing and developing bigger audiences throughout the country.
In this column I hope to bring you information on the various organisations and let you know of their future plans along with recommended gigs, fortnightly interviews with various Irish musicians and information on current releases. Enjoy your week and your Jazz!
Honor
Honor Heffernan presents Jazz Alley on Sundays at 7pm on Lyric FM
