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- Written by: Red Keane
- Parent Category: Jazz Ireland Blog
- Category: Jazz News
Peruvian-Irish guitarist and composer Rodrigo Almonte returns this autumn with his new album Sounds of the Blue Book, a powerful and moving suite inspired by Roger Casement’s 1910 Amazonian report, The Blue Book.
Casement’s investigation into the brutal exploitation of Indigenous communities during the rubber boom in Peru marked a turning point in international human rights advocacy. Over a century later, Almonte reimagines this story through music—blending jazz, improvisation, and Peruvian and Irish traditions into a hauntingly lyrical soundscape.
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- Written by: Werner Lewon
- Parent Category: Jazz Ireland Blog
- Category: All Other Jazz
Read more: Tales from the far Side 11.09.25 "Strollin" into the magic of Jazz
On this edition I take Horace Silver's classic composition "Strollin" as an intro to a coloufull and exciting musical journey for a stroll into some magic Jazz with contribution by Karrin Allyson, Jon Hendricks, Chet Baker, Joe Sullivan, Cedar Walton, Paolo Fresu, Richard Galliano, Joe Harriott and other.
Read more: Tales from the far Side 11.09.25 "Strollin" into the magic of Jazz
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- Written by: Red Keane
- Parent Category: Jazz Ireland Blog
- Category: Jazz News
Read more: Emilie Conway – Single Release: In Walked Piet from the Mondrian and Music Project
Award-winning Dublin-based vocalist, composer, and lyricist Emilie Conway is celebrated for her innovative approach to jazz and her ability to weave music, poetry, and visual art into unified performance.
Her upcoming single, In Walked Piet (release date: 26 September), draws inspiration from Thelonious Monk’s jazz classic In Walked Bud — Monk’s nod to pianist Bud Powell, a contrafact of Blue Skies with Ella Fitzgerald's unforgettable solo — and from the vibrant abstractions of Dutch painter Piet Mondrian, whose fascination with jazz and boogie-woogie profoundly shaped his art. Conway’s piece reimagines this lineage, creating a dialogue between these two innovators: Monk’s harmonic daring, the influence of New York City on Mondrian’s visual rhythm, and her own distinctive improvisational voice.
Read more: Emilie Conway – Single Release: In Walked Piet from the Mondrian and Music Project
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- Written by: Red Keane
- Parent Category: Jazz Ireland Blog
- Category: Jazz News
Read more: Carole Nelson Trio to Release Through the Storm on Livia Records
Livia Records has announced the forthcoming release of Through the Storm, the fourth album from The Carole Nelson Trio, arriving on 9th October 2025.
Featuring Carole Nelson (piano, Fender Rhodes, saxophone), Cormac O Brien (bass), and Dominic Mullan (drums), the trio continues to deepen the intuitive musical bond they have cultivated over a decade of performance and three acclaimed albums.
Building on the ecological themes central to Carole’s work, Through the Storm weaves together two powerful narratives. The first celebrates the resilience of nature through the remarkable annual migration of swallows from Africa to Ireland, a cycle of renewal reflected in the opening suite: We Begin Here, Lift Off, Sky Journey, Through the Storm, Arrival, and Refuge. These compositions evoke the rhythms of flight, the joy of return, and the spirit of South African jazz, shaped by the trio’s interplay and improvisation.
Read more: Carole Nelson Trio to Release Through the Storm on Livia Records
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- Written by: Werner Lewon
- Parent Category: Jazz Ireland Blog
- Category: All Other Jazz
Read more: Tales from the far Side 04.09.25 Louis Moholo-Moholo Remembered
On this edition I pay tribute to the innovative and progressive drummer Louis Moholo-Moholo, one of the leading voices of South African Jazz, an extraordinary timekeeper who spread the message and magic of his music around the world and who sadly left us this summer at the age of 85. Always remembered.
Read more: Tales from the far Side 04.09.25 Louis Moholo-Moholo Remembered
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- Written by: Werner Lewon
- Parent Category: Jazz Ireland Blog
- Category: All Other Jazz
Read more: Tales from the far Side 28.08.25 The Joy of Six-The Sextet in Jazz
On this edition I dive deep down into the magic of the JAZZ SEXTET and feature some of the groundbreaking, innovative and lesser known Sextet formats in the history of Jazz and you can hear the Oscar Pettiford Sextet, the Gerry Mulligan Sextet, Art Blakey's Jazz Messengers, Miles Davis Kind of Blue Sextet, John Coltrane's Blue Train Sextet and we have John Donegan and his Irish Sextet with some greetings from the Irish shores.
Read more: Tales from the far Side 28.08.25 The Joy of Six-The Sextet in Jazz
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- Written by: Red Keane
- Parent Category: Jazz Ireland Blog
- Category: Jazz News
Read more: A Milestone Moment: The First Irish Group to Headline the London Jazz Festival Main Stage
This November 19, 2025, marks a groundbreaking moment in Ireland-UK cultural exchange. At the Queen Elizabeth Hall, the EFG London Jazz Festival 2025 will feature the Unreal Cities setting of T.S. Eliot’s The Waste Land—the first occasion that an Irish ensemble has ever headlined the festival’s main stage.
A Bold and Innovative Adaptation of a Modernist Masterpiece
T.S. Eliot’s The Waste Land stands as one of the most influential poems of the 20th century, weaving together myths, cityscapes, and fragmented narratives. This performance, conceived and directed by Irish actor Adrian Dunbar, brings the poem to life through a thrilling interplay of spoken word, film, and music.
The musical score, composed by Irish / British composer Nick Roth, was originally commissioned for the Happy Days Enniskillen International Beckett Festival in 2015. It remains the only performance of the poem in its 100-year history to include musical accompaniment.
Read more: A Milestone Moment: The First Irish Group to Headline the London Jazz Festival Main Stage