The blog is dedicated to Irish Jazz and to the fans, musicians and venues that support it. if you have any content you would like to add to the blog please get in touch.
The Hot Box 95: What’s in it?
Some great new music that’s what. Two from America, one from Belgium, and two from Ireland.
The album Tim Fitzgerald’s Full House was awarded to Daniel Cervigni who emailed , and now you can contact Donald to “win” the copy of Chick Corea’s Acoustic Band double album “Live”, which marks the second anniversary of Chick’s death.
“Out On His Own” is a fitting title for Louis Stewart as he is perhaps the only Irish jazz musician to attain international front-rank status. This solo record features a mix of lead only and rhythm with lead tracks with a repertoire of Jazz and American Songbook standards, contemporary composers (Chick Corea, Steve Swallow etc.) plus an interpretation of an Irish traditional tune and a self-composed blues.
On this edition I celebrate music and life of Kenny Barron and give you an overview about his very fruitful career which reached a highlight with his induction into the DownBeat Hall of Fame.
Read more: Tales from the far Side 09.02.23 Kenny Barron Hall of Fame
On Guitaaaar.....Ladies and Gentlemen
Bill Frisell, Eddie Lang, Charlie Christian, Jim Hall, Louis Stewart, Gilad Hekselman, Kenny Burrell, Pat Metheny, Wes Montgomery and more to come
Read more: Tales from the far Side 02.02.23 On Guitaaar...Ladies and gentlemen
Dún Laoghaire-Rathdown County Council Arts Office and Music Network invite applications for the 2023 dlr Musicians-in-Residence Scheme.
Now in its 9th year, the scheme provides musicians with space and time to create new work, develop their skills, collaborate with other artists and showcase their music.
Successful artists will receive funding up to a maximum award of €5000, a space to work in and advice and mentoring to support their career development. Audiences will also have an opportunity to engage with the resident musicians at a series of public performances in Dún Laoghaire.
Three residencies are available to musicians working in any genre of music, from rock to pop, classical to trad and everything in between. Applicants must be able to demonstrate a strong connection to Dún Laoghaire-Rathdown, or propose a project that links with the area, for example taking inspiration from the location or by engaging with local communities or musicians.
Read more: Dún Laoghaire-Rathdown Musician-in-Residence Scheme - Applications now open
The Box goes abroad this time, heading south east to Italy, where some exceptional and distinctive jazz can be found. In this edition we highlight the marked attention to lyricism which informs so much Italian jazz, as though perhaps the traditions of Italy’s great classical tradition and opera lie beneath much of the contemporary jazz scene. We start however at the inception of jazz in Italy, banned as it was by the Fascist regime in the 1930s.
On this edition you can hear a handpicked selection of recordings by the legendary Paul Motian, one of the greatest timekeepers of JAZZ, recordings he did as a sideman and as a leader. And there are also some tracks by some of his companions celebrating his music legacy.
Read more: Tales from the far Side 26.01.23 For the Love of Motian, the music of Paul Motian