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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: 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
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- Written by: Red Keane
- Parent Category: Jazz Ireland Blog
- Category: Jazz News
Read more: Limerick Jazz Festival 2025 Brings World-Class Music to the City
The countdown is on for one of Ireland’s most vibrant music gatherings as the Limerick Jazz Festival returns from Wednesday 24th to Sunday 28th September 2025. Now in its fourteenth year, the festival continues to bring the very best of Irish and international talent to the city, filling venues with rhythm, melody, and improvisation.
This year’s programme is notable for its strong focus on the voice, with an impressive line-up of singers headlining the bill. At the Belltable, renowned UK vocalist Ian Shaw will present When Bowie Met Joni: The Songs of David Bowie and Joni Mitchell, a performance that promises both nostalgia and reinvention. Also from the UK, Brigitte Beraha will appear at the People’s Museum of Limerick, joined by acclaimed guitarist Ant Law for an intimate evening of music. Closer to home, Dolan’s Pub will host an exciting series of concerts featuring Irish singers including Deborah Swiney (Memphis), long-time festival friend Nigel Mooney, Emilie Conway, and Dublin’s Cormac Kenevey.
Read more: Limerick Jazz Festival 2025 Brings World-Class Music to the City
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- Written by: Red Keane
- Parent Category: Jazz Ireland Blog
- Category: Jazz News
Read more: Katharine Timoney Set to Release New EP in September, Live Show in Dublin This October
Exciting news for jazz-soul fans! Katharine Timoney—hailed as ‘One To Watch’ by BBC Introducing, Jazz FM UK, and Belfast Live—has a new EP titled All This Time, scheduled for release September 15, 2025. The release marks another step in Timoney’s journey of blending gospel, R&B, soul, and vocal jazz into a rich, genre-defying sound. The record features contributions from Ben Castle (saxophone), Mark Edwards (piano & Hammond), Arnie Somogyi (bass), and Darren Beckett (drums).
Her EP, Life Came into Colour (2022), earned significant praise—including Track of the Week nods and several weeks on Jazz FM UK’s A-List—and won the 2022 UK Songwriting Contest (Jazz category) with its title track.
Fresh from standout festival performances—Cheltenham Jazz Festival, Cork Guinness Jazz Festival, Cathedral Quarter Arts Festival—Timoney is gearing up for her first headline autumn tour. Among the highlights: October 16, 2025, she brings her full band to Arthur’s Blues & Jazz Club in Dublin—an intimate yet unforgettable performance not to be missed.
Read more: Katharine Timoney Set to Release New EP in September, Live Show in Dublin This October
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- Written by: Red Keane
- Parent Category: Jazz Ireland Blog
- Category: Jazz News
Music Network and Ionad Cultúrtha wish to provide a significant development opportunity specifically for a professional musician who is autistic/a person with autism and who has a strong track record in music performance.
This opportunity recognises that many such musicians face barriers toward career progression that others may not. The main purpose of the residency is to provide time and space for a Musician-in-Residence to develop their practice intensively.
Through this opportunity, Music Network and Ionad Cultúrtha are seeking to make space for social change in the music sector in general and hope to learn from the Musician-in-Residence how they can better facilitate and include autistic people/people with autism in their own programmes and in the wider sector, both in performance and educational environments.
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- Written by: Red Keane
- Parent Category: Jazz Ireland Blog
- Category: Jazz News
Read more: Sligo Jazz Festival 2025: Celebrating 20 Years of Jazz, Community & Creativity
Jazz is the teacher. That’s the message running through this year’s Sligo Jazz Festival, which returns from 22–27 July 2025, marking its 20th anniversary with a week-long celebration of boundary-breaking performance, deep musical exchange, and serious good vibes.
Kicking off with a programme launch and live performance on Thursday, June 12th at Lillies Cocktail Bar, the festival gets its first spark from UK guitarist Ant Law and vocalist Brigitte Beraha, two of the many creative voices shaping this year’s programme. The evening will also unveil the full SJP 2025 schedule — and what a schedule it is.
“Funk may be the preacher but jazz is the teacher,” writes Stephen Graham in the official festival programme foreword. “Whether a learner or observer, the Sligo Jazz Project’s faculty — its biggest ever — sends a signed, sealed, delivered message hand delivered person to person, generation to generation, musician to musician.”
Read more: Sligo Jazz Festival 2025: Celebrating 20 Years of Jazz, Community & Creativity
- Louis Stewart’s I Thought About You: A Landmark Recording Reborn
- Orlando Molina Announces Debut Album Autorretrato en Tres Colores – A Sonic Memoir of Migration, Resilience, and Triumph Release Date: May 23, 2025
- New Release from Livia Records: Ronan Guilfoyle’s At Swing, Two Birds - Bending Time, Honouring Tradition
- Fingal County Council Arts Office and Music Network Launch New Carnegie Musician-in-Residence Award