Livia Records continues its exploration of Ireland’s jazz archive with the reissue of DRUMS and FRIENDS, the only album recorded under the leadership of drummer John Wadham.
Originally released in 1978 as the second album on the fledgling Livia Records label, DRUMS and FRIENDS brought together some of the most important musicians working in Irish jazz at the time, including guitarist Louis Stewart, flautist Brian Dunning and bassists Frank Hess and Martin Walsh. Almost five decades later, the album returns in a newly remixed, remastered and expanded edition, released on 18 September 2026.
The new edition also adds two previously unreleased tracks, Miles Davis’s Seven Steps to Heaven and John Coltrane’s Naima, bringing the album to nine tracks and offering another glimpse into a particularly fertile period in Irish jazz history.
John Wadham – “The Wad”
English-born John Wadham moved to Ireland with his family in 1953 and, while still a teenager, became part of Dublin’s small but developing contemporary jazz scene. Largely self-taught, he briefly studied engineering at Trinity College Dublin before leaving to pursue music professionally.
Over the following four decades, Wadham became one of the central figures in Irish jazz. His versatility allowed him to move comfortably from big-band swing through post-bop and into jazz-rock, performing with many of the leading Irish musicians and ensembles of the period.
During the 1960s he worked with pianist Ian Henry and became a regular presence on RTÉ television. He played in big bands led by Noel Kelehan and Rock Fox, was a member of the jazz-rock group Spon, and later anchored the post-bop group Ozone during its long-running residency at Dublin’s J.J. Smyth’s. Alongside pianist Jim Doherty and bassist Dave Fleming, he also formed a rhythm section that accompanied visiting international musicians for some fifteen years.
Among those Wadham accompanied were Barney Kessel, Spike Robinson, Zoot Sims, Art Farmer and Ronnie Scott. Away from the bandstand, his influence extended to generations of younger musicians through his teaching. He also co-founded the National Jazz Society in 1987 and presented jazz programmes on RTÉ radio.
Despite such an extensive career, DRUMS and FRIENDS remained his only recording as a bandleader.
Drums — and Friends
The title is an appropriately straightforward description of the record. Wadham is at its centre, surrounded by musicians with whom he shared longstanding musical relationships.
One side of the original LP featured Wadham in a trio with Brian Dunning on flute and Frank Hess on bass, while the other placed him alongside Louis Stewart in duet and trio settings, with Martin Walsh on bass.
Wadham's relationship with Stewart was particularly significant. The two enjoyed a lifelong musical partnership and appeared together at the Montreux Jazz Festival in 1968 and 1969. Wadham also appeared on Stewart's landmark 1976 debut album, Louis the First.
Perhaps the most unusual document of that partnership on DRUMS and FRIENDS is the nine-minute Improvisation for Guitar and Drums, credited jointly to Wadham and Stewart. It is a rare recorded example of Stewart engaging in free improvisation — particularly interesting given his famously sceptical description of free improvisation as being like “playing tennis without a net.”
The remainder of the programme provides a fascinating snapshot of the music these musicians were engaging with at the time. Freddie Hubbard's Clarence's Place, Gerry Niewood's Floatin', John Surman's Winter Song and Bobby Hutcherson's Pompeiian sit alongside Lazy Afternoon and Wayne Shorter's Footprints.
The expanded edition adds Seven Steps to Heaven and Naima. While most of DRUMS and FRIENDS was recorded in 1978, Footprints and Naima originate from sessions recorded at Trend Studios in Dublin in 1975, associated with Louis Stewart's Louis the First.
Bringing the Recording Back
For its 2026 return, DRUMS and FRIENDS has been remixed and remastered by Seán Mac Erlaine, with Dermot Rogers serving as executive producer.
The release retains the character of the original artwork while expanding the accompanying material into a 12-page booklet. The original sleeve notes by Livia Records founder Gerald Davis have been retained, while drummer, jazz archivist and former Wadham student Conor Guilfoyle has contributed new notes. Additional photographs come from Guilfoyle's Irish Jazz Archive.
It is another chapter in the continuing revival of the Livia Records catalogue.
Founded by artist Gerald Davis in 1977, Livia was established to record Louis Stewart and his contemporaries at a time when remarkably little Irish jazz was making its way onto record. Following Davis's death in 2005, the label ceased operations before being revived by Dermot Rogers in 2021. Since then, Livia has steadily returned recordings from its archive to circulation while also releasing new music by contemporary Irish jazz artists.
That archival work is particularly valuable with a recording such as DRUMS and FRIENDS. The album captures not simply an individual drummer, but a network of musicians whose careers intersect repeatedly throughout the history of modern jazz in Ireland.
For listeners who remember John Wadham from the thousands of performances he gave over his career, the album offers an opportunity to hear “The Wad” once again. For those who came to Irish jazz later, it provides another window into the musicians and relationships that helped build the scene they inherited.
As veteran pianist Jim Doherty neatly describes the release, it is “a nod to The Wad.”
John Wadham’s DRUMS and FRIENDS is available now from Livia Records on download and CD.
