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Limerick Jazz Festival 2013

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By Ian Patterson
October 9, 2013
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Limerick Jazz Festival
Various Venues
Limerick
Ireland
September 26-29, 2013

There's a lot to be said for laying strong foundations. By the time the Limerick Jazz Society got it together to put on the city's inaugural jazz festival in 2012 it already had 30 years experience of hosting local and international jazz acts. That's three decades building relations with venues and sponsors, local and national musicians and media, volunteers and supporters, and of course the Limerick public.

Even before the first festival took jazz in Limerick to the next level, however, the city justifiably enjoyed a reputation as the best place for jazz in Ireland outside of Dublin. The LJS was responsible for bringing pianist

Brad Mehldau

piano
b.1970

" data-original-title="" title="">Brad Mehldau to Ireland for the first time and artists such as saxophonists

Chris Potter

saxophone, tenor
b.1971

" data-original-title="" title="">Chris Potter and

David Binney

saxophone, alto
b.1961

" data-original-title="" title="">David Binney, trumpeter

Tomasz Sta��ko

trumpet
1942 - 2018

" data-original-title="" title="">Tomasz Sta��ko, guitarist

John Abercrombie

guitar
1944 - 2017

" data-original-title="" title="">John Abercrombie and pianist

Jason Moran

piano
b.1975

" data-original-title="" title="">Jason Moran have all been persuaded to play this small city of 57,000 that nestles by the River Shannon. The Limerick Jazz Festival 2013 consolidated the success of the inaugural festival by bringing jazz to even more venues in town and by attracting international media.

Day 1: Louis Stewart & Jim Doherty

Promotion of Irish jazz talent has been central to the LJS's ethos since the beginning and the very best Irish jazz musicians regularly play the spring and autumn concert series that have been part of the cultural fabric of Limerick for the past thirty years. It was therefore entirely fitting that two of Ireland's best jazz musicians, guitarist

Louis Stewart

guitar
b.1944

" data-original-title="" title="">Louis Stewart and pianist Jim Doherty got the festival underway on Thursday evening. There was further symmetry in the fact that back in 1988 Stewart had been the LJF's first major invitee, performing with singer Honor Heffernan in what was formerly The Granary Bar, now Trinity Rooms.

Stewart is undoubtedly Ireland's most famous jazz musician. In 1968 he won the special jury prize at the Montreux Jazz Festival and went on to play for three years with clarinetist/bandleader

Benny Goodman

clarinet
1909 - 1986

" data-original-title="" title="">Benny Goodman. Collaborations with saxophonist

Tubby Hayes

saxophone, tenor
1935 - 1973

" data-original-title="" title="">Tubby Hayes, pianist

George Shearing

piano
1919 - 2011

" data-original-title="" title="">George Shearing and several years as a member of saxophonist

Ronnie Scott

saxophone, tenor
1927 - 1996

" data-original-title="" title="">Ronnie Scott's quintet cemented his reputation. Reviewing Acoustic Guitar Duets (Livia Records, 1986), which Stewart recorded with guitarist

Martin Taylor

guitar
b.1956

" data-original-title="" title="">Martin Taylor, Downbeat magazine wrote: "Louis Stewart must be considered one of the instrument's world class players"—something they'd already known in Ireland for a long time.

This gig was a celebration of Stewart and Doherty's debut CD together, a recording, Doherty admitted, that took a while to see the light of day. Fifty three years after first playing together in a Showband, the two musicians finally made it into a studio earlier this year to record Tunes (Beechpark Records, 2013)—a collection of timeless jazz standards. "It Could Happen To You" and "I wished On the Moon" got the set off to a swinging start and this was followed by an elegant bossa nova by

Antonio Carlos Jobim

piano
1927 - 1994

" data-original-title="" title="">Antonio Carlos Jobim. An intimate version of "Body and Soul" highlighted both players tremendous lyricism.

Doherty took a solo piano spot, a medley of George and Ira Gershwin tunes that revealed a continual flow of ideas and a strong rhythmic pulse. Reunited with Stewart, the duo closed the first set with a boppish take on "Broadway." After a short break the duo launched into "My Heart Stood Still" before welcoming saxophonist

Larry McKenna

saxophone, tenor
1937 - 2023

" data-original-title="" title="">Larry McKenna and vibraphonist

Tony Miceli

vibraphone
b.1960

" data-original-title="" title="">Tony Miceli to play on a couple of tunes. McKenna, like Stewart, is a consummate interpreter of a song and his warm tone and melodic invention brought luster to "East of the Sun." Miceli's delightful solo set the scene for some rapid exchanges between all four musicians.

The quartet also let off some collective steam on saxophonist

Charlie Parker

saxophone, alto
1920 - 1955

" data-original-title="" title="">Charlie Parker's 1947 bebop classic "Scrapple from the Apple" before Doherty and Stewart resumed their intuitive duo dialog once again on "Darn That Dream." Stewart gave a captivating solo performance of "It Ain't Necessarily So," Doherty linked up with Stewart on "Yesterdays" and McKenna And Miceli returned to close out a classy set with a lively quartet rendition of "What is This Thing Called Love."

Day 2: Limerick Jazz Workshop; Larry McKenna Quartet

With just the one evening gig on Friday there was time to wander the streets of Limerick and take in a few of the sights. Limerick dates back to at least the time of the Vikings, who settled here in 812. The Normans built King John's Castle in the 12th century—a sign of the city's strategic position on the River Shannon in those feudal times. The castle has undergone a multi-million Euro refurbishment and now boasts a state of the art visitors' center.

Like most Irish towns these days there are a dew chain stores but in the main the streets and shops retain a local character. Pubs abound. So too, does art. Limerick has a vibrant arts scene, with very active theatre and dance companies. Flyers and posters advertising gigs of all musical styles vie for space in the town's shop windows. Limerick gives graffiti a good name and striking wall murals brighten up building facades in various nooks and crannies of the town. Despite its small city feel Limerick is multi-cultural, with an important African community and the largest Polish population outside Dublin. At the time of LJF 2013 an exhibition of art/photography by Polish artists was on display at the Hunt Museum.

Later that evening two of Philadelphia's finest musicians, saxophonist Larry McKenna and vibraphonist Tony Miceli gave a wonderful performance of jazz standards. Joined by Australian, Dublin-based bassist Damien Evans and drummer/LSJ chair John Daley, the quartet set out its stall with a gently swinging version of "Robin's Nest." At 76, McKenna remains one of the very best exponents of standards interpretation. Neither is it surprising from one who has played with both

Frank Sinatra

vocals
1915 - 1998

" data-original-title="" title="">Frank Sinatra and

Tony Bennett

vocals
1926 - 2023

" data-original-title="" title="">Tony Bennett that he swings too. Miceli, a 60's child, often gravitates towards more contemporary collaborations, though he quickly demonstrated that, like McKenna, he has a real feel for the tunes.

The tune is everything in McKenna's book and even when the quartet was cooking on the up-tempo swinger "That Old Black Magic" and drummer

Denzil Best

drums
1917 - 1965

" data-original-title="" title="">Denzil Best's bop standard "Move" the melodies formed the basis for solos and were never sacrificed or submerged beneath a sea of scalar runs, as is often the case with less subtle practitioners of standards. "You've Changed" allowed McKenna to demonstrate his rare talent for ballad interpretation in a mesmerizing interpretation of the Carl Fisher/Bill Carey tune from 1941—a standard for singers

Billie Holiday

vocals
1915 - 1959

" data-original-title="" title="">Billie Holiday,

Julie London

vocals
1926 - 2000

" data-original-title="" title="">Julie London,

Sarah Vaughan

vocals
1924 - 1990

" data-original-title="" title="">Sarah Vaughan and

Nancy Wilson

vocals
1937 - 2018

" data-original-title="" title="">Nancy Wilson. Daley and Evans' danceable rhythms enlivened

Antonio Carlos Jobim

piano
1927 - 1994

" data-original-title="" title="">Antonio Carlos Jobim's classic "So Danco Samba," and featured a thrilling, tropical-flavored solo from Miceli and an equally vibrant one from McKenna.

The second set followed a similar pattern of swingers, ballads, bossa nova and firey bebop. McKenna and Miceli opened the second set with a lullaby delicacy on Henri Mancini's "Dreamsville," though there was absolutely no danger of anybody nodding off. Kurt Weil's "September Song"— which appears on McKenna's CD From All Sides (Self Produced, 2013)—swung mightily, with saxophonist, bassist and vibraphonist all stretching out as Daley kept impeccable time on brushes. Guitarist

Barney Kessel

guitar, electric
1923 - 2004

" data-original-title="" title="">Barney Kessel's seldom heard bebop number "Swedish Pastry" brought the gig to a stirring conclusion; fast-walking bass and ride cymbal kept a constant groove as first McKenna and then Miceli gave captivating solos—the vibraphonist's sticks a blur.

The crowd demanded an encore and the quartet obliged with "How High the Moon" in a bop-tempo that encouraged strong closing statements from all four musicians. It may be that jazz standards are losing a certain amount of currency among younger generations of musicians pursuing their own identity and more contemporary sounds. Nevertheless, when played with the complete conviction that McKenna and his quartet displayed over two memorable sets it's clear that this music can still inspire wonder.

An important part of the Limerick Jazz Society's roots to branches approach are the jazz workshops, which run for two terms during the year. As workshop director Ed Hansom explained, the jazz workshops began in October 2007 and are designed for musicians of any age who wish to learn how to play jazz: "We don't teach students how to play their instrument. If you have reasonable facility on your instrument and a willingness to work hard we'll teach you how to learn to play jazz. That involves not only improvisational skills but it involves ensemble skills as well. Everything you do is in a group and the focus of every term is actually one or two live performances, during and at the end of the term."

Hansom recognizes that jazz in Ireland does not receive anything like the same sort of corporate sponsorship or Arts Council funding as other types of music: "If 80% of funding is for classical music then 80% of the rest is for trad. Kids get very little exposure to jazz these days so we go into the schools to do workshops now and again."

The workshops have proven to be an undoubted success, with some of the students going on to study jazz at Newpark Music Center—the only educational institution in Ireland that offers jazz studies.: "We have people who have been coming right from the word go and they're still coming," says Hansom. "It's extraordinary to be able to see how much people have improved over the years." Hansom underlines that whilst the atmosphere of these workshops is informal and laid back, the emphasis is very much on study: "It's a different philosophy to a summer school. It's lovely to go away for a week but then people tend to put their instruments away again until the next summer school. What we do is two twelve week terms each year and if you come in twelve weeks twice a year and practice you are in real danger of improving."

As part of the Limerick Jazz Festival students from the jazz workshop gave a performance in the Hunt Museum—one of Ireland's most celebrated museums. With teachers, drummer John Daley and bassist Peter Hanagan providing a rock solid rhythm section three students performed a series of standards: "Blue Bossa"; "Straight No Chaser"; "Perdido"; "Mercy, Mercy, Mercy" and "Song for My Father." Unbeknown to saxophonists Connor O'Brien and Laura Ryan, and guitarist Emmet Ryan, Daly asked each of them to take a solo improvisation. It must have been fairly nerve racking for the young students but they all rose to the task well, with Ryan in particular impressing with his

Jimi Hendrix

guitar, electric
1942 - 1970

" data-original-title="" title="">Jimi Hendrix-inspired lines. Hitting the occasional bum note in front of an audience is painful, but as Daly said, "You've got to play lots of wrong notes first before you learn the right ones."

Limerick Jazz Workshop—? Salvatore Conte

Afterwards the students spoke about their experience in the Limerick Jazz Workshop: "It's such a great community," said 15-year old O'Brien, who has been attending the workshops for three years. "I definitely feel more confident." Playing before a public is one of the aims of these workshops, a slightly daunting task for most young musicians, but Ryan was full of praise for the LJW teachers and the confidence they help inspire: "They build you up to it. It's getting easier. It's grand now," says Ryan, who has been attending the LJW for five years.

A notable alumnus of the LJW is Slovakian guitarist Andreas Varady. Though something of a child prodigy in the tradition of

Django Reinhardt

guitar
1910 - 1953

" data-original-title="" title="">Django Reinhardt, Varady learned his jazz chops at LJW and has since gone on to perform with Martin Taylor, Louis Stewart and

Tommy Emmanuel

guitar
b.1955

" data-original-title="" title="">Tommy Emmanuel. He recorded Questions (Lyte Records, 2010) with top Irish drummer

David Lyttle

drums
b.1984

" data-original-title="" title="">David Lyttle, has toured Asia with

Quincy Jones

arranger
1933 - 2024

" data-original-title="" title="">Quincy Jones' Global Gumbo All-Stars, and has just signed a contract with Verve.

Varady is an exceptional talent to be sure, but LJW can take pride in the role it has played in helping nurture this gifted musician. It can also pat itself on the back for all the other students it nurtures who maybe dare to dream of becoming professional musicians thanks to the workshops.

Day 3: Street Jazz; Larry McKenna/Tony Miceli Workshop; Christine Tobin

Any festival worth its salt has to reach out to the citizens of the town or city where it's being held and the LJF did just that by staging a number of free concerts on the street and in one of Limerick's busiest shopping malls. In the latter, a small crowd was impressed by vocalist Connor Ryan. Backed by the indefatigable John Daley on drums, bassist Peter Hanagan and keyboardist Bryan Meehan, Ryan's nuanced delivery on a number of standards, and most notably on a jazz version of Michael Jackson's "Billy Jean," marked him out as a talented interpreter with a rather special voice.

Later on Saturday afternoon McKenna and Miceli gave a joint workshop-cum-demonstration in the Hunt Museum. Veteran English jazz writer and radio broadcaster Brian Priestly compered the session during which McKenna spoke of the influence of vocalists in his phrasing. He also spoke of his earliest forays into jazz and the art of improvising on a melody. McKenna has taught jazz theory in numerous institutions in Philadelphia and he made one telling comment about virtuosity: "There are plenty of students who are technically better than me but they don't know how to carry the tune. They forget about the tune and show off what they can do."

In between tunes, and encouraged by John Daley (who's dangerous without sticks in his hands) McKenna and Miceli shared anecdotes about unusual gigs. The marital fight caused by a stripper was a good bad-gig story, playing for gay nudists was better, but both were trumped by the tale of playing for a guy who was quite possibly dead the whole time. It's all in a day's work for jazz musicians; students be warned.

Downstairs in the Hunt Museum Caf�� the saxophone quartet Blue Mask entertained the lunch time crowd with harmonically arresting arrangements of tunes by

Count Basie

piano
1904 - 1984

" data-original-title="" title="">Count Basie,

Oliver Nelson

saxophone
1932 - 1975

" data-original-title="" title="">Oliver Nelson and

Mel Torme

vocals
1925 - 1999

" data-original-title="" title="">Mel Torme, in addition to a couple of originals. Soprano saxophonist Markus Krabee, alto saxophonist Sharron Burns, tenor saxophonist Helen Haserfuss and baritone saxophonist Patrick Olsen, all played with skill, humor, and a certain pizzazz. With a little more risk, a few more original arrangements—and a little bit of luck—they could be Ireland's answer to Brass Jaw.

Saturday evening's concert saw a welcome return to Limerick after an absence of ten years of singer

Christine Tobin

vocals
b.1963

" data-original-title="" title="">Christine Tobin. It might have been tempting for Irish-born Tobin to revisit Sailing to Byzantium (Trail Belle, 2012), her soulful musical interpretations of the poetry of W. B. Yeats, but Tobine had other irons in the fire.

The London-based singer's show in the old Belltable theatre was entitled A Thousand Kisses Deep, and was a personal, sensuous tribute to singer

Leonard Cohen

vocals
1934 - 2016

" data-original-title="" title="">Leonard Cohen. Backed beautifully by guitarist

Phil Robson

guitar

" data-original-title="" title="">Phil Robson and bassist

Dave Whitford

bass, acoustic

" data-original-title="" title="">Dave Whitford, Tobin mixed up Cohen classics with a jazz standard or two, but the show began with singer

Joni Mitchell

vocals
b.1943

" data-original-title="" title="">Joni Mitchell's "The Priest"—a rarely covered tune from Mitchell's album Ladies of the Canyon (Reprise, 1970).

Tobin injected warmth and a sense of celebration into Cohen compositions "Dance Me to the End of Love," "1000 Kisses Deep" and "Hey, That's No Way to Say Goodbye." Even on the mostly bleak "Everybody Knows" with the cutting lyric "everybody got this broken feeling that their father or their dog just died," Tobin mined the lyric's poignancy with a poet's instinct and gently played up the humor that lies just beneath the surface of a Cohen song co-written by long-time collaborator Sharon Robinson.

Tobin's feel for the blues colored "Take This Waltz" and "Tower of Song." On the latter, Robson unleashed the staccato riff from

Miles Davis

trumpet
1926 - 1991

" data-original-title="" title="">Miles Davis/

Joe Zawinul

keyboards
1932 - 2007

" data-original-title="" title="">Joe Zawinul's "It's About That Time," ushering in Tobin who seized on the familiar melody. It was an unexpected and dramatic conclusion to Cohen's Dylan-esque slice of self reflection.

Another song that has stood the test of time was Bobby Gentry's "Ode to Billie Joe"; Tobin's rendition was faithful to Gentry's delightfully infectious Southern gothic tale, though her vocal impression of a blues harmonica and Robson's country-blues solo gave the performance a personal seal. "Come Rain or Come Shine" burned with bebop intensity while Cohen's "Suzanne" was completely transformed with an almost danceable groove and some firey playing from Robson.

A wonderful trio performance was capped with singer

Billie Holiday

vocals
1915 - 1959

" data-original-title="" title="">Billie Holiday's "God Bless The Child," with Tobin taking this old pearl and making it shine anew. Tobin's recording of Cohen's songs is due for release some time in 2014.

Day 4: Crisis Point

The finale to Limerick Jazz 2013 came in the shape of big band jazz in the city's most famous live venue, Dolan's Warehouse. Ireland boasts several very good big bands and Crisis Point is one of the best. The members of the 17-piece big band hail from different points on the compass so understandably, given the limited rehearsal time as a unit there were a few rough edges here and there. On the whole, however, the arrangements by keyboardist Bryan Meehan and trombonist

Paul Dunlea

trombone

" data-original-title="" title="">Paul Dunlea of material old and new were vibrant and engaging.

Cole Porter

composer / conductor
1891 - 1964

" data-original-title="" title="">Cole Porter's "Love for Sale" and soul/funk singer

James Brown

vocals
1933 - 2006

" data-original-title="" title="">James Brown's "I Feel Good" got the show off to a flying start. Saxophonist Larry McKenna and vibraphonist Tony Miceli added heft to the big band sound on the Dunlea composition "Corner Tree." The two Philadelphian musicians then played as a quartet with drummer John Daley and bassist Peter Hanagan on Arthur Schwartz/Howard Dietz's much loved jazz standard "Alone Together." McKenna and Miceli also were in fine form on the duet "Dreamsville," with the saxophonist's exquisite phrasing a real treat to behold.

The first set finished with a big band take on the bebop classic "Cherokee" and a powerful arrangement of the James Bond theme to Skyfall, sung by the impressive Aoife Doolan. Her voice rose above the roar of the big band and earned appreciative applause from the full house.

Guests abounded in the second half. First up was Nigel Mooney, one of Ireland's finest blues guitarists with a voice to match. On "Alright, Okay, You Win" by Mayme Watts and Sid Wyche and

Memphis Slim

piano
1915 - 1988

" data-original-title="" title="">Memphis Slim's "Every day I Have the Blues" Mooney and Crisis Point paid swinging tribute to singer

Joe Williams

vocals
1918 - 1999

" data-original-title="" title="">Joe Williams and pianist

Count Basie

piano
1904 - 1984

" data-original-title="" title="">Count Basie's orchestra, who recorded these tunes together on the rocking Count Basie Swings, Joe Williams Sings (Verve, 1956).

More jazz-centric guitar followed from Andreas Varady, accompanied by his father Bandi on electric bass and younger brother Adrian on drums. The trio played just one song, the guitarist's own "Quincyology," which he had performed as an 80th birthday tribute to Quincy Jones in Las Vegas. Though drums and bass were too loud in the mix, Andreas Varady's fluid, contemporary approach to jazz guitar whetted the appetite for his debut as leader due for release in 2014.

Singer Connor Ryan won over the crowd with a strikingly original take on the sometimes overly familiar "Summertime." His up-tempo, improvisational interpretation of the Gershwin's classic tune proved that it's not what you say that counts, but how you say it. A stonking version of Paul McCartney's "Live and Let Die"—a tune designed for big band bravura if ever there was one—was followed by a hell-for-leather take on pianist

Dave Brubeck

piano
1920 - 2012

" data-original-title="" title="">Dave Brubeck's "Blue Rondo A La Turk"; with Miceli sounding the famous melody on vibraphone, tenor man McKenna and guitarists Mooney and Varady joined the big band in a thoroughly entertaining finale. An encore would only have been an anti-climax so it was a fitting point for Crisis Point and audience to part company on for another year.

After only two editions the Limerick Jazz Festival has the feeling of an established institution. In large part, this is down to the spirit of volunteerism on which the festival runs. Limerick needs the Limerick Jazz Festival, and other events like it, to nurture the city's musicians and to enliven the cultural panorama. With the continued support of sponsors and public, Limerick Jazz Festival has every chance of growing into one of the best jazz festivals in Ireland.

And, with Limerick winning the bid to be Ireland's first ever City of Culture in 2014, there's a great opportunity to be seized. With initiative, the Limerick City Council, the Ireland Tourism Development Authority and the Arts Council of Ireland can help put the Limerick Jazz Festival—and the city—on the international map and thus sow the seeds of the LJF's longer-term development. There are potentially exciting times ahead.

Photo Credit
Page 2 top: Ian Patterson
All other photos courtesy of Salvatore Conte

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