Mark McKnight is a guitarist from Belfast, Northern Ireland.  Mark began his studies in jazz when awarded a scholarship from the Arts Council of Ireland to study at the Skidmore Jazz Institute, NY.  The following year Mark attended Berklee College of Music on scholarship from which he graduated in 2006, receiving awards for outstanding musicianship. Since returning to Ireland Mark has established himself as one of the country’s leading young jazz musicians, as attested to by his being named the ”Best Young Irish Musician 2009″ at the Cork Jazz Festival, and in addition played with some of the island’s most respected classical and concert orchestras, having featured as a soloist in national broadcasts with both the Ulster and RTE Concert Orchestras.

New York based tenor saxophonist/composer SEAMUS BLAKE is recognized as one of the finest exponents of contemporary jazz. His music is known for its sophistication, bold improvisations and “sheer swagger”.  John Scofield, who hired Seamus for his “Quiet Band,” called him “extraordinary, a total saxophonist.” Seamus Blake’s latest two releases, Bellwether  (Criss Cross Jazz 2009) and Live in Italy (Jazz Eyes 2009), have garnered considerable critical praise for his masterful playing, his fine compositional skills and for his facility as a leader.  Live in Italy was awarded 4.5 stars in Downbeat. Described as “a knockout”,  “one of the elite albums of the year” and “as exhilarating as a shot of espresso”, it is on many Top of the Year lists.

]]> http://www.limerickjazz.com/mark-mcknight-quartet-featuring-seamus-blake-usa/feed/ http://www.limerickjazz.com/greg-felton-trio-featuring-isa-wiss/ http://www.limerickjazz.com/greg-felton-trio-featuring-isa-wiss/#comments Sun, 17 Oct 2010 09:33:09 +0000 admin http://www.limerickjazz.com/?p=1225 Isa Wiss  vocals

Greg Felton piano

Cormac O’Brien bass

Seán Carpio drums

“Dazzling post-Cecil Taylor banging…” Downbeat Magazine on Greg Felton

Are you sitting comfortably? Brace yourself for a few bombshells as Greg Felton’s trio go head to head with the incomparable vocalist Isa Wiss. Tipped as a major star of the future, Wiss is one of those musicians who defies description; her remarkable technique and three-octave range make her a truly free improviser who can switch from stuttering gasps and cries to honeyed tones in a single phrase. Greg Felton is the perfect foil for Wiss’ vocal acrobatics. Hailed in the Irish Times as “the most gifted young pianist on the scene,” Felton is another fearless improviser whose distinctive compositions and two-fisted technique draw on everything from jazz and folk traditions to South Indian classical music. His intuitive and often playful approach to music is shared by drummer Seán Carpio, whose seductive grooves have made him a regular collaborator with Mikkel Ploug, Sebastien Texier, Louis Stewart and Ronan Guilfoyle. The line-up is completed by bassist Cormac O’Brien, a fellow stalwart on the Irish jazz scene who has also played with international stars such as Bobby Watson, Jamie Baum, Dave Allen, Bjorn Vidar Solli and Bruce Adams.

“Immediately refreshing, he exudes confidence, wit and style” 4-stars - The Times

“Kenevey brings heart, spirit and warmth to everything he sings” - Jazzwise

“Hugely Impressive” - The Sunday Times

Francesco Turrisi is a pianist, accordionist, harpsichordist and percussionist now living in Dublin. In 1997 he left his native Italy to study jazz piano and early music at The Royal Conservatory in the Hague, where he obtained his Master’s degree.   His trio includes Dan Bodwell on double bass and Sean Carpio on drums.

Between 2004 and 2007 he played harpsichord and percussion with acclaimed early music ensemble l’Arpeggiata, performing at many of the most important early music festivals of the world. Since moving to Ireland, he has become a focal point of the domestic jazz scene, and the founder of Tarab, an ensemble experimenting with different elements of Mediterranean music, jazz improvisation and Irish traditional music. Tarab’s 2007 performance at the National Concert Hall was described by The Irish Times as “the most enchanting music I have heard this year”.

His new CD ‘Si Dolce’ is inspired by 17th century Italian melodies, harmonic progressions and forms. The music is orchestrated for Jazz Piano trio, augmented on certain tracks by the addition of a Bass Clarinet, and on two pieces, a rare 17th century extended lute, called the Theorbo.

Francesco has worked with many notable artists from the diverse field of Jazz, Early and World musics, including Dave Liebman, Jean Toussaint, Gianluigi Trovesi, Gabriele Mirabassi, Maria Pia de Vito, John Ruocco, The King’s Singers, Veronique Gens, Dominique Visse, Philippe Jaroussky, Vittorio Ghielmi, Pepe el Habichuela, Lucilla Galeazzi, Bijan Chemirani, Abdullah Chhadeh, Ronan Guilfoyle and Julie Feeney.

24 year old pianist/composer Kit Downes exploded onto the British Jazz Scene playing with the band Empirical, taking him through Europe and America, and then with Troyka, Fraud and Acoustic Ladyland. Two years on, Kit moved on to his own trio project and this debut album sees him developing as a strong voice both as a performer and composer.  Joined by his two Royal Academy colleagues award winning 24 year old bassist Calum Gourlay and 23 year old rising drum star James Maddren the music displays a level of understanding and intelligence between players that can only come from working closely together for a number of years.  They read each other perfectly.

The band has spent these years developing their own personal sound. The highly original music is immediately arresting and stands repeated listening. It uses melody, inspired from a range of sources ranging from Bela Bartok to Keith Jarrett to Rufus Wainwright, and endeavours both to celebrate the classic piano trio tradition as well as develop it.

The writing responsibilities are shared and the music reflects the different creative personalities in the group. With only a few gigs under their belt, the band has already established a cohesive group sound which explores the possibilities of minimalism, groove, free improvisation and odd meters. With a focus on lyricism and musicality over extended forms, Rhythm Method deliver a set of music that is constantly engaging and full of surprises.

Shane Latimer is a guitarist and composer based in Dublin. As an active musician on Dublin’s creative music scene he performs with a variety of groups on a regular basis including Jenna Harris Quartet, Rhythm Method and Bang Hazard. He has performed at various festivals including Cork Jazz Festival, DEAF and Electric Picnic. Shane has attended the Banff Workshop for Jazz and Creative Music and the School for Improvisational Music in New York. He received a B.A. in Jazz Performance from Newpark Music Centre where he now teaches Jazz Improvisation, Contemporary Repertoire and Guitar.

Cormac O’Brien is one of Dublin’s double bassists and has been making a name for himself on the Irish jazz scene over the past 10 years. He has been involved in a wide variety of projects over that time including The Kai Big Band, The Zoid Ensemble, Dorothy Murphy’s Circleways and The Dublin City Jazz Orchestra and with the likes of Jack L and Mary Coughlan. Cormac studied music in Newpark Music Centre where he earned his degree and is now a full time member of the faculty. He has worked and studied with many top local and international players such as Louis Stewart, Bobby Watson, Hugh Fraser, Dave Liebman, Ronan Guilfoyle, Conor Guilfoyle, Michael Buckley, Jamie Baum, David Allen, ands Jaqui Dankworth to name just a few. In May 2007 Cormac attended the Banff Jazz and Creative Music Workshop where he had the opportunity to study with some of the worlds top players and teachers including Dave Douglas, Scott Colley, Misha Mengleberg, Miquel Zenon, Mark Feldman, Hans Bennick, Jerry Grunelli, and many more.

Bill Blackmore has a B.A. in Music from Trinity College, Dublin and has attended the Banff Workshop in Jazz and Creative Music under the Stewardship of trumpeter/composer Dave Douglas. In addition to being a fixture on the Dublin jazz scene for many years, Bill has also performed with such acts as ‘The Republic of Loose’, ‘Friendly Fires’ and Colm Mac Con Iomaire with whom he recently performed in the Royal Albert Hall. He is currently the trumpet tutor on the B.A.J.P. program at Newpark Music Centre.

Darragh O’Kelly is a pianist/composer/waveform synthesiser based in Dublin. He has previously studied at Newpark Music Centre (Diploma in Jazz Performance - 2002) and Trinity College Dublin (Masters in Music and Media Technologies - 2005). He has been involved in a wide range of musical work ranging from live film re-scoring to improvisation using game consoles, and has performed at the Festival of World Cultures, the Cork Jazz Festival and the Stockholm Jazz Festival.

Shane O’Donovan is a Dublin based drummer and electronic music composer. He began studying drums with Conor Guilfoyle and then went on to complete a diploma in jazz performance at Newpark School of Music. After over ten years of professional performance he is now recognized on the Irish jazz scene as one of the instruments leading exponents. Currently very active on the Dublin jazz scene, Shane is involved in a number of projects alongside some of Ireland’s leading jazz musicians. These include Floater; Awkward Silence Sextet; Hugh Buckley’s quartet with Michael Buckley; and Mike Nielsen’s trio with Brendan Doyle. He has also worked with many top international musicians such as Guy Barker, John Stowell, Greg Osby, Greg Burke, and Loren Stillman, to name a few.

• Sept 8     Cormac O’Brien’s Rhythm Method
• Sept 22   Kit Downes Trio (UK)
• Oct 6      Francesco Turrisi
• Oct 13    Cormac Kenevey sings Cole Porter
• Oct 17    Greg Felton Trio featuring Isa Wiss
• Oct 20    Mark McKnight Quartet featuring Seamus Blake (USA)
• Nov 17   Dublin City Jazz Orchestra
• Nov 24   Clare Horgan Quartet
• Dec 8     Limerick Jazz Workshop Student Performance

The venue for all performances is Dolans Upstairs, apart from the Dublin City Jazz Orchestra gig which will take place in Dolans Warehouse. All performances are on Wednesday evenings apart from Greg Felton which is on a Sunday. Start time is 9pm and tickets are €13 (€10 concessions) apart from Limerick Jazz Workshop (€5).

Tony is an internationally renowned vibraphonist and jazz educator.  He teaches at the University of the Arts, Rowan University and the Curtis Institute of Music in Philadelphia.  He is also webmaster and host of www.vibesworkshop.com.

The workshop runs from Sunday 18th July at the Peter Dee Academy of Music , O’Connell St.  Hours are 10-12am, 1-3pm.  From 18th-21st July there will be specialist classes for mallet players only. From 22nd-25th July classes will be for all instruments.  The week will be rounded off public performance on the 25th.  The cost of tuition is a very reasonable 30 euro per day.

This week provides an opportunity to work with an outstanding teacher in an intimate setting with very limited student numbers.  To book your place contact www.vibesworkshop.com or jonndal@gmail.com.

The International Vibes Workshop is supported by Mike Balter Mallets, AMT, Jurys Inn and the Peter Dee Academy of Music.

Joe is mainly self-taught, although he has attended various classes over the years with Tommy Halferty and Ronan Guilfoyle. Joe has played with most leading Irish jazz musicians including Tommy Halferty, Louis Stewart, Ronan Guilfoyle, Richie Buckley, Michael Buckley and Justin Carroll.

He has also played with international musicians such as Julian Arguelles, Vincent Courtois, Dave Liebman, Tom Rainey, Martin Speake, Tanya Kalmanovitch, Paul Williamson, Nils Wogram and Dominique Pifalry. Joe is currently a member of the groups Metier, Fuzzy Logic Ensemble and Microclimate.

John Daly

John studied at Berklee College of Music Boston in 1979. He teaches and plays drums professionally in Limerick as well as touring when the need arises. He also studies vibes with Tony Miceli from Philadelphia.

John is chair of Limerick Jazz Society and a long-standing member of the society’s House Trio. The trio provides backing for leading Irish and international artists visiting Limerick. These have recently included Hugh Buckley, Michael Buckley, Myles Drennan, Linley Hamilton, Derek O’Connor, Guy Barker and Tony Miceli.

Steve Hanks

Steve is originally from Yorkshire and studied at Leeds College of Music. His main instruments are saxophone, flute and percussion.He moved to Ireland to further his interest in Irish traditional music and is based in Co. Galway. His recent jazz activities include leading the Steve Hanks Quintet which recorded for Lyric FM, and a spell as music director for the Black Magic Big Band.

Peter Hanagan

Bass player Peter Hanagan has over twenty five years experience with the ‘lowest form of music.’  He is an alumnus of the renowned UNT Jazz Studies program, and since 1999 has worked exclusively as a freelance bass guitar and double bass player, as well as a music educator.

Peter is a native of the American Southwest, but has made ….Ireland…. his home since 2001. He is a veteran of a myriad of diverse genres: East Texas blues to West African percussion music, ..Caribbean.. folk to Twentieth-century art music.

Dorota Konczewska

Dorota Konczewska is a Polish composer, jazz singer and multimedia artist living in Ireland. She comes from a background in visual arts and holds an MA in Music Technology from the University of Limerick. Her recent work includes video art, mixed media installations and cross-audiovisual genre projects. Dorota just finished recording her first jazz album with an international band in Perugia, Italy, called “Nina project” a tribute to Nina Simone. The album is expected to be presented in Ireland early next year. The ‘Nina Project’ first derived from a concert she did in Dolans last year for Limerick Jazz Society which packed the house.

Steve McFarlane

Guitar player Steve McFarlane was one of the first students to graduate from Newpark Music Centre’s jazz degree programme. He subsequently completed an H. Dip in Music Education at the University of Limerick.  He now works as music teacher at Coláiste Chiaráin, Croom, Co. Limerick. He has played professionally in Ireland in a number of musical settings ranging from jazz to popular music, and has taught at both senior and junior LJW sessions.