By Mark O Callahan© - musician, musicologist & jazz educator.
Emergence of Bebop
With the conclusion of World War II the jazz scene throughout the world began to change. The United States of America introduced a new style of jazz known as bebop (modern jazz) which gradually started to influence Irish jazz musicians. Bebop, characterized by its fast tempo, complex chord progressions and instrumental virtuosity was, as Irish jazz bassist Dave Fleming says in an interview, ‘intended to separate the men from the boys’ in the world of jazz. During the 50’s and 60’s aspiring Irish bebop musicians were influenced by the piano work of Ian Henry, an exceptional Irish musician whose quartet with guitarist Rick Walsh could frequently be heard on national radio. He was also the first to provide tuition in the new ‘modern jazz’ style known as bebop. Emerging from this were musicians such as John Wadham (drum), Jack Daly (drums), Jimmy McKay (bass), Jim Doherty (Piano), Noel Kelehan (piano) and Rory McGuinness (Tenor Saxophone) who would become some of Irelands leading jazz modernists.
Simultaneously to emergence of bebop there developed the ‘trad band’ tradition in Britain. These ‘trad bands’ were made up of amateur musicians who suddenly developed a newfound interest in the music that had come out of New Orelans and Chicago during the 20s and 30s. It is probable that this sudden interest in Dixieland music was the due to presence of the American armed forces in Britain and the broadcasts from the American Forces Networks during World War II. This interest in traditional Dixieland jazz quickly spread to Ireland and the dancehalls, pubs and clubs were soon filled with amateur musicians playing dixieland jazz music. This, of course, did much to promote jazz and increase its popularity in Ireland however, broadcaster Chaz Meredith is of the opinion that ultimately, many of these Trad musicians actually did more harm than good for the development of jazz in Ireland. The vast majority of them were self-taught with little or no musical knowledge and, while they attempted to emulate the Dixieland jazz that heard on records, they inevitably ended up simplifying it and only playing the indispensable parts, leading to an overall decline in the standard of jazz in ireland for a period of time.
Records
Jazz records were still relatively difficult to come by during the bebop era, however, with the invention of the LP it was now possible to purchase full albums instead of just single or double tracks. Mays of Stephens Green was one of the primary music shops in Dublin at this time and had a substantial section set aside for popular music records. According to radio broadcaster Chas Meredith, it was possible to find the occasional jazz record hidden among the records of American popular song, however, in general Mays did not at this time keep a stock of jazz records. This necessitated a search through the catalogues and then making your ‘decision based on the name of the band and the suggestiveness of the song titles’ (Meredith April 11, 2012). The records could then be ordered for delivery. Louis Stewart, arguably Ireland’s most internationally successful jazz musician, reiterated this point anecdotally recounting how he would look through the catalogues in Phennings record shop and order records to be delivered. He also said he was working as an apprentice electrician at the time and that an album would cost a full week’s wages. The popularity of jazz recordings increased throughout the years and in 1999 it was reported that ‘the sales of jazz CDs are growing faster than all other forms of music’ (Irish Times 24th Sept 1999: A5).
Broadcasting
After the war ended, there remained a dearth of jazz music broadcast on Irish radio. Louis Stewartand Mark Chapman, jazz performer, recall how they chose to listen to BBC Radio in preference to Irish Radio as the BBC were broadcasting progammes such as Guitar Club – a programme in which famous guitarists from a variety of genre’s, jazz included, were interviewed. Noel Kelehan, in his interview with Ray Comiskey in 1980, says how when he was young there was a lot of British dance band music being played on the radio. He goes on to reference George Shearing as one of his biggest influences and says that he used to listen to Jazz Hour on the Voice of America which was presented by Willis Conover. He says that, for anyone who had an interest in jazz music, Jazz hour ‘was requisite listening every week’ (Irish Times 3 May 1980). In 1959 Gay Byrne, an Irish presenter, hostedand produced a radio show on Radio Eireann called ‘Jazz Corner’. Jazz Corner focused mainly on jazz and would thus have undoubtably contributed to the increased popularity of the genre.
The 60’s saw the beginnings Irish television broadcasting and Stewart remembers eagerly awaiting a six-week series called ‘Jazz Scene USA’. In addition to this, Gay Byrne also hosted a television chat show called the ‘Late Late Show’ and over his 35 years of hosting invited jazz musicians, such as Tommy Halferty and Rick Walsh, to make appearances as guests. This was a promising start for jazz on Irish television; however, in spite of this, the TV broadcasting of jazz has not become a regular feature on Irish television and tends to be confined mainly to special events and selected concert coverage. In contrast to this, the amount of jazz broadcast on Irish radio has increased to the level that it can be regarded as a regular occurrence with programs such as Jazz Alley presented by Donald Helme, Jazz on the Bay presented by Melanie O’Reilly – the only jazz radio program to win an Irish National Radio Award,- The John Kelly Ensemble presented by John Kelly and Blue of the Night presented by Carl Corcoran and Eamon Lenihan. Unfortunately however, according to Ronan Guilfoyle, jazz performer and director of the Newpark Jazz School, there is currently “an unforgivable absence” of Modern Irish jazz broadcast on Irish radio.
Publications/Media
Until the 1980's Irish jazz events were covered by newspaper reviews and forthcoming events were usually advertised in the entertainment sections of national and regional newspapers. Some newsletters, broadsheets etc. were produced by organizations such as the Dublin Jazz Society and an early Jazz Magazine entitled ‘Chords’ was produced by Bryan Day and Sandra Buckley but ultimately proved itself to be short-lived. In 1986, Irish Jazz Vocalist Dara O’Lochlainn brought out a high-quality glossy jazz magazine entitled ‘Jazz News’. This magazine was both stylishly produced and up to the best International Standards, comparable to or even exceeding some well-established UK and American journals in its presentation. O’Lochlainn's expertise in the field of Graphic design and advertising was to play a major role in this. The content of the magazine was no less impressive with an abundance of high quality original articles provided by leading Irish jazz musicians. International jazz news, obituaries for jazz musicians, Interviews and Record Reviews were also covered. Many excellent articles were contributed by Irish jazz musicians living outside Ireland and by 1989 Jazz News was beginning to receive global recognition with favorable reports being received from the USA and even Australia. This remarkable success would, sadly, to come to an end in 1990 with the untimely death of Dara O’Lochlainn from cancer. Although the magazine then ceased production, its founder's immense dedication and effort were to greatly enhance Ireland's jazz reputation abroad. The gap left by ‘Jazz News’ continued till the launch of “Jazz Ireland”, founded in 2016, and is “the premier national platform dedicated to showcasing Irish jazz. Proudly supported by the Arts Council of Ireland”.
Newspapers have also been influential in the development of jazz in Ireland. Journalists such has George Hodnett and more recently Ray Comiskey and Cormac Larkin, all writing on jazz and the arts in general for the Irish Times, have published numerous record and concert reviews on both Irish and international jazz musicians. These reviews help to bring the music of Irish jazz musicians to readers and consequently increased the popularity of jazz in Ireland and forward the career of these artists.
Louis Stewart
Of all the jazz musicians Ireland has produced over the years none have been as successful and influential as Louis Stewart. Born in 1944 Stewart taught himself to play the guitar by listening to jazz musicians such as Johnny Smith and Tal Farlow. Having won the award for best soloist in the Montreux Jazz Festival in 1968 Stewart went on to work with such internationally renowned names as Benny Goodman and George Shearing. He, in the words of David O’Rourke[1], ‘made the sacrifice’ to return to Ireland where he was undoubtedly the biggest influence and driving force behind the development of jazz in Ireland during the second half of the 20th century. While in Ireland he spent his time playing low-key gigs in venues such as Joe Kelly’s, Slatterys on Capel Street and Mooney’s of Baggot St. Bridge and for a time had a six night a week gig at the International Hotel in Ballsbridge. Both Melanie O’Reilly and Ronan Guilfoyle, when asked about the influence of Louis Stewart, said that had he not been playing on the Dublin scene it is likely that neither of them would be playing jazz today. In conversation with Stewart he suggested that one factor that hindered the development of jazz in Ireland was that most of the musicians on the scene in the second half of the 20th century had day jobs. The meagre income generated through playing full-time jazz meant that many of the musicians could not commit to playing. During these years, many devotees had to leave Ireland to get steady work, gaining solid international reputations, but minor recognition at home. In the next Part 3 of “Jazz in Ireland”, Louis Stewart ‘s story will be expressed in more detail, and how he eventually became deservedly knownas “an Irish jazz genius on a par with Seamus Heaney and Samuel Beckett…who transcended his art form and earned the respect and admiration of his peers around the world.” Cormac Larkin: The Irish Times 2023
[1] David O’Rourke, (jazz performer interview by Mark O’Callaghan. Dublin, March 9, 2012