Jazz maestro Brian Priestly – a veteran of the London scene – is eagerly looking forward to visiting Derry for the first time when the Priestly Quintet perform at the Waterside Theatre during the upcoming City of Derry Jazz & Big Band Festival.
It speaks volumes for the meteoric rise of Derry City Council’s 14th annual Jazz Festival (April 30th-May 4th 2015) that Priestly, who recently relocated to Tralee where he presents a show, “That’s Jazz”, on Radio Kerry to an international audience, felt he was long overdue a trip to the banks of the Foyle.
A familiar name on the Jazz circuit in Cork, Limerick and Sligo, Priestly said the hugely popular Derry Jazz Fest had come up in conversation with fellow performers, particularly those based in Northern Ireland, in recent years.
The highly regarded Manchester-born musician, author, broadcaster and educator said: “I knew of the Festival’s reputation from a couple of musicians who have strong associations with Derry – David Lyttle, a name in his own right, and Linley Hamilton, trumpeter and broadcaster who’s said informally in the past, ‘You should come up to Derry Jazz Festival’. This was even before I had a regular Irish-based band so this year it seemed to be a good idea.”
The Priestly Quintet with Brian Priestly at Waterside Theatre on Friday, May 1st at 8pm, featuring Q&A session with Professor Frank Lyons, Director of Arts & Humanities Research Institute at Ulster University, is billed as one of the “must see” events of the City of Derry Jazz Festival 2015.
However, Priestly is keen to point out that while himself and Lyons may be academics, “this isn’t an academic presentation” and he’s hoping it will follow a light entertainment format.
“The whole idea of me talking about my career was because I have some reputation as a broadcaster and author about Jazz, rather than just playing. However, I don’t want it to come across as the audience thinking they have to sit in to understand the music,” he stressed.
According to Priestly, while nearly every city has a Jazz event, each festival has a different feel which is one of the nice things about it.
“I was in New York a couple of times when they had their Jazz festival. Not only do they reflect the vibe of the city, but they also concentrate on the music that is totally peculiar to them and I am hoping this will follow through to Derry.
“It’s also nice to be doing a theatre presentation, which we did in Cork once way back, because there is a special feel to that you just don’t get in a tiny room in a pub, however compatible or Jazz orientated that pub may be.”
The Priestly Quintet also consists of Moss O’Shea (alto), Linda Galvin (voice), Eddie Lee (bass) and John Daly (drums). Lee and Daly also happen to be organisers of Jazz festivals in Sligo and Limerick.
Priestly added: “By coincidence I have two Jazz festival organisers in my band. They are not there because of the politics of being organisers, they happen to be very good musicians and we work well together. It is nice to be asked to do the Q&A but I will be focussing my energy and attention on the band’s performance and it should be a very exciting and compelling evening.”
Karan Leonard, Festivals & Events Manager at Derry City Council, said: “We are delighted to have the one-off opportunity to experience an evening with Brian Priestly to hear about his life and work as well as hear him perform with his band as part of this year’s Jazz Festival, and we would encourage festival-goers to book their tickets as soon as possible so as not to miss out on this special event and other festival highlights.” Admission to The Priestly Quintet is £6.
Organised by Derry City Council and supported by Diageo, the City of Derry Jazz and Big Band Festival will take place from April 30 until May 4 2015, in venues across the city. The festival attracts more than 35,000 visitors annually to savour Jazz, Jump, Jive, Swing, and Blues performed by some of the top artists in the business.
For more information on all the events featured in this year’s Jazz Programme go towww.cityofderryjazzfestival.com or visit the City of Derry Jazz Festival Facebook page.
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