Livia releases old and new Irish dreams
Dublin-based Livia Records continues to celebrate both the current Irish jazz scene and its valuable legacy with two releases during May.
Acoustic bass guitar virtuoso Ronan Guilfoyle’s latest album features his band Bemusement Arcade playing compositions that showcase Guilfoyle’s liking for working in compound time signatures and making them swing.
At Swing, Two Birds, as the album is called, also alludes to Irish humourist Flann O’Brien and features Guilfoyle’s son, Chris on guitar alongside alto saxophonist Sam Norris and drummer Darren Beckett.
Guilfoyle is a hugely experienced musician, having worked with pianist Brad Mehldau, guitarists Larry Coryell, Emily Remler and John Abercrombie and saxophonists, Joe Lovano, Beny Golson and Dave Liebman, among many other internationally established players. He is also an in-demand composer, with commissions across the contemporary music scene as well as a catalogue of jazz compositions.
Livia’s second May release is the latest in the label’s series of reissues featuring Ireland’s great guitar hero, Louis Stewart. In the late 1970s, Stewart went into the studio with a dream team rhythm section – the great English pianist John Taylor and two American legends, bassist Sam Jones and drummer Billy Higgins. The result, I Thought About You, is a classic album of its kind and much sought-after among vinyl collectors.
