Jazz Society to be launched

The launch of the Derry Jazz Society, on Sunday April 11th in Sandinos, will feature David Lyttle, who is also playing this year’s festival, and MOBO-winning, Mercury-nominated saxophonist/rapper, Soweto Kinch, who drew a large crowd at last year’s event.

There will also be an open Jam Session hosted by jazz pianist, John Leighton, who is one of the organisers of the new Jazz Society.

John said: “Although there is definitely an audience for jazz music in Derry, it something that needs to be grown and developed, so that when big artists come here there is a ready-made audience for them.

“There are a lot of jazz musicians who tour through Ireland two or three times a year and are keen for a stop-off point in Derry, so we came up with the idea for the Derry Jazz Society.

“People in Derry love live music and they love something a bit different, so it’s a great place for this sort of group.

“The City of Derry Jazz Festival is great, they do a good job of attracting general entertainment as well as the more hard line jazz bands, and I think they’ve managed to attract more excellent jazz bands than ever this year.

“I’m particularly looking forward to seeing Tommy Smyth it should be an incredible gig, and I’m also really interested in seeing Andreas Varady, the 12-year-old guitar virtuoso.”

John studied jazz at the Leeds College of Music from 2004 to 2007, and has been hooked on the genre ever since.

He added: “Lots of people have the wrong idea about jazz, and tend to think of old style, traditional jazz, not realising there is a fantastic new modern edge to jazz music.

“Artists like Soweto Kinch, who will be appearing at the launch of the Jazz Society, really highlight the modern vibe. He’s won a MOBO and been nominated for a Mercury prize. Soweto Kinch is incredibly talented. He played during last year’s jazz festival and was a massive hit, we’re delighted he’s going to be part of the launch on April 11th.

“The launch will see Soweto Kinch performing along with David Lyttle, who is running the Derry Jazz Society with me, and I will be hosting a jam session.”

David Lyttle, who will be performing at this year’s City of Derry Jazz Festival, said the new jazz society promises to be a great success.

He continued: “Since I started my touring project, I have been inviting guests from all over the world to perform with, and we usually stop off in Derry, and we always get a great reception from audiences in the city. In fact, in terms of audience response, I would have to say that Derry is one of the best places I have ever played.

“We decided to start the Jazz Society off the back of what has been done here in the past couple of years. The society will give local musicians the opportunity to pay alongside international acts. I would think that there will be plenty of support for the Derry Jazz Society.”

As for the attraction of Jazz music, David added: “I think Jazz is fantastic because of the element of improvisation, there is a great energy and excitement to it. I come from a folk and classicial background and from a very musical family, though none of them were really into jazz. When I started studying music at university, at about 18 years of age, I first started listening to jazz, it sounded so fresh to me, I loved it and I’ve been hooked ever since.

“The City of Derry Jazz Festival is always a fantastic weekend and I’m really looking forward to performing at it.”

The Derry Jazz Society will be launched at Sandinos on Sunday, April 11th, at 9pm, with David Lyttle feat. Soweto Kinch, and an open Jam Session hosted by John Leighton.

For further information on the City of Derry Jazz and Big Band Festival (April 29 – May 3), visit HYPERLINK http://www.cityofderryjazzfestival.com"www.cityofderryjazzfestival.com or follow festival updates on the City of Culture2013Facebook site.

This festival is arranged by Derry City Council in partnership with DCAL/NITB’s Major Events Fund and Diageo/Guinness.