As Oileán Draíochta (Enchanted Island) is reissued and with still unissued live tracks featuring album guest Larry Coryell planned for future release, singer Melanie O'Reilly tells the story of a remarkable album and how it connects with Celtic jazz

Why reissue Oileán Draíochta now? Take us back to the studio, and the idea behind the whole project in the first place.

''It is almost exactly 20 years ago since my album Oileán Draíochta was first issued, and with the current ongoing Lockdown, I thought this was a good time to bring it to the attention of my current fan base and followers, as many of them have not heard this album before. It was my first album of original material, the crossover of Celtic jazz; I was inspired to write (and co-write) songs, fusing together all my creative influences which had been inspired me while growing up: – Irish culture – poetry (Gaelic and English language), history, mythology, and literature, and the tradition of jazz which I had listened to since I was 10 years old. I was lucky that I met the right musicians at the time to make that happen – a wonderful mixture of Irish and Scottish musicians as well as the legendary jazz fusion guitarist Larry Coryell, and my Celtic jazz journey started.''

How did you get into singing jazz at the beginning and was it a natural progression from other musical interests?

''I was brought up listening to jazz at home – my parents and my siblings loved jazz – and from an early age I would regularly go to see the great Louis Stewart playing with his trio at Slatterys, Dublin, so yes it was a natural progression for me to sing jazz professionally later in my life. I had started my jazz singing career with the jazz standards. But then I wanted to write original material and I remembered that in my early teens I experienced the Foxrock Folk Club every second Sunday at the parish hall, where an incredible array of talent used to perform: Donal Lunny, Andy Irvine, Horslips, We Four, actors such as Niall Toibin, or the Abbey Theatre rep; poets, blues artists, classical guitarists, and many trad Irish musicians. The night The Chieftains and Louis Stewart Trio shared the same line-up and ended the night by jamming together was a pivotal moment for me. I saw the Celtic-jazz fusion happening right there and I’ve felt that passion for it ever since.''

You are now living back in Ireland after a time in the States. Do you think that as a performer the experience was radically different there on reflection to that spent working in Ireland?

''Yes, the experience of performing in the US has been hugely important for me. I was based in California, mainly in the San Francisco Bay Area, which has been known for its innovation in many cultural areas. The musicians based there are some of the top jazz musicians of the world, as many of them choose to live in such a beautiful area and all were incredibly welcoming to me; they recognised that I was bringing something new – they understood my celtic jazz fusion and loved it and I ended up working with a vast array of fantastic musicians – Frank Martin, George Brooks, Lisa Pollard among them – and this not only increased my own standards and ability as a singer and songwriter, but also allowed me to ground myself in the American jazz tradition. During my time there I was busy performing all over the US in many different types of venues ranging from the local arts centres or community halls, to well-known jazz clubs and concert halls, and this gave me wonderful opportunities that I did not have in Ireland.''

Does singing in Irish have any particular challenges?

''During my teens I was a frequent performer at Feis Ceoil competitions, often singing duets with my school-friend Deirdre, and I had the great luck of being mentored how to sing in Irish by her mother, who was not only a native Irish speaker but also a singer of the Lieder art song tradition. I am still very grateful to Mrs O’Grady Walsh, because she taught me how to sing in Irish more naturally, and I learned a great respect for our beautiful language which is so rhythmic and musical.''

Tell me a little about the meaning of the song 'Tir na Mara' and the arc of the song as you hear it listening back.

'''Tír na Mara' literally means ''Land of the Sea''. While I was living in Scotland many years ago, I was fascinated to learn of the tales of the “selkies” or “seal folk” – a Scottish form of our maighdean mhara – and I wanted to write a song expressing this “otherworld” beneath the waves. I included another inspiration after visiting Dingle when I’d had the good fortune of being brought out on a boat alongside Fungie, the famous dolphin, who then led us further out to sea where he joined a school of dolphins, playing, leaping with abandon and “exploding” out of the water. An extraordinary moment which I’ll never forget and adds to the “arc” of the song.''

How relevant is Celtic mythology as an inspiration more generally would you say in your work, explaining how it sits within your other inputs?

''Celtic mythology is a rich vein of creative inspiration for me and I’ve been able to draw on this extraordinary deep cultural well; other tracks from Oileán Draíochta are also inspired by Irish mythology, such as the title track. I adapted the poem 'Hy Breasil' written by the wonderful poet Nuala Ní Dhomhnaill – this is the mysterious island off the west coast of Ireland; it is shrouded in fog or perhaps beneath the ocean, and the island appears only briefly, once every seven years. I am currently working on a new album inspired by Irish myths which I’m very excited about. More of that in the near future.''

''Larry requested me to sing 'Danny Boy' with him which was an amazing experience, this giant of jazz accompanying my singing of an Irish classic – all live. A truly Celtic jazz moment. It’s fantastic to have this recording of an historic jazz occasion and the warm enthusiastic Dublin audience are part of it.''

I believe that you have some unissued Larry Coryell tracks that you are considering releasing from a collaboration with the late, great guitarist that you made some years ago. Can you tell ''marlbank'' a little more about what these tracks are like, perhaps referring to track titles, personnels, etc: and how your work together first came about and developed?

''I first met Larry Coryell at the Cork Jazz Festival in the late-1990s. I was performing there and it was one of the first live performances of my Celtic jazz material and when he heard me sing with my band, he suggested that he guest with me on my album which I was soon to record, resulting in Oileán Draíochta. He guests on three tracks: 'Mo bhrón ar an bhFarraige,' 'Cead Aignis,' and 'Annie Moore'.

''Some years later, I was able to invite him as guest performer with me at a concert in the Green Room, Dublin in 2005 which we were able to record. I was back from California and had just toured in France with my trio of Fintan O’Neill on piano, Antoine Simoni on bass, and Roman Piot on drums. Larry performed a couple of solo pieces first and then joined us to play on tunes such as 'Autumn Leaves,' 'Manhã De Carnaval'.

''Larry requested me to sing 'Danny Boy' with him which was an amazing experience, this giant of jazz accompanying my singing of an Irish classic – all live! A truly Celtic jazz moment. It’s fantastic to have this recording of an historic jazz occasion and the warm enthusiastic Dublin audience are part of it. We’re hoping to release it in the near future.''