Streaming from Rome later this week: Alexander Hawkins and Hamid Drake

Thursday night sees a stream from the Rome jazz festival featuring the free improv duo of pianist Alexander Hawkins and drummer Hamid Drake. Begins at 9pm Italy time. Tickets

Published: 10 Nov 2020. Updated: 3 years.

Thursday night sees a stream from the Rome jazz festival featuring the free improv duo of pianist Alexander Hawkins and drummer Hamid Drake. Begins at 9pm Italy time. Tickets

Tags:

Melanie O'Reilly, Oileán Draíochta

Quite glorious in its entirety. If setting out to choose just one track from the reissue of Oileán Draíochta (''Enchanted Island'') it may be an uphill task, however. For the diddly-eidily side of Irish traditional music you could go for fun and try …

Published: 10 Nov 2020. Updated: 3 years.

Next post

Quite glorious in its entirety. If setting out to choose just one track from the reissue of Oileán Draíochta (''Enchanted Island'') it may be an uphill task, however. For the diddly-eidily side of Irish traditional music you could go for fun and try 'The Hunter's Purse'. However, 'Buille' is airier and more serious. And then sticking to the task there is jazz aplenty too because make no mistake Melanie O'Reilly is a fine jazz singer, her style authentic Celtic-jazz, so to say because of her command of the culture, language, mood and belief in improvisation as a working method and sensibility but most of all an artistic end in itself it is plain separating and lifting hybrid entities to exist alongside one another. Norma Winstone-like on 'Tir na Mara' led off by the pianist is nearly the track. But dreamy exile song 'Annie Moore' is even better. 'Cead Aighnis' done as jazz-rock let's go for. But hang on the title track it is, for its airiness, poise – and all that dark joy.