| All that Jazz! By Grainne McLoughlin
Second-generation Irish artist Mike O’Mara has got the blues. But
they’re blues of the very best kind. Ready to set the genre alight with
his unique interpretation of jazz the 27-year-old Tipperary man talks to
Grainne McLoughlin about the key to making it as a musician and his love
of Ireland.
The Irish are renowned the world over for their love and proficiency
in music. Yet it’s not normally in the genre of jazz. But Mike O’Mara, is
confident he can change all that. And in his bid to take Britain by storm
O’Mara has been playing up and down the country — including the 100 Club
and the Jazz Café — to his many appreciative fans.
With a curriculum vitae that reads like something out of a Hans Christian
Andersen fairytale O’Mara’s musical credentials are impeccable.
Classical training in piano and violin, a Masters degree in performance
and composition from New York University, and performances in the famous
Blue Note club in Greenwich Village and on Broadway has made the 27-year-old
something of a jazz prodigy.
Since his return from the States to London the young pianist — amongst
other things — has put together a quartet, which has attracted considerable
attention and critical praise.
“The quartet is really a vehicle for my arrangement of classics such
as Moondance, but it also demonstrates unique composing attributes with
such songs as The Hustler and Some Kind Of Place,” says O’Mara.
But it seems it’s not just the genre of jazz that O’Mara has mastered.
From an Irish-Swedish background, the Tipperary man has from an early age
been steeped in folk music which found expression in his command of the
fiddle, banjo and mandolin.
And it’s this unique sound of folk, rhythms and blues, together with
contemporary jazz and pop, which makes O’Mara stand out from the crowd.
“I was very influenced from an early age by the music of Django Reinhardt
and Stephane Grappelli, and I suppose that richness and diversity has helped
inspire what I do today,” says O’Mara.
“What I really want is for modern day jazz and blues to preserve the
richness of the past but while incorporating the mood of the present. It’s
about making jazz today accessible to all audiences.”
Mike plays every Sunday at the Brighton Artists Gallery of Contemporary
Art. For further information contact 01273 711016. To book Mike contact
07748744181.
Mike O’Mara tells rí-rá about his favourite things — ranging from
his favourite TV programme and music to his love of fine arts.
What was the last album you bought?
It was Miles Davis, Kind of Blue. I wore out my other copy.
What was the last film you watched?
Hannibal with Anthony Hopkins.
What TV programme would you not miss?
If I have time to watch TV it’d be UK Gold Comedy. And I’d watch something
like Only Fools and Horses.
Who would be the first person you would invite to your birthday party?
It would have to be Micheal Caine. His autobiography was the funniest
thing I’ve ever read and it was a great inspiration.
The key to making it as a musician?
To have a love of what you do regardless of the money.
What do you love most about Ireland?
Definitely the people. They’re just so warm-hearted and friendly. And
the country is so beautiful and magic — it’s enough to take my breath away.
Who would you most like to work with in the future and why?
Nigel Kennedy who I saw play with Stephane Grappelli. That inspired me
to play the fiddle. I also love to work with Birelli Lagrene — the world’s
greatest guitarist.
Best personal experience to date?
Meeting the Dubliners and of course Stephane Grappelli.
Best professional experience to date?
Playing at the Blue Note Club in Greenwich Village New York.
If you weren’t pursuing this career what other profession would you
have chosen?
Fine arts — I’d say I’d have been another Lovejoy.
What’s your greatest ambition?
To play Carnegie Hall in New York.
Favourite method of relaxation?
Swimming.
The most important lesson life has taught you?
Treat everyone with respect and the same will come your way.
Humanity’s most useful invention?
The wheel.
What’s your favourite tipple?
A drop of the black stuff — Guinness.
What’s your greatest extravagance?
Buying lovely musical instruments.
How would you like to be remembered?
As bringing joy into people’s lives.
Most desirable date?
It’s difficult to choose just one!
What is your favourite smell?
Freshly brewed coffee in a Parisian cafe.
Weirdest job you’ve ever had?
I haven’t really held a weird job as such.
First concert you ever went to?
The Dubliners with my dad.
What song would you like to have played at your funeral?
Clair De Lune by Debussy.
Three songs you’d most like to have written?
Attenrai — Dino Oliver, La Vie En Rose — Edith Piaf and Moondance by
Van Morrison.
Best career move?
Going to New York to play and study.
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