Forty years ago, Those Nervous Animals were strong contenders to be Irish rock’s next big thing, sharing the stage with U2, The Boomtown Rats and The Pogues at the Self-Aid concert in depression-era 1980s Ireland.
It was a blessing in disguise for countless young musicians that stardom passed the band by and that their bassist Eddie Lee went on to find his true calling in life – which was to turn his native Sligo into a hotbed of emerging jazz talent.
Under Lee’s guidance, the Sligo Jazz Project took off 20years ago this summer and hundreds of young musicians from Ireland and abroad have attended its workshops, played in its ensembles and, after a day’s tuition with some of the great names of jazz, got to watch those same stars in action on the stage of the Hawkswell Theatre each evening over the course of a week in July.
Otherwise, what are the chances that the first two editions of the biennial Young Irish Jazz Musician contest, hosted by Limerick Jazz, would be won by two pianists from Sligo who fell under the spell of the music that Eddie promotes with missionary zeal on a minimum-wage salary?
Vindication arrived in 2022 when Nils Kavanagh won the inaugural Young Irish Jazz Musician competition, having had his first encounter with the music at the Sligo Jazz Project in 2018.
“I had never played it before and just got a passion for it straight away,” says Kavanagh. He is now a touring musician with his own trio and a first album, No Expectations, and was a finalist in the BBC Young Jazz Musician in 2024.
That was the year that 17-year-old Sligo Grammar School student Rory Conneally took Limerick by storm with his composition Burning Man, inspired by a protest against genocide in Gaza. His Young Irish Jazz Musician trophy was presented to him by Riverdance composer Bill Whelan, who praised him as a truly exceptional talent.
Whelan encouraged Conneally to apply for a place at the prestigious Berklee College of Music in Boston; his audition earlier this year has won him that rarest of prizes: a full four-year scholarship, which is a virtual passport to a career as a professional musician.
Conneally has a special bond with Lee. Most mornings he drops by Lee’s house to play his upright piano for four or five hours.
“Because I am so focused on the business of Sligo Jazz, doing all the horrible admin jobs that nobody else wants to do, sometimes I forget that I’m a musician as well and I could lose the chops very easily, so it’s fantastic to have Rory come down here, and I get to play a few tunes with him,” says Lee.
Lee’s decision to master the double bass is a key element of the foundation story of the Sligo Jazz Project. He honed his skills using an instructional video from the New York-based jazz legend Rufus Reid, who has appeared on over 500 recordings and was one-time sideman to Stan Getz, Dexter Gordon and Art Farmer to mention a few.
Acting on the sound principle that a dumb priest never got a parish, Lee fired off an email to Reid in 2006 asking him if he would like to come and teach in Ireland. Reid responded that he always wanted to visit Ireland, and a beautiful friendship was born.
Lee gives Reid credit for helping to establish the educational programme that has underpinned the Sligo Jazz Project for the last 20 years and turned it into a significant event on the European jazz calendar, attracting many students from overseas.
Reid, a sprightly 82-year-old who was the guest of honour in Sligo last year, marvels at the youthful talent on display. He told Lee once: “Some of these kids at this summer school ... when I was their age, I was still throwing rocks at buildings.”
Lee concurs: “I didn’t even start to play bass until I was 17 and there’s Rory winning a national jazz competition at that age. He is just absolutely, totally focused. There’s some dedication there.”
As well as playing in Tokyo jazz clubs on a year’s sabbatical in Japan and getting a first booking for his trio in Belfast’s premier jazz club, Scott’s, this Friday (July 17th), Conneally has been preparing to take up his four-year Berklee scholarship in September. A key attraction in choosing Berklee is the fact that two jazz maestros he hugely admires, drummer and composer Terri Lyne Carrington and pianist and composer Danilo Pérez, are both on the faculty.
“Many of my musical idols once called Berklee home. Branford Marsalis and Esperanza Spalding are some of my favourites. I would love to receive the same schooling as these jazz giants and strive to emulate them in terms of reaching my potential,” says Conneally.
Lee is already anticipating that both Kavanagh and Conneally will make themselves available as tutors on future editions of the Sligo Jazz Project, which runs from July 21st to 26th this year. “They’re good lads and we’ll be welcoming them back with open arms for years to come.”
