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After a highly successful trio tour in 2019, George Colligan, Darren Beckett and David Redmond will collaborate again in May 2023 with the addition of leading Belgian saxophonist Stéphane Mercier on a tour of the UK and Ireland and Belgium to celebrate the release of their live album ‘The George Colligan Trio Live in Arklow’. This recording has been released by leading UK jazz label Ubuntu and won live album of the year (2021) with the acclaimed British jazz magazine Marlbank. Also, Beckett, Mercier and Redmond will be releasing their debut Trio record at this time. Beckett and Colligan have an extensive playing and recording history in New York, having recorded for the Steeplechase record label as a trio and also with artists such as Lee Konitz and Rich Perry.
Beckett, Redmond and Mercier have also completed 3 tours as a trio and are due to release their debut record in 2024.
George Colligan is not only one of the great jazz pianists of his generation, but he has earned an international reputation as a multi-instrumentalist (drums, trumpet, organ, keyboards), composer, accompanist, teacher and bandleader. Winner of the 2015 DownBeat Magazine Critics Poll (Keyboard), he has had a long association with living jazz legend Jack DeJohnette. With over 130 albums to date as an accompanist, Colligan has worked with a long list of jazz greats, including Buster Williams, Cassandra Wilson, Don Byron, Ravi Coltrane, and many others. His latest album, ‘Nation Divided’ (Whirlwind Records) is his 30th as a bandleader. Colligan, a New York resident for 15 years, now resides in Portland, Oregon where he is an Associate Professor at Portland State University.
Darren Beckett (drums) won a prestigious Bass Ireland Award as a teenager, leaving the emerald isle to study jazz in New York, where he resided for 21 years. Across his career, he has played drums everywhere from Carnegie Hall in New York to the Royal Albert Hall in London. He’s performed on over 50 albums, recording with notable names like Brandon Flowers, Daniel Lanois, Madeleine Peyroux Lee Konitz and Kenny Wheeler. Over the years, Darren has worked with Lauryn Hill of The Fugees, James Hunter, jazz pianist Aaron Parks, played festivals all over the world from Austin City Limits to Montreux to NH7 in India. His current main gigs today are with Brandon Flowers (The Killers) and American jazz singer Madeleine Peyroux, with whom he toured with for over ten years. Darren co-wrote the lead single ‘Can’t Deny My Love’ on Brandon Flowers’ number one charting second solo album ‘The Desired Effect’. He currently teaches drums at BIMM in Brighton, and has been touring the US and Europe with Indie darlings Amen Dunes this year, also spending part of the year recording in LA, Austin and New York with various artists and film composers. Darren’s band Ambulance LTD recently reformed to play some shows in New York. Darren was recently featured in Modern Drummer Magazine in an article entitled ‘On The Beat’. Since moving to the UK in 2016 he’s been a regular on the London jazz scene playing Ronnie Scott’s and the 606 club, playing with Jason Rebello, Gilad Atzmon and Alan Barnes.
After studying at Berklee College of Music in the 90s, Belgian saxophonist Stéphane Mercier moves to New York for seven years where he developed his career and signed for one of the most important indie jazz label: Fresh Sound/New Talent. His album, Flor de Luna, was recorded in 2000 and distributed worldwide. There, he plays with Mark Turner, Seamus Blake, Avishai Cohen, Matt Penman, Aaron Goldberg,…
Subsequently, he travels around the world as an ambassador for the celebration of the 200 years of Adolphe Sax, the Belgian creator of the saxophone, in countries such as Hungary, the USA, Qatar, Kazhakstan, ...
He also took leadership of the Jazz Station Big Band, the house band of the famous Brussels Jazz Station club, in which fellow musicians (Kenny Werner, Jason Rebello, Grégoire Maret...) appear as guests.
His albums were released on several labels (Fresh Sound, Mogno, Quetzal, Igloo and Hypnote Records) before his Step by Records debut.
Irish Bassist David Redmond is best known for his collaborations with renowned Irish and International groups. He regularly performs with artists such as Bill Carrothers, George Colligan, Darren Beckett, Van Morrison, Anders Bergcrantz, Gonzalo Del Val, Stéphane Mercier, Keith Copeland, Seamus Blake, Georgie Fame, Bobby Wellins, Dave Liebman, Jason Rigby, Ian Shaw, Scott Hamilton and Norma Winstone. Redmond has appeared on over 40 albums of established Irish and International artists. He regularly performs abroad at festivals such as Euro Jazz festival in Mexico, Dubai Jazz Festival, Glasgow Jazz Festival, Azores Jazz Festival, Brecon Jazz Festival and Abu Dhabi Jazz Festival. He has performed at the famous London jazz club Ronnie Scott’s many times. He has also performed all over Europe, U.S.A., Hungary, Colombia, Cyprus, China and Scandinavia.
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Event Venue & Nearby Stays
Wexford Arts Centre, The Cornmarket, Wexford,Wexford, Ireland
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