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David Lyttle

Described by Rolling Stone magazine as "one of the best, robust listening experiences you're likely to have all year" and by the Independent as "the best in jazz coming out of Ireland today", MOBO Award-nominated David Lyttle shifts seamlessly between the personas of jazz drummer, recording artist, composer/songwriter, producer and record label owner. Starting out as a child performer at the age of four with his family band, he first reached a national audience as a jazz performer in the band of legendary guitarist Louis Stewart, before going on to perform around the world and develop associations with jazz icons Joe Lovano, Jason Rebello and Jean Toussaint, and hip hop visionaries Talib Kweli and Soweto Kinch. The release of his third album, Faces, led to nominations in the MOBO Awards and Urban Music Awards and major radio. On Jazz FM 'Lullaby For The Lost' and 'The Second Line' each topped the playlist for over a month, making David one of their most played artists across 2015 and 2016.

Awards

2015 MOBO Award for Best Jazz Act — Nominated 2015 Urban Music Award for Best Jazz Act — Nominated


Tags

14
The Big Question

Is There Really Only One Guitar And Drums Duo Album in Jazz History?

Read "Is There Really Only One Guitar And Drums Duo Album in Jazz History?" reviewed by Ian Patterson


A veritable mountain of duo albums color jazz history. Vocal and piano duos abound. Think Ella Fitzgerald and Ellis Larkins, Tony Bennet and Bill Evans, or Carmen McRae and George Shearing for starters. Guitar and piano duos? Plenty of those too. Jim Hall and Bill Evans, Oscar Peterson and Joe Pass spring to mind. Vocals and guitar? Check. Vibraphone and piano? Check. Name a duo combo--trombone and saxophone, piano and harp, trombone and saxophone, drums and ...

11
Album Review

David Lyttle & Phil Robson: IN2

Read "IN2" reviewed by Ian Patterson


The title of drummer David Lyttle and guitarist Phil Robson's debut duo album is as direct and uncluttered as the music contained herein. Equally divided between time-honored standards and stylistically sympathetic originals--three by the Lyttle and one by Robson--the duo's straight-ahead, tradition-grounded language is perhaps a departure from their more genre-fluid work, particularly Lyttle's hip-hop filtered, MOBO-nominated Faces (Lyte Records, 2015), and Robson's wildly eclectic EP Portrait in Extremes (Lyte Records, 2022), which careened entertainingly from ambient soundscapes and straight-ahead ...

6
Live Review

Jazz Promotion Network Conference 2022

Read "Jazz Promotion Network Conference 2022" reviewed by Ian Patterson


Jazz Promotion Network Conference 2022 The MAC jny: Belfast, Northern Ireland November 3-4, 2022 Jazz Promotion Network's (JPN) annual conference saw over one hundred delegates gather at Belfast's Metropolitan Arts Centre (The MAC) for two days of talks, exchange of ideas and music showcases (see separate article). Founded around a decade ago, the JPN is the only organisation of its kind dedicated to promoting and supporting jazz across the UK and Ireland. JPN's ...

10
Live Review

Brilliant Corners 2022

Read "Brilliant Corners 2022" reviewed by Ian Patterson


Brilliant Corners 2022 The Black Box jny:Belfast, N. Ireland March 4-12, 2022 Brilliant Corners is ten. Belfast's onliest jazz festival celebrated the milestone by welcoming audiences back to The Black Box after 2021's virtual edition. When Brilliant Corners was last held here before a live audience, in March 2020, Covid had only just reared its head and didn't seem like a big deal to many folks. How things would change in the following months. ...

10
Album Review

Murray Brothers: Murrays Law

Read "Murrays Law" reviewed by Ian Patterson


Irish twins Connor Murray (bass) and Micheal Murray (alto saxophone) live by their own law. Murrays Law. It dictates that what can happen at the last minute will happen at the last minute. Yet their trajectory, since transitioning from Irish traditional music to jazz in their early teens, seems not so much cobbled together as carefully plotted, with little left to chance. Regular students at the annual Sligo Jazz Project and graduates of the jazz program at the Glasgow Royal ...

7
Live Review

David Lyttle & Joseph Leighton at Caravanserail

Read "David Lyttle & Joseph Leighton at Caravanserail" reviewed by Ian Patterson


David Lyttle & Joseph Leighton Caravanserail jny:Beirut, Lebanon November 22, 2019 It's a long way from Keady Clachan to Beirut. The last time the Irish duo of David Lyttle and Joseph Leighton came onto All About Jazz's radar it was in a stone and timber farm outhouse in the hills of Limavady. This gig, in the Lebanese capital, is part of the pair's Middle Eastern tour, which also takes in Egypt and Israel. Jamaica ...

10
Live Review

Falcarragh Winter Jazz Festival 2018

Read "Falcarragh Winter Jazz Festival 2018" reviewed by Ian Patterson


Falcarragh Winter Jazz Festival Various Venues Falcarragh, Ireland December 7-8, 2018 It only rained twice during the inaugural Falcarragh Winter Jazz Festival--all day Friday, and then all day Saturday. Still, no amount of rain or wind could dampen the spirits of those who turned out to support this bold initiative by local lads Conor and Micheal Murray. Bold because jazz doesn't have any footing in this small town seeped in Irish folk music, country ...

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Performance / Tour

David Lyttle Trio Embarks On 14-date Irish Tour

David Lyttle Trio Embarks On 14-date Irish Tour

Source: All About Jazz

For the first time in two years, drummer/producer David Lyttle returns to the jazz trio format, embarking on a 14-date tour throughout Ireland, North and South. The guts of the last two years have seen Lyttle promoting his jazz/hip-hop album Interlude (Lyte Records, 2012), whose urban grooves featured guitarist Andreas Varady, trumpeter Linley Hamilton, saxophonist Michael Buckley, pianist/keyboard player Jason Rebello and rapper Soweto Kinch and Homecut. Now Lyttle is returning to his roots. Lyttle’s trio for this Irish tour ...

"...genre-spanning...sophisticated and sharp...one of the best, robust listening experiences you're likely to have all year." - ROLLING STONE "...the best in jazz coming out of Ireland today." - THE INDEPENDENT

"He drums with such discretion and awareness...allowing the music to breathe with a tonal sense that's as refreshing as it is creative." - THE HERALD

"...endlessly inventive...outstanding." - EVENING EXPRESS

Photos

Music

Recordings: As Leader | As Sideperson

IN2

Lyte Records
2023

buy

Murrays Law

Lyte Records
2021

buy

Faces

Lyte Records
2015

buy

Interlude

Lyte Records
2012

buy

Videos

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