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Tommy Halferty

Born in Derry, Northern Ireland, he began his musical career in the late 70s taking Jazz Guitar lessons with Louis Stewart, a world class jazz musician. Some of his earliest appearances playing public were with bands such as `Jump' - a jazz fusion group and later on `Nunn' - a trio of flute, double bass and guitar. Most of the material here was drawn from classical, folk and jazz music.

In the early '80s Tommy Halferty formed a trio consisting of guitar, bass guitar, and drums producing fresh sounds, original compositions, and with John Wadham (drums), Ronan Guilfoyle (bass) the trio proved to be a well integrated ensemble and one of the most successful groups in Ireland during this period.

In '84, Tommy had the opportunity to play with the great Czech double bass player, George Mraz, as part of the `Jazz Fusion 84'. Later Tommy recorded with George for the R.T.E. Radio show, "All that Jazz and Blues". The next years Tommy played in Portugal in `Hot Clube' with Portuguese musicians and at the famous Cascais Jazz Festival with English sax player Art Themen. The following year, he gave jazz workshops at the Cork Jazz Festival, playing also with the great American alto sax player, Lee Konitz, and later with the great French pianist, Martial Solal.

In Dublin Jazz Festival '89, Tommy performed duos with the great American guitarist, John Abercrombie. Followed by duos by the English guitarist, John Etheridge, who worked with `Soft Machine' and the great French violinist Stephane Grapelli, at the Cork Jazz Festival '90.

In '91, Tommy was commissioned to write `O Connell Street' for R.T.E's musical celebration of Dublin as Cultural Capital of Europe. Tommy played in Barcelona, Spain, with the great Portuguese bass player, Ze' Eduardo, in February of that year. The following summer he began the Irish French Connection in France with Jean-Philippe Lavergne (Hammond organ) and Christophe Lavergne (drums) and played at the Jazz Festival in Parthenay in '92.

In '93 Tommy toured Ireland with the jazz singer Norma Winstone culminating in the Cork Jazz Festival. About this time, Tommy began to form a group combining traditional music and jazz using Tommy Hayes (Bodhrán) and Ronan Brown (Uilleann pipes), appearing on T.V. in Germany and Ireland. However, a distillation of many styles of music - Indian, Flamenco, Arabic and Irish took shape in `Khanda' - a new group with Ramesh Shotham from India, Conor and Ronan Guilfoyle, Martin Nolan (Pipes) and Ellen Cranitch (Flute) from Ireland.

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8
Live Review

Tommy Halferty, Philippe Aerts, Kevin Brady At Scott's Jazz Club

Read "Tommy Halferty, Philippe Aerts, Kevin Brady At Scott's Jazz Club" reviewed by Ian Patterson


Tommy Halferty, Philippe Aerts, Kevin Brady Scott's Jazz Club jny:Belfast, N. Ireland December 1, 2023 The gentleman had arrived early to secure a table right in front of the stage, a fresh pint of Guinness settling nicely before him. He had seen guitarist Tommy Halferty before. The first time was in 1972, in Slattery's, a heritage pub on Capel Street, Dublin. The late great Louis Stewart was the main jazz draw at Slattery's in those ...

6
Live Review

Tommy Halferty, Cormac O'Brien, Greg Felton At Scott's Jazz Club

Read "Tommy Halferty, Cormac O'Brien, Greg Felton At Scott's Jazz Club" reviewed by Ian Patterson


Tommy Halferty, Cormac O'Brien, Greg Felton Scott's Jazz Club Jazz In The Round jny:Belfast, N. Ireland March 31, 2023 Sergei Rachmaninoff surely wouldn't have minded. As Chamber Choir Ireland was tackling the Russian composer's choral masterpiece All Night Vigil in a Belfast monastery, across town in Ballyhackamore another master was holding forth. Guitarist Tommy Halferty has been honing his craft for over fifty years, and when an opportunity to see one of ...

4
Album Review

Tommy Halferty & Norma Winstone: Tommy Halferty Invites Norma Winstone

Read "Tommy Halferty Invites Norma Winstone" reviewed by Ian Patterson


Though the collaboration between Irish guitarist Tommy Halferty and English singer Norma Winstone goes back twenty five years, this, surprisingly, is the duo's debut recording. That it came about at all is thanks to the lever pulling of Irish jazz impresario Allen Smith, who first brought Winstone across the pond in the early 1990s. Winstone and Halferty's chapter opened in 1993 and they have delighted audiences intermittently ever since. This record, released on Allen's own label, sees Winstone, and Halferty ...

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Profile

Improvised Music Company: Orbital Pathways, Gravitational Pull

Read "Improvised Music Company:  Orbital Pathways, Gravitational Pull" reviewed by Ian Patterson


Arguably some of the most dramatic changes in jazz have taken place in the last quarter of its century-long history: the emergence of a strong European jazz identity/identities; technological advances that empower individuals to become their own producers; Youtube, which has all but erased the boundary between past and present; the increase in pedagogical institutions; pan-national collaborations facilitated by myriad budget travel options; instant communication and dissemination brought about by the explosion of social media; greater cross-genre experimentation than ever ...

6
Album Review

Tommy Halferty Trio: Burkina

Read "Burkina" reviewed by Ian Patterson


Veteran Irish guitarist Tommy Halferty has played in numerous settings over the past four decades, from duos with Stephane Grappelli, John Abercrombie and John Etheridge to small ensemble forays with the likes of George Mraz, Lee Konitz and Benny Golson. Perhaps it's in a trio format, however, where Halferty feels most at home, crafting notable collaborations with John Wadham and Ronan Guilfoyle in the early 1980s, with Guilfoyle and Keith Copeland in the 1990s and with Jean Philippe and Christophe ...

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Music

Recordings: As Leader | As Sideperson

Tommy Halferty...

Jazz On The Terrace
2019

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Burkina

Self Produced
2015

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In Two

Spotlite Records
1997

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Videos

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