Hayley Kavanagh Quartet At Scott's Jazz Club

Hayley Kavanagh Quartet
Scott's Jazz Club
Belfast, N. Ireland
August 29, 2025

"Welcome to the Upper East Side." Variations on this phrase—delivered by Scott's Jazz Club co-founder Cormac O'Kane—have greeted visitors to Belfast's award-winning jazz venue every Friday night since 2020. Hard to believe that half a decade has whizzed by just like that. So much has happened—global pandemic, devastating wars, mass migration, worldwide floods and fires on an unprecedented scale, Trump again... and AI. It is enough to make your head spin. So thank goodness for a venue like Scott's Jazz Club, a welcoming oasis of musical celebration and of respite from all the madness, worry and grind.

On a given Friday night, Scott's Jazz Club typically hosts Irish and UK artists. International jazz musicians also grace the stage from time to time. Another selling point is the space given to new talent via its Jazz Futures program, which shines the venue's impressive spotlights on up-and-coming Irish jazz talent. The seventh instalment in this ongoing series brought Dublin saxophonist and flautist Haley Kavanagh to one of the hippest corners of Belfast.

Having returned to Ireland in 2023 after seven years honing her craft in Prague and Berlin, Kavanagh has wasted no time immersing herself in Dublin's vibrant jazz and improvised music scene. A leader and frequent collaborator, Kavanagh established the events guide Cookin' Dublin (@cookindublin) and runs Arthur's Jazz Jam every Monday night in Arthur's Blues and Jazz Club—another cherished oasis.

Not only was this Kavanagh's first gig in Belfast, it was also her first time playing with the pianist Scott Flanigan, double bassist Rohan Armstrong and drummer James Anderson. Any overly telegraphed—or slightly ragged—baton changes could be forgiven. On the whole, though, the quartet gelled convincingly on a set of familiar standards, interwoven with a couple of the leader's originals.

Kavanagh nailed her colors to the mast with an elegantly snaking solo on the opener—Bronislaw Kaper's "Invitation." Her sound is big and warm, her language firmly rooted in the swinging hard-bop and post-bop traditions of Sonny Rollins and Joe Henderson. It was no surprise that tunes associated with both featured. A collectively animated reading of Henderson's "A Shade of Jade" and a sultry, brushes-steered interpretation of Gene de Paul's/Don Raye's "You Don't Know What Love Is," which Rollins recorded on Saxophone Colossus (Prestige, 1957), showcased Kavanagh's technical nous and emotive depth. Her rhythmic agility on the former song—peppered with fluttering cadenzas and trills—and her bluesy seduction on the latter hinted at hours of intensive listening to these two enduringly influential musicians.

Armstrong and Anderson kept swinging time. The bassist alternated between walking figures and freer lines, while the drummer punctuated his percolating rhythms with sharp snare pops and judiciously placed bass bombs. Flanigan was a more reserved accompanist, adhering to the less-is-more mantra. The pianist's solos, however, were expansive and exhilarating—part-Aaron Parks, part-McCoy Tyner. On this sort of form, there are few straight-ahead pianists to touch Flanigan on the island. Different gravy altogether.

An effervescent, solo-laced version of Charles Mingus' "So Long Eric" followed. Mingus wrote this bluesy, bittersweet adieu for multi-instrumentalist Eric Dolphy, who had told Mingus he would be jumping ship after a European tour in April 1964—turning his back on the racism that plagued America. Mingus subtitled the composition "Don't Stay Over There Too Long," but sadly, Dolphy died just two months later. Kavanagh's self-penned "Herb's Hunt" rounded out the first set in the fast-swinging tempo that had dominated the opening hour.

The second set followed much the same blueprint as the first, with a lightly swinging version of Cedar Walton's "Mode For Joe" and Sam Rivers' lyrical "Beatrice" serving up a rotating feast of solos; pick of the bunch was Flanigan's flowing improvisation on the latter.

A highlight came when Kavanagh invited a flute-toting Red Sullivan to join the band on stage. A former collaborator with Louis Stewart, Sullivan eased his way into Tadd Dameron's "Ladybird," gaining fluency and potency as he went. After a 13-year sojourn in Brazil—and with rumors of a move to Lisbon—this was a rare chance to hear this fine improvising musician strut his stuff.

Another original from Kavanagh, the lively "Late Night Coffee," showed her penchant for swinging hard-bop and brought yet another smoking solo from the impressive Flanigan. The final number, John Coltrane's "Impressions," ensured the evening finished as it had started—on a high note.

For a first Belfast outing, Kavanagh made an impression on an audience used to high-quality jazz. Hopefully the journey up the M1 will become a frequent one for this talented tenor saxophonist.

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