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Sligo Jazz Project
International Summer School and Jazz Festival
About Me
Sligo Jazz Project (SJP)'s International Festival and Summer School is a unique festival of
jazz, combining equal measures of education, inspiration and entertainment for musicians of all ages and
backgrounds and the general music loving public. It has grown into Europe's biggest and most inclusive
jazz education event through its exciting and unique mix of one-off performance events combined with
masterclasses and workshops by those performing. Its festival line-up annually comprises members of
the SJP teaching faculty and visiting international acts. SJP summer school participants get free
admission to all festival concerts included in their participants fees. What makes Sligo Jazz Project‘s
annual event so unique?
Specially programmed one-off concert performances featuring Irish and international artists. Multiple
free events each day providing a platform for emerging musicians to perform with each other and
mentors.
My Jazz Story
I run Sligo Jazz Project which hosts an annual summer school (jazz camp for US readers!) in beautiful Yeats Country (yes Wynton is a fan of that poet!), in the North West of
Ireland.Myself and a few other musicians decided in 2005 to start running workshops by bringing great musicians here to give workshops and perform. We enlisted the help of
Sligo's greatest jazz export at that point, guitarist Mike Nielsen. So we started in OCtober 2005 with a small event with 5 tutors attended by 35 musicians. In 2006 we ran our first
summer event and in April that year I returned from holidays having not secured a bass tutor for the August event. I'm a bassist and was delighted to find a package containing the
DVD "The Evolving Bassist" by the great Rufus Reid. There was a link to his website, and there to his email. I wrote an email which began "Dear Mr Reid I know this is a long shot
but a silent priest never got a parish..." and to my utter disbelief I got a reply within 10 minutes from the great man, "Dear Eddie, its just as well you're not a silent priest..." and so
began the growth of a tiny event in the west of Ireland into one of Europe's biggest and most inclusive jazz education events, now happening each July and attracting about a third
of its summer visitors from abroad. I've learned so much as a human being as well as a musician from Rufus and the other great musicians we have brought here since. Delighted to
report that Rufus will be joining us as Guest of Honour in our 20th birthday celebrations this year (we were formed in 2005). OUr Artist in Residence this year is Melissa Aldana
and our 33-strong faculty also includes Freddie Hendrix, Sasha Berliner and Pablo Held. Onwards and upwards!
My Favorite Local Jazz Venues & Festivals
