Darren Beckett

Dave Redmond: All In Motion

by Ian Patterson
September 3, 2025

There is not too much down time for your average hard-working musician. Between scuffling for gigs wherever and whenever they fall, studio sessions and the inevitable teaching bag, it is often a struggle to keep all the balls in the air. Irish bassist Dave Redmond has managed better than many since the turn of the millennium. A bass teacher at Dublin City University, Redmond is first-call bassist for Kevin Brady, Tommy Halferty and the late Larry Coryell--with whom he recorded ...

Ronan Guilfoyle's Bemusement Arcade: At Swing, Two Birds

by Ian Patterson
May 13, 2025

If there were Grammys for the most punning name for a jazz band, or for the most enigmatic album title, then Irish bassist Ronan Guilfoyle could well bag a brace. The title of the wonderfully coined Bemusement Arcade's debut album is a wordplay on Irish humorist Flann O'Brien's At Swim Two Birds (Longman Green & Co., 1939) --a wild and woolly work of satirical postmodern metafiction beloved by existential philosopher Søren Kierkegaard, writer Aldous Huxley and rock 'n' blues guitarist ...

Stéphane Mercier: Live At The Jazz Station

by Ian Patterson
April 21, 2025

A graduate of the Conservatoire Royale de Bruxelles and Berkley College of Music--where he was lead alto in Herb Pomeroy's big band--Belgian saxophonist Stéphane Mercier has been leading/co-leading groups since the mid-'90s. This live album, captured from a gig at The Jazz Station, the famous Brussels venue in whose long-standing big band Mercier sits. That chair has allowed him to collaborate with the likes of Kenny Werner, Grégoire Maret, Jason Rebello and Emil Viklický. Mercier also thrives in small ensemble ...

Sara Oschlag: Yeah!

by Neil Duggan
December 16, 2024

Sara Oschlag cannot be accused of being overly prolific. The Danish-born, UK-based artist last released an album in 2013. Since then she has been focusing her time on building a reputation as one of the UK's leading jazz vocalists and amassing over 12 million followers on YouTube. In addition, she has performed as a featured vocalist with Ronnie Scott's Jazz Orchestra, appeared at the Love Supreme Festival and sung at numerous events across Europe. Having honed her craft and built ...

Lee Meehan: Some Of Us Are Looking At The Stars

by Ian Patterson
February 22, 2024

Guitarist Lee Meehan has been a key player in Dublin blues and soul bands since the early 2000s. The blues proved to be a handy apprenticeship for the jazz degree Meehan would later pursue, graduating from Dublin City University in 2019. And it is to jazz that Meehan turns on his debut album as leader, a vehicle not just for his considerable six- string agility, but for his compositional, arranging and leadership qualities as well. Nor has Meehan ...

Matt Clark Three: One From Brooklyn

by Mark Corroto
April 25, 2021

UK guitarist Matt Clark is a seasoned world traveler. In the pandemic year of 2020, he did not let the lockdown keep him from peregrination. He knows that to travel fast, you must travel light. Meaning without baggage, and this trio recording, One From Brooklyn, crosses the Atlantic without leaving his home studio. Clark, a musical omnivore has dabbled in psychedelic rock with Cardboard, new wave eclecticism of CAAW, solo electric music with The Electric Orange and acoustic sounds with ...

Will Sellenraad @ Smalls NYC, Featuring Kiyoshi Kitagawa & Darren Beckett

Source: All About Jazz
November 14, 2008

Will Sellenraad Trio Will Sellenraad- guitar Kiyoshi Kitagawa- bass Darren Beckett- drums Saturday November 15th · 7:30pm–10:00pm Smalls Jazz Club – 183 w. 10th St. @ 7th Ave. NYC

About Will Sellenraad

Hailed as a “hidden gem,” Willem Sellenraad has earned a fast growing reputation of being at the forefront of a new generation of jazz musicians. Known for his brilliant solos and innovative improvisations, this ...
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Will Sellenraad & Root Down, FRI & SAT @ Detour NYC. Feat... Gary Versace & Darren Beckett

Source: All About Jazz
September 17, 2004

***Will Sellenraad & Root Down*** **Will Sellenraad- guitar** **Gary Versace- organ** **Darren Beckett- drums** *** get down... Friday, September 17th 9:30pm 1:30am Saturday, September 18th 9:30pm 1:30am Detour 349 East 13th Street @ 1st Ave. NYC :: 212.533.6212 *** Hey folks, please join us for a very special fall weekend engagement at our favorite spot in NYC! We ...
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