Articles

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ALBUM REVIEW April 25, 2018

Linley Hamilton: Making Other Arrangements

Read "Making Other Arrangements" reviewed by Ian Patterson

With albums like Taylor Made (Lyte Records, 2011) and In Transition (Lyte Records, 2014), trumpeter Linley Hamilton established himself as a virtuoso and bandleader of some note, surrounding himself with Ireland's finest established players while nurturing the island's best of the up-and-coming talent. With Making Other Arrangements (Teddy D Records, 2018) Hamilton enlists an eighteen-piece band featuring the strings of the twelve-piece Camden Orchestra on a set of classic tunes straddling the worlds of jazz, cinema and popular song. Employing ...

ALBUM REVIEW April 19, 2018

Linley Hamilton: Making Other Arrangements

By Bruce Lindsay

Making Other Arrangements has been a long time coming--over 25 years, since trumpeter and broadcaster Linley Hamilton first heard Freddie Hubbard's Ride Like The Wind and decided that one day he, too, would make an album with a large ensemble. It's been worth the wait. Hamilton's third album as leader is lush, romantic and beautifully performed. Based in Belfast, Hamilton is an important figure on the jazz scene of the island of Ireland, as a musician, lecturer and BBC radio ...

INTERVIEW April 17, 2018

Linley Hamilton: Strings Attached

By Ian Patterson

Nearly all recordings are labours of love. Passion and a huge amount of work are the essential ingredients. Some recordings in particular, however, mark the realization of a life-long dream. For Northern Irish trumpeter, BBC jazz broadcaster and university lecturer Linley Hamilton, Making Other Arrangements (Teddy D Records, 2018) is just such a recording. Backed by a cracking, small jazz ensemble--some of the finest musicians in Ireland--Hamilton has fulfilled a burning, career-long ambition by adding strings to songs ...

LIVE REVIEW August 16, 2016

Amethyst at McHughs, Belfast

By Ian Patterson

Amethyst McHughs Belfast, N. Ireland August 10, 2016 With an increasing number of talented Northern Irish jazz musicians recording and gigging both home and abroad, jazz is this corner of the world seems to be in fairly robust health. Add to that Belfast's own jazz festival of international standing, Brilliant Corners- -making waves since 2013--and there's plenty to be excited about. Amethyst, a straight-ahead quintet featuring local and foreign-based musicians, is the latest group ...

LIVE REVIEW March 16, 2015

Linley Hamilton Quintet at Black Box

By Ian Patterson

Linley Hamilton Quintet Black Box Belfast, Ireland March 13, 2015 Since the launch of In Transition (Lyte Records, 2014) at the Brilliant Corners festival last March, the Linley Hamilton Quintet has gigged only sporadically. With members split between Dublin, Port Laoise and Belfast, geography plays its part to a degree. However, there are numerous strings that pull these professional jazz musicians this way and that, from studying and teaching commitments to radio shows and numerous ...

INTERVIEW May 19, 2014

Linley Hamilton: Right On The Wavelength

By Ian Patterson

Trumpeter Linley Hamilton has been a mainstay of the Northern Irish jazz scene for well over two decades. An in-demand session musician, Hamilton has played on over a hundred recordings of various stripes, lending his burnished tone to rock and pop artists and singer-songwriters alike. But it's as a jazz musician, jazz educator, jazz radio broadcaster, and not least, as an utterly tireless advocate of the music that he's best known. With a quintet comprised of some of ...

ALBUM REVIEW April 30, 2014

Linley Hamilton: In Transition

By Ian Patterson

The title of trumpeter Linley Hamilton's second release for Northern Irish label Lyte Records tells a tale; in the three years since Taylor Made (Lyte Records, 2011) Hamilton has dug deep into the essence of his playing, refining his compositional approach and instilling a greater economy of notes in his playing. His is a discipline that owes more to the modern European tradition exemplified by Till Bronner and Mathias Eick than the beboppers that first inspired Hamilton on his journey. ...