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Bio:
Dublin jazz group led by Kevin Hayes and featuring ex Bluesville drummer Ian McGarry.
The contact address was in Meadowbrook, Dundrum, Dublin.
They self-released a live album recorded at one of their regular Saturday night sessions in the
Merrion Inn in Dublin in November 1974 (Paul Sweeney would drive to these sessions all the way from Donegal every time).
While it is unexceptional musically, it is an important Irish jazz artefact and has become
quite hard to find.
From the liner notes:
"I believe in Miracles", sang the ebullient Fats Waller
in the thirties. If you're reading this sleeve before Christmas '74,
the Jazz Coasters will be converted en masse to this creed.
As any respectable record company will tell you, LP's are
taped at least 3 months before release, but Jazz bands are
no followers of convention. Thus the first miracle was
ordained to occur as recently as the 23rd November at the
regular Saturday night "raz-a-ma-taz" in the Ailesbury Room
at the Merrion Inn, formerly a shrine to haute-cuisine . . . now,
thanks to Jazz Coasters, a haven of high jazz. It was
engineered by two brilliant recording genia by name of
Deke O'Brien and Brendan Bonass, who surrounded us
with a formidable array of equipment and mikes, enough
to intimidate even the most hardened pro. The Saturday
night JC disciples cleared their throats for their
4-bar "Oo-ya" kreans, and ordered their booze from
the incredible range of beers, spirits and toxious liquors
served by the nubile Ailesbury girls under the mercurial
eye of manager Noel Cullen, resplendent in bow tie
and jacket. A quick test run for balance, and the session
began.
Spurred on by the volcanic verve of our band master,
the vociferous bass violinist Kevin Hayes, the second
miracle was now destined to take place. The objective
was to stay sober long enough to have sufficient material
for this LP, the first one ever to be recorded by an Irish Jazz
band. The recording apparatus was let run without stop or
start until closing time, and no sooner had the band struck
up "Royal Garden Blues", then we forgot all about the
microphones and started to have our usual Saturday night
fun. And that's what you'll hear on this record, the tunes
exactly as we played them, no splicing, no cutting, no
re-recording. You can even hear the inexhaustible supply
of pints being plonked down on the piano.
The third miracle will have occurred as I said earlier, if
you come to the readign this before Christmas. If you do, and
buy the record, you'll be hearing what you can hear at almost
every Jazz Coasters Saturday night session in the Merrion.
And if you enjoy what you hear, well maybe you'll joined
the "oo-ya" gang there some Saturday night.
As Fats would say: "one never know, do one?"
Help!: We need your help to complete this entry. If you can tell us more about this band then please do! We welcome any corrections, missing details, connections to other bands, where are they now, etc. We also need photos, scans, copies of releases or live or demo recordings, and any other memorabilia gathering dust in the attic. If you can help, then please get in touch.