'Things We Like' - A celebration of the music of the great Jack Bruce

About this event

Featuring Ronan Guilfoyle (bass) with Margot Daly (vocals), Michael Buckley (saxophones), Joe O Callaghan (guitar), Izumi Kimura (keyboards), Brendan Doherty (drums).

Jack Bruce is probably the reason why Ronan Guilfoyle plays the bass. Although he was raised on jazz at home, and spent his musical life in jazz, it was hearing Bruce’s great bass lines with “Cream” that first made him think of how much he liked that sound, and how this could be something he’d like to check out for himself. At one point he obsessively listened to Cream, really focusing on the bass playing and it inspired him to buy his first bass.

Although Ronan migrated fairly rapidly to jazz, he was always checking Jack Bruce out and hearing how different and individualistic his music was – on his solo albums, and with Lifetime, with Mike Gibbs etc. His own background was jazz and he took what he knew into the rock world and did some revolutionary things, as well as writing some of the great rock classics such as ‘Sunshine of Your Love’ and ‘I Feel Free’.

Years later Ronan met Jack and hung out with him at Ronnie Scott’s, and apart from it being a great thrill for him, he found him to be a great guy – very funny and warm with no ‘superstar’ vibe about him – a real musician, and is thrilled to have had the chance to meet him and spend a little time with him.

When he passed away last year, it made Ronan think about him again and he wanted to do a project based on his music and great songs. So he’s had a great time going through his enormous songbook and picking tunes Ronan loves and trying to find a way to do them that is both respectful to the songs while allowing him to respond to them in a personal way.

We are lucky to have a great band with Ronan – Margot, Michael, Joe, Izumi, and Brendan that are ideal musicians for this project, with the incredible range of skills necessary to do justice to one of the great musicians of the 20th Century…!!!