Session Date: March 2026
I can't believe we have done nearly a hundred gigs at Magy's Farm and we hadn't had guitar legend Tommy Halferty. Hailing from Derry originally but having moved to Dublin decades ago and a regular relationship with France, it felt more like a welcoming home party.
A highly respected man not just guitarist, renowned for his work with Norma Winstone among others, a true giant of jazz in Ireland and someone who has spent years passing on his wisdom to younger players, such as the two that joined him on the night, Cormac O'Brien bass and Greg Felton piano.
I guess that is what the very definition of what greatness is...attaining the standard yourself then sharing it with the future generations to ensure the baton is handed over, allowing the musicians following on to tow on the back of the knowledge you have shared but encouraging them to go on to be the best versions of themselves with their own energy and originality, that was heavily influenced by your communion with them.
Thank you Tommy, we all owe you such a debt of gratitude. Cormac and Greg of course are no strangers here and we were thrilled to welcome them back. Both massive forces of positivity, both committed educators in their own right, and both at the top of their game on their own instruments in Ireland. Well they certainly performed on the night.
It's always obvious when musicians put the work on to internalise sets which aren't their own so that they can push the music on, not hold it back...bring their own thing to the party in terms of presence, groove, energy and sheer imagination in the improvisations they weave into the music. Well done lads, you did it again. The music though was Tommy's, compositions and arrangements that crossed over styles and timeframes, with the fire and energy of a 30-year-old, not a man of 80!!! Yes 80...the man is a legend...a phenomenal presence, a humorous raconteur, a ridiculous guitarist, and it was such an honour to have him here.
Learn more about Magy's Farm: https://magysfarm.co.uk/sessions/tommy-halferty-trio
Review By Ian Patterson
Jazz In The Round
Belfast, N. Ireland
March 31, 2023
Sergei Rachmaninoff surely wouldn't have minded. As Chamber Choir Ireland was tackling the Russian composer's choral masterpiece All Night Vigil in a Belfast monastery, across town in Ballyhackamore another master was holding forth. Guitarist Tommy Halferty has been honing his craft for over fifty years, and when an opportunity to see one of the greats of modern jazz guitar comes knocking, it would be foolish to ignore the call.
Like Louis Stewart, whom the Derry man studied with in the late '70s, Halferty is not as widely known as he should be. But collaborations with Benny Golson, Stephane Grappelli, George Mraz, Lee Konitz, Martial Solal and Norma Winstone, amongst others, attest to his pedigree. Often reductively referred to as the greatest jazz guitarist in Ireland, Halferty is in fact, near the top of the tree wherever you care to look for comparisons—past or present.
Read more: Tommy Halferty, Cormac O'Brien, Greg Felton At Scott's Jazz Club
Tommy Halferty invites Norma Winstone review: a musical romance rekindled
By Cormac Larkin
The musical romance between Derry guitarist Tommy Halferty and London vocalist Norma Winstone began when they met as tutors on the now-legendary jazz summer school at the University of Ulster in the early 1990s. Like some exotic orchid, it’s a relationship that blooms only occasionally – as often as their busy schedules allow – but it’s always worth the wait.
Halferty is part of that pioneering cohort of Irish jazz musicians who heard the great Louis Stewart in the 1970s and realised that aspiring to the highest levels of artistry was possible for an Irish-based musician.
Excellent musicianship all add up to a fine lesson in the art of the jazz guitar trio
Veteran Irish guitarist Tommy Halferty has played in numerous settings over the past four decades, from duos with Stephane Grappelli, John Abercrombie and John Etheridge to small ensemble forays with the likes of George Mraz, Lee Konitz and Benny Golson. Perhaps it's in a trio format, however, where Halferty feels most at home, crafting notable collaborations with John Wadham and Ronan Guilfoyle in the early 1980s, with Guilfoyle and Keith Copeland in the 1990s and with Jean Philippe and Christophe Lavergne for the past twenty five years. Here, Halferty's latest trio incarnation pits him with two of Dublin's best in Kevin Brady and Dave Redmond on a highly enjoyable set that balances power and nuance, freedom and form.
Excerpts from: Think Global, Play Local
The Journal of Music In Ireland
Ireland's Bi-Monthly Music Magazine
Barely two hours after their Royal gig, Carroll, Buckley and Carpio were onstage again at the Heather House Hotel, joining Ronan Guilfoyle, Tommy Halferty and trumpeter Paul Williamson for a late-night exploration of Miles Davis' electric period of the late sixties/early seventies. In albums like In a Silent Way and Bitches Brew, Davis created brooding, evocative music that could also be incredibly delicate. Revolutionary at the time, it has maintained its freshness across the decades, especially as presented by this exceptional group of musicians, who took full advantage of Davis' mastery at creating improvisational settings. Williamson and Buckley traded several fiery exchanges, and Tommy Halferty's guitar runs, while uniquely his own, captured expertly the spirit of John McLaughlin. It was also great to hear Guilfoyle playing electric bass, as opposed to amplified acoustic, particularly on pieces that depend so thoroughly on its forceful pulse.
Halferty also played in a very different context when he accompanied Norma Winstone at Bray Town Hall. With the minimum of rehearsal, this duo delivered a perfectly paced blend of standards and originals that showcased Winstone's great skill as lyricist, interpreter of popular song and improviser. Tom Waits' 'San Diego Serenade' and Kenny Wheeler's 'Old Times' (retitled 'How It Was Then', with lyrics by Winstone) give some idea of the range of this set, which climaxed with John McLaughlin's 'Little Miss Valley', a thrilling, wordless blues dialogue between voice and guitar. Winstone is a worthy model for the current crop of young Irish singers, including Cormac Kenevey, who was in fine form at the Royal as he showcased songs from his new album (see the review elsewhere in this issue).
Original article written by Kevin Stevens.
Full Text: http://thejmi.com/article/800