Players
Michael Buckley, (soprano, and alto saxophones).
Regarded as the most important, and influential musician on the Irish jazz scene, saxophonist, flautist, and composer Michael Buckley has been playing professionally since the age of six.
Most recently Buckley has been collaborating with Glen Hansard, the World Jazz Orchestra, the Edinburgh Jazz Festival Orchestra, Dave Liebman , John Abercrombie, Joey Baron, Jason Rebello, Nils Wolgram, Tom Rainey, and Chander Sardjoe, to name but a few.
Buckley has also performed and toured in recent years with The Mingus Big Band, Jason Moran, Kurt Rosenwinkle, Edward Simon, Pete King, Badal Roy, Kenny Wheeler, Lee Konitz, Grant Stewart, Ingrid Jensen, Guy Barker, Greg Burk, Damon Brown, Kevin Dean, Florian Ross, the BBC Big Band, Albert Sanz, and Gerard Presencer among others.
He has also recorded with Donovan, the Cranberrys, The Corrs, Jerry Lee Louis, and Johnny Mattis.
Michael runs his own recording studio in Dublin, 'House of Horns', and many of the recording sessions for the, 'Stealing Beauty' , EP took place there during 2017, and 2018.
Sinéad Farrell, (flute).
Dublin born flautist Sinéad Farrell was appointed principal piccolo/sub principal flute of the RTÉ National Symphony Orchestra in 2008. She is a member of the Ficino Ensemble, and has also performed with the RTÉ Concert Orchestra, the Crash Ensemble, and Camerata Ireland.
Sinéad has appeared as a concerto soloist with the RTÉ National Symphony Orchestra, the Hibernian Chamber Orchestra, and the RIAM Symphony Orchestra. She has also performed on many recordings, and sound tracks.
Izumi Kimura, (Fender Rhodes piano).
Izumi Kimura has worked with lots of great musicians during her career. From both classical, and jazz/improvised music fields. She has appeared on RTÉ Lyric FM, RTÉ 1, Dublin City FM, and RTÉ television.
Musicians, and ensembles she has worked within the classical music sphere include the RTÉ Concert Orchestra, Crash Ensemble, Ergodos, Music 21, Michael d’Arcy, Bill Dowdall, Kenneth Edge, Ben Dwyer, Cora Venus Lunny, and many others.
In the jazz/improvised music world she has worked with Ronan Guilfoyle, Tommy Halferty, Michael Buckley, Benoît Delbecq, Stéphane Payen, and Sarah Buechi, amongst others.
Some of the festivals Izumi has enjoyed performing in, both in Ireland and abroad, include the RTÉ Living Music Festival, the Boyle Arts Festival, Dublin Dance Festival, Dublin Fringe Festival, Bray Jazz Festival, Kilkenny Arts Festival, Ghent Street Festival of New Music in Belgium, Music 21’s ‘Brazil Now’, ‘Artes Da Irlanda’ in Sao Paolo, Brazil, and Creative Connexions in Sitges, Spain, and more.
She resides in Dublin, Ireland where she continues to perform on a regular basis.
Conor Guilfoyle, (drums/percussion).
Conor Guilfoyle began playing drums at age 13. At 17 he was working with many of the leading players on the Irish jazz scene. In 1983 Conor went to study at Drummers Collective in New York where his teachers included Michael Carvin, Horacee Arnold, and Frank Malabe. From there Conor won a scholarship to the prestigious jazz programme at the Banff College of Fine Arts in Canada directed by bassist Dave Holland.
On his return to Ireland Conor quickly established himself as one of the most in demand drummers in Europe. His extensive playing and recording credits include Guitarists: John Abercrombie and Larry Coryell. Saxophonists: David Liebman, Sonny Fortune, Pat la Barbara, Ronnie Cuber, Joe Lovano. Pianists: Kenny Werner, Jim McNeilly, Mark Levine, Mal Waldron, John Taylor and Enrico Pierranunzi.
As an educator Conor is a co-founder of the jazz programme at "Newpark Music Centre". He has been expanding the rhythmic language of jazz with his application of odd metres to the standard jazz repetoire, and the use of the Afro Cuban concept of clave applied to different time signatures. These innovations have led to an international demand for his teaching.
He has lectured in many of the leading colleges worldwide including Berklee College of Music in Boston, the New School in New York, Tufts University in Massachusetts, Drummers Collective in New York, The Royal Conservatory, Hague Holland, The Bruckner Conservatory Graz, in Austria, The Rhythmic School, Copenhagen, The American School of Jazz, Paris, Folkhogskola Skurups, Sweden, The Lucerne School of Jazz Switzerland, among others.
He is the Author of 2 books, “Odd Meter Clave for drumset”, and "Rhythmic Reading For Drummers", both published by Advance Music.
Ciaran Farrell, (guitars/bass, and 'Opium Jazz' composer/producer).
Ciarán Farrell is the composer, and producer of this first, Opium Jazz, recording project. He also performed all of the guitar, and bass parts on the recordings.
'Stealing Beauty', was the first EP to be released under Farrell's Opium Jazz project title, in 2018. This was followed by, 'Willow', in 2020.
See 'About' section for more information.