Personal Journeys Through Jazz: Linley Hamilton

The jazz personality and trumpet hero tells Marie-Louise Muir and an appreciative Derry audience about the unique recordings that have inspired him to become the performer he is today 

SPEAK LIKE A CHILD - RED RODNEY AND IRA SULLIVAN

"To me, this song is most important. Whenever I was about twenty, I was in the Irish Youth Jazz orchestra. We went to a gig where Red Rodney was playing with this incredible band. And instead of improvising on the tune, they improvised on the chords. This particular tune gave me my first insight into 'motif development' and has one of the best bass solos I have ever heard."

(Listen to the original Herbie Hancock version below.)

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BRIGITTE - FREDDIE HUBBARD

"I love Freddie Hubbard. He's an improvisational and very flamboyant crossover player. His massive range and huge personality just 'draws you in' to everything that he does. I've picked 'Brigitte' simply because it's one of my favourite tunes, with a very pure sound. It came out in the 1970's, a big time for banning vibrato. And the song simply fitted in with everything about that time period, including the tonality. I don't know whether it meets the definition of 'jazz' or not, but it's everything I want from a recording."

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SLEAZE FACTOR - RANDY BRECKER

"Randy Brecker is one of the famous "Brecker Brothers". His brother Michael was, in my opinion, the best sax player ever. Both were tight, sectional, session players for big bands, the kind of career path that I wanted to follow. 'Sleaze Factor' is one of their cool, funky tunes that I was really into over a five-year period."

(Listen to a snippet of Randy Brecker performing the tune below.)

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SAY LADIO - BOBBY McFERRIN

"Bobby McFerrin is most famous, of course, for 'Don't Worry, Be Happy'. But he's done many more things since, including conducting some classical orchestra. He's a total legend, an unbelievable vocalist with a five-and-a-half octave range. When you hear his album 'Vocabularies', you're hearing someone who's very much in charge of his own musical output, be it as composer, recorder or producer. All the voices you hear early on in this song, 'Say Ladio', are him, before the choir comes in. Again, it's probably not what you'd call jazz, but the joy of hearing the choir makes you melt."

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SHIVA MANTRA - RICHARD BONA

"Richard Bona is an amazing French-speaking African bass player, composer and writer. Hearing 'Shiva Mantra' is like hearing the best jazz players in the world playing Country and Irish music. His appeal is as simple as that. I highly recommend you buy his album 'Ten Shades Of Blues' if you get the chance."

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MY HEART'S DESIRE - LINLEY HAMILTON

"One of my own recordings, the idea to do this came to me through my show on BBC Radio Ulster. I was speaking to Margo Reymundo, a Mexican-Californian actress and singer, and when I heard her sing this song, I asked her, 'Do you mind if I record it?' It's such a gorgeous song."

(You can listen to Linley playing below. To hear the original version of the song, by Margo Reymundo, click here.)

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BEYOND THE WALL - KENNY GARRETT

"Kenny Garrett is another crossover player, but he only does jazz. He's an amazing player with massive presence and incredible energy, and 'Beyond The Wall' is a great exhibit for his metallic, modern sound."

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BROTHER MISTER - CHRISTIAN MCBRIDE BIG BAND

"One of the perks of being a radio presenter is getting to hear around thirty new releases a week. And you hear some tracks that melt you. This one did, so I decided to arrange it so I could play it with a big jazz band. I'm going to record it with the Linley Hamilton quartet in September, and play it more next year."