A jazz singer and new music composer of eclectic tastes and prodigious gifts, GRAMMY®-nominated Theo Bleckmann makes music that is accessibly sophisticated, unsentimentally emotional, and seriously playful, leading his work to be described as ‘from another planet’ (New York Times), ‘magical, futuristic’ (AllAboutJazz), ‘limitless’ (Citypaper, Philadelphia) , ‘transcendent’ (Village Voice) and ‘brilliant’ (New York Magazine).

Born in Berlin, Theo Bleckmann has been residing in New York City since 1989. Since then, he has released a series of gorgeous and irreverent albums on the prestigious Winter & Winter label, including recordings of Las Vegas standards, of Weimar art songs, and of popular ‘bar songs’; a recording of newly arranged songs by Charles Ives (with jazz/rock collective Kneebody); his acoustic Solos for Voice I dwell in possibility, and his highly acclaimed Hello Earth - the Music of Kate Bush which was Irish Times Jazz CD of the Year in 2011. Bleckmann has most recently appeared as a special guest on recordings by Ambrose Akinmusire for Blue Note Records and Julia Hülsmann’s trio for ECM, followed by touring with both of those artists. In January 2017, the celebrated ECM label released Theo’s recording with his new Elegy Quintet, produced by legendary label head and founder, Manfred Eicher.

About the Sofa Sessions
Programmed by Kilkenny musician and Irish Times jazz critic Cormac Larkin, these weekly jazz sessions - in the intimate back room of the famous Billy Byrne’s bar - have garnered an international reputation over the last five years, with big names in improvised music from around the world falling in love with the informal, listener-friendly venue. This year, the Sofa Sessions comes to Kilkenny Arts Festival with a collaboration between some of the most creative musicians on the Irish and international jazz scenes, presenting both in a series of ‘club’ dates in the original room at Billy Byrne’s, and in a very special one-off concert in the Set featuring the full ensemble.

Please note that this event has limited seating, available on a first-come, first-served basis.