PRESS RELEASE August 2013

Announcing a new album by Aoife Doyle,

This Time the Dream’s on Me

We are delighted to announce the debut album launch of Aoife Doyle, one of the finest young singers working in Ireland. Aoife’s unique, expressive voice is equally at home with jazz, folk, country, bluegrass or blues, and her singing can evoke memories of the sophisticated, velvet tones of Ella Fitzgerald, the earthy, sweet lyricism of Patsy Cline or the straight‐up country clarity of Alison Krauss. This Time the Dream’s on Me will leave you in no doubt that you are in the presence of a major new voice and talent.

The album includes a diverse range of songs that Aoife makes very much her own. Including songs by Bob Dylan, Hank Cochran and The Band, as well as jazz standards by Cole Porter and Harold Arlen, the album also carries an arrangement of ‘It’s Alright With Me’ by Irish‐based pianist Phil Ware, and one of the highlights is flute player and composer Brian Dunning’s original song ‘Blue’, especially arranged by him for the album (Brian also guests on the recording). The rest of the songs were arranged by Aoife’s band, and with backgrounds in Irish traditional, classical, Americana, folk and jazz, they have put their own unique stamp on the songs.

‘What attracts me to a song is an interesting story, a well‐crafted lyric and a beautiful melody’, Aoife says. The motivation behind all of the song arrangements was to keep the lyrics and melodies to the forefront, with arrangements that complemented their themes. For example, the heartbreak of ‘She’s Got You’ and the poignancy of ‘This Time the Dream’s on Me’ shine through the restrained arrangements of the trio, leaving plenty of space for expression in the melody and lyric.

The album kicks off with Mick Ralphs’ upbeat ‘Oh Atlanta’, while the moody, low‐key ‘Need Your Love So Bad’ takes us right into the heart of the blues. Aoife and the band’s indisputable jazz credentials shine in Cole Porter’s ‘It’s All Right with Me’. We then shift down a gear with Brian Dunning’s evocative and lyrical ‘Blue’, which already feels like a classic and adds its own unique dimension to the album. The extraordinarily lyrical title track ‘This Time the Dream’s on Me’ epitomises the purity of Aoife’s vocal line and her ability to hit just the right tone.

Aoife gives us a rousing jazz rendition of Bob Dylan’s ‘I’ll Be Your Baby Tonight’, but her interpretation is also grounded in her natural folk affinity for Dylan – a sensibility that the closing track, Dylan’s ‘Farewell Angelina’, only reinforces. Johnny Taylor’s subtle piano, Andrew Csibi’s inventive bass and Dominic Mullen’s sensitive percussion make this particular arrangement of Bob Dylan’s beautiful song (which he never recorded himself) a stand‐out, and the closing unresolved chord leaves us hoping that there will be much more of Aoife Doyle and her extraordinary band to come.

ABOUT THE ARTIST

Aoife Doyle has been singing from as far back as she can remember. Growing up in a musical family, she also learned traditional violin and tin whistle. At thirteen, her interest in jazz singing was sparked when she heard Billie Holiday, and later, when she was introduced to Ella Fitzgerald, she began to practise Ella’s scat style. Aoife went on to study music at Newpark Music Centre and was awarded a diploma in Jazz Performance from the London Guildhall School of Music and a B.A. in Jazz Performance from Newpark. She was selected to represent Ireland at the annual IASJ meeting in Krakow in 2005. The Aoife Doyle Band, having played together in different combinations for a number of years, officially formed as a group in 2010 and have since performed around Ireland to critical acclaim.

While continuing to perform with her own band, Aoife has also recorded and performed with many prominent Irish musicians, including Tommy Halferty, Phil Ware, Louis Stewart, Brian Dunning and Cormac Breatnach. More recently, in September 2012, she performed with Irish singer Sinead O’Connor at the Mermaid Arts Centre in Bray, Co. Wicklow.

THE BAND

Johnny Taylor (piano/keyboards) was born in London and studied classical piano and clarinet from a young age, playing in orchestras and gaining an ABRSM diploma in piano performance. Upon moving to Ireland, he became a music scholar at Trinity College and graduated with a First Class Honours degree in 2006. After studying with a scholarship at Berklee College of Music in Boston, Johnny returned to Dublin and began playing jazz full time. He is one of the most sought after piano players in Ireland and also currently leads his own piano trio. Johnny regularly plays in Dublin and around Ireland as well as performing at festivals in several European countries and in the Middle East.

Andrew Csibi (double bass) began playing music at the age of five and attended the DIT College of Music in Dublin, where he studied both the piano and trumpet. While there he was a regular prize winner in several piano and trumpet competitions and won first prize in the Feis Ceoil trumpet competition. A member of both the Dublin Youth Orchestras and the Junior National Youth Orchestra, he performed around Ireland from an early age, including many concerts at the National Concert Hall. In 1998 he began studying the electric and double bass and was awarded a Diploma from the London Guildhall School of Music. Andrew also studied double bass at the Royal Irish Academy of Music and achieved distinction and scholarships at their annual exams. More recently, he was awarded a First Class Honours Degree in Jazz Performance from Newpark Music Centre. Along with his commitment to teaching Andrew, is now a regular performer on the Irish jazz scene.

Dominic Mullan (percussion) studied music at Newpark Music Centre and was awarded a diploma in Jazz Performance from the London Guildhall School of Music. Dominic is one of the most in‐ demand drummers in Ireland and has performed with many prominent artists in Dublin and around Ireland. He has also appeared at many festivals across Europe.

THE RECORDING

This Time the Dream’s on Me was recorded in Dave McCune’s studio in Balbriggan, Co. Dublin and Gavin Ralston’s studio in Newtownmountkennedy, Co. Wicklow. It was mixed and mastered by Michael Buckley.