Sam Comerford: solo saxophone
Since the beginning of the COVID-19 lockdown, Comerford has been returning to his roots in Irish Traditional Music. Growing up in Dublin, his formative experiences in music were sessions in the headquarters of Comhaltas Ceoltóirí Éireann in Monkstown, playing tin whistle and flute.
While most known as a saxophonist, an improviser and composer within the world of jazz and contemporary music, he has returned to this music on various occasions, when playing with contemporary Irish groups such as Ensemble Ériu and Cuar, and when touring India with Utsav Lal and the project “Ragas to Reels”.
During the unexpected isolation of the lockdown in his home in Brussels, Comerford found himself fascinated by the solo fiddle recordings of fellow Dubliner Tommie Potts (1912–1988), known for his virtuosic, unconventional interpretations of Irish dance music. The solitary nature of the solo fiddle, with Potts’ improvisatory variations on the melodies, led Comerford to begin transcribing his playing and performing it on saxophone, as a stepping stone to finding his own way to interpret this vast musical tradition.
Comerford is in the process of recording a solo album of traditional Irish music on saxophone, which will be released in early 2022.