Noel Kelehan

Noel was a formidable pianist in the Bill Evans vein. His mid-1960s trio featured Louis Stewart and a later quintet had a weekly residency in Dublin's Killiney Court Hotel for years and recorded one of Ireland's best jazz albums "Ozone" in 1979. He was also the pianist of choice for many jazz artists visiting Ireland. Noel was nine years older and more experienced than the guitarist when Louis first joined Noel’s trio at Dublin’s Intercontinental Hotel. Louis credited Noel with teaching him a lot about harmony. They remained friends and colleagues for the rest of their lives. They shared a mutual respect and a humorous, easy relationship. Their mutual admiration always sparked each other to great improvisatory heights when they played together.  Despite their friendship and musical compatibility, after the late 1960s they didn’t play together very much due to the divergent paths their lives took. In 1969 Louis relocated to London to play with Tubby Hayes and take advantage of the wider scope that the London scene afforded his huge talent. Noel became a staff conductor, arranger, and producer for RTE; Ireland’s national broadcaster, in 1973, which made enormous demands on his time. It is in this role that Noel is best known to the wider music world, and he holds the record for being the most prolific conductor in the history of the Eurovision Song Contest, (twenty-four songs), and the conductor of the most winning entries, (five). He also did string arrangements for U2’s ‘Unforgettable Fire’ album, and this kind of arranging and conducting work limited the amount of jazz playing he could do. Noel died in 2012.