Barry McCormack was born in Dublin, Ireland in 1978 and studied piano as a child. He received his first guitar from his uncle Harry and was inspired to learn by ear from Blues programs on the radio.
He discovered jazz soon after that and his early heroes were Charlie Parker, Wes Montgomery and George Benson but his most important influence was Louis Stewart who lived and played in Dublin.
Barry’s initial attempts to play jazz were not successful and after a few years of University followed by failed attempts at employment he chose to study classical guitar with Marion Hyland at the Royal Irish Academy Dublin.
Marion introduced Barry to the music of Bach which he devoted himself to studying ,along with the work of other composers. He completed his classical education having obtained a Licentiate in Performance.
Barry is a self-taught jazz guitarist and spent time transcribing the work of his favourite players and practicing his ideas with his friend the drummer Jamie Davis, an experience which was vital to his development. He lives and works in Dublin which has a rich jazz guitar scene.
Barry works in small groups and big bands, plays regularly in a duo with guitar maestro Hugh Buckley, and also in duo with renowned double bassist Derek Whyte. He is presently recording tunes for a solo album he hopes to release in the next year.
Barry plays a 1959 Gibson L7-C with some enhancements made by his friend John Moriarty, one of Ireland’s foremost jazz guitarists and luthiers. For amplification he uses a Polytone Mini-Brute or an AER Compact depending on the gig. His favourite guitarists are Lage Lund, Kurt Rosenwinkel, Jesse van Ruller, Steve Herberman and Cecil Alexander. He also loves the classic sound of Bill Evans, Stan Getz, Jim Hall, Paul Desmond and Ed Bickert.
Barry’s advice to young guitarists who want to go the distance is to invest in the right equipment as early as possible, if you don’t have the right instrument you may become demotivated and discouraged. It is also vital to develop your ideas playing with friends who share your dedication to improvement.
Read more about Dublin jazz guitarist Barry McCormack on Barry’s Facebook page.
See all past MGH Guitarist of the Month HERE (Scroll down).
Leave a Reply