Jack L aiming to lift some of the gloom on his nationwide tour

Date Published: {J}

Jack L brings his distinctive voice, along with a full band, to Monroe’s Live, Dominick Street on Thursday next, December 9. Jack, a native of Athy, Co Kildare, is embarking on a national tour that brings a busy 2010 to a close.

“I’m doing a bit of a run around the country for Christmas,” he says. “I’ve been away for most of the year, all over the place, so it’ll be nice to get back and do a few shows. I’m recording a new album at the moment so I’ll be road-testing a few but doing all the old favourites too.”

So, where did Jack’s deep tones bring him this year?

“I was in America a few times this year, doing various shows,” he replies. “For the last month I was in London and I did some shows in Paris as well. It’s been a variety of things – the one I did in Paris was more in the classical arena. It was songs that were written in a Czechoslovakian concentration camp during World War II. Jewish people were interned, and Jewish artists continued to write songs. I was approached to do it by the Irish Academy of Music; I had to sing in German.”

In the past Jack has recorded songs by French singer Jacques Brel and in 2008 he released Burn On, which saw him re-interpret the work of the American songwriter Randy Newman. What can fans expect from his new album?

“It’ll be mostly original material,” he says. “But when you’re recording an album you don’t know what way it’s going to go, it changes every day. It’s hard to know what it’ll be in the end but that’s part of the fun.”

Making music is an ongoing part of Jack’s life and recording allows him to focus on ideas that may have been percolating for a while.

“I kind of accumulate bits and pieces, melodies, ideas and stuff like that.” he explains. “You’re always writing as you go along but when you go in for an album you just intensify that, and write continuously for a couple of months. You’re doing the old mining for gold then, see what ones are entertaining you. It’s the ‘kill your little darlings’ stage.”

Jack L possesses one of the most recognisable voices in modern Irish music. Is it something that comes naturally, or has he honed it over time?

“Once my voice broke it was very low,” he recalls. “I’ve always had that, I’ve always sung like I’ve sung. But the voice is something that changes over time; it gets better in many respects. Someone like Sinatra was probably singing his best in his forties – I ain’t there yet!”

For more, read this week’s Connacht Tribune.