Folk Bands and Artists
Melanie O´Reilly
Dublin
While Melanie O’Reilly was born on the southside of Dublin, she found a spiritual home in American jazz at an early age.
Hailing from a family of artists, Melanie sang and acted on stage as a child. At the age of 11, jazz had already engulfed her thanks to Ella Fitzgerald’s extraordinary voice and the music of Billie Holiday, Sarah Vaughan, Miles Davis and Dizzy Gillespie.
“I remember the moment I first heard Ella Fitzgerald sing ‘It don’t mean a thing if it ain’t got that swing’ with the Duke Ellington Orchestra. I’ve been swinging and scatting and in love with jazz ever since.”
Alongside her immersion in this great American art form, Melanie discovered the beauty of Irish music at the Foxrock Folk Club.
Genre: Trad Jazz
