Mike O'Mara - Biography

"I play what feels right to me"

"Most scary moment? Realising I was on the same stage that Coltrane had played"

"Live gigs are what I crave"

"The buzz I get from working with the Quintet is fantastic - We really feed off each others energy"

"The drug is the music and the high is the audience"

Biography

Mike O'Mara's musical credentials are impeccable: classical training in piano and violin and a Masters degree in Performance and Composition from New York University.

His street cred is equally impressive. As a 12 year old he started jamming and then, in his teenage and university years, he poured his energy into hustling for gigs - a determination which eventually saw him play the famous Blue Note Club in Greenwich village. For the next two years he played at many of the Residencies on Broadway.

Currently based in London and Brighton, Mike has recently formed two Quartets: The Gypsy Jazz Acoustic Quartet and the Mike O'Mara Quartet. Both have attracted considerable attention and critical praise. The Quartets are vehicles for Mike's arrangements of classics, such as Moondance, and some of his newly composed works like 'The Hustler' and 'Some Kind Of Place', which reflect his musical journey in New York. His instrumental and vocal trademark with the Quartets is to embellish the performances with his considerable talent as a pianist and trumpeter.

Mike has played major Festivals Including Cork International jazz festival and played for Ray Charles With ME`SHELL N`DEGEOCELLO at the Nice Jazz festival.

During 2006, Mike has performed live all over Europe, with key appearances at the Henley Festival of Music and Arts (for the fifth year running) and the International Cork Jazz Festival.