85 year-old Carrick-on-Suir clarinet player releases CD of his music

Carrick-on-Suir musician Harry Doherty has fulfilled his dream of releasing   a CD of his own instrumental compositions at the grand age of 85. 

"Dawn on The Mountain" features six instrumental pieces the clarinet and alto saxophone player has composed over his long musical career as well as songs from the Great American Songbook performed by Carrick-on-Suir Musical Society's AIMS award winning actress and singer Irene Malone. 

The former showband leader and grandfather from 32 O'Mahoney Avenue says composing, arranging and recording the CD has been a "labour of love". 

Harry describes his instrumental pieces for clarinet, alto sax, piano and flute that he has recorded on "Dawn on The Mountain" as broadly jazz in style with Celtic overtones.

  He has been  composing since he studied music in London in the 1950s but this is the first time he has ever recorded any of his work.

He performs his instrumental pieces on the CD with jazz pianist and WIT Music School lecturer Phil Collins, who is married to one of Harry's former clarinet students Eva Power;  Fionn O'Ceallachain, head of percussion at the Cork School of Music;  bass player Chris McCarthy and flute player Gerard Dower.  

They accompany Irene Malone singing such great American classics as  Cole Porter's "I Get A Kick Out Of You" and "What Is This Thing Called Love"; Rogers and Hart's "My Funny Valentine".  

"Dawn On The Mountain" costs €12 and is on sale at the Tudor Artisan Hub and Solera Viva  Health Shop at Main St.,Carrick and Super Valu, Carrick-on-Suir.

Read full interview with Harry Doherty in this week’s edition of The Nationalist in shops now.