Album launch

Matthew O’Connell and Tom Maxwell are musicians hailing from Dublin. They have played together many time in different formats for a number of years, and tonight come together as a duo to celebrate the launch of their debut album, ‘A Nice Day in Ireland.’ This album comprises of two original compositions, one by each musician, as well as a collection of standards that have become favourites in the duo’s repetoire together.

Matthew O'Connell is a Dublin-based guitarist and composer whose playing draws from traditional jazz, contemporary and soul music. A first-class honours graduate of the BA in Jazz and Contemporary Music Performance at DCU (2023), Matthew has established himself as an emerging voice on the Irish jazz scene.

O’Connell has performed as both a leader and sideman in a variety of ensembles and projects, including the Matthew O'Connell Quartet, Tom Maxwell’s Organ Stops, and Blue Notes featuring acclaimed Irish jazz bassist Ronan Guilfoyle. He has also collaborated extensively with guitarist John Keogh in their duo project, 2 Guitars.

O’Connell was a finalist in the Young Irish Jazz Musician competition in 2022 and received the Maggy's Farm Award from DCU's Jazz and Contemporary Music Performance Department in 2023. His musical approach combines strong jazz foundations with a broad stylistic range, bringing versatility, creativity, and sensitivity to every performance.

Tom Maxwell is a pianist, composer and musical director from Dublin. Having been introduced to many contrasting styles of music from a young age, he is a versatile young musician and plays regularly in different music scenes across Ireland and the UK. Now based in Leeds, he has just completed a Masters in Musical Direction from Leeds Conservatoire. He has featured in groups such as the Gustavo de Morais Quartet, the Kasia Eliasz Quintet/9-piece band, and has both an organ and piano trio.

Maxwell has performed across Ireland, the UK, Europe and America throughout his career. As a chorister with St Patrick’s Cathedral, Dublin, he went on three tours to Gloucester, Durham, and Edinburgh. In 2022, he performed at Bydgosycz Jazz Festival with Kasia Eliasz’s 6 Piece band. Most recently, he joined ‘Celtic Woman’ on their 2026 Spring Tour of the United States and Canada.

Maxwell’s influences come from as wide a range of music as he is familiar with, from musical theatre works by Leonard Bernstein and Jason Robert Brown, to choral music by Jake Runstead and Ola Gjeilo, to jazz, where his favourite players include Oscar Peterson and Joey DeFrancesco.

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