Jazz breaking news: Teenage Prodigy Andreas Varady To Make Ronnie Scott’s Debut
Tuesday, March 15, 2011
It’s not often that a young, seemingly fully formed jazz guitarist blessed with natural improvisational flair and ferocious technical skill comes along.
But over the last year or two in Ireland an increasing buzz of approval and excitement has gradually increased to a roar to mark the arrival of young teenage Slovakian gypsy guitarist Andreas Varady who has settled with his family in the Emerald Isle.
At just 13 Varady becomes the youngest musician ever to headline at Ronnie Scott’s, a milestone for sure, but just another staging post in a musical career that began at the age of four under the tutelage of his father Bandi. Later Andreas began to attend jazz workshops in Limerick when he was 11 and also made his mark on a TV music competition called The Guitar. Recently awarded a scholarship by the Martin Taylor Guitar Academy and with a debut CD titled Questions just out, recorded in the company of frequent collaborator Irish drummer David Lyttle, Varady was the talk of last year’s Cork Jazz Festival drawing large, mightily impressed crowds to his gigs over the festival weekend. His Ronnie’s appearance should increase his growing fame that bit more on this side of the Irish sea.
– Stephen Graham
Varady appears with his quartet at Ronnie’s on 21 March. For tickets go to www.ronniescotts.co.uk