Liv and learn

Of all places to spend the lockdown, you could do a lot worse than Paris.

And if you’re going to swap St Luke’s Cross for the city of lights, you might as well make it Montmartre while you’re at it.

That’s exactly what Cork jazz vocalist and songwriter Liv Monaghan did eight years ago, although to hear her accent today you’d swear she’d never set foot outside the Rebel County.

Liv, who studied art history and theatre in Dublin, is spending some time at home on Leeside when I call her on her trusty 021 landline number.

“It's funny because Paris was kind of at the back of my head to be honest, but it was just so unrealistic,” explains Liv.

“I was working in Dublin in the Abbey and I got an opportunity to study in Paris at an international theatre school. It was the push I needed.”

Tomorrow (Friday) Liv’s jazz group, the Liv Monaghan Trio, will release ‘Chez Serge’, an intimate three track project all recorded in an apartment overlooking the Seine.

Liv tells me she is excited and a little nervous as it’s the first time she has recorded outside of a studio setting.

“There's always a little bit of nervousness. None of us are home recording experts, so we were very lucky to have an engineer to iron things out.

“I had a really nice microphone given to me but we were so thick we couldn't get that mic to work so we ended up recording on the cheapest of the cheap!”

Accompanied by Sava Medan on upright bass and Serge Merlaud on guitar, the release features two covers, 'Petite Fleur' and 'Devojko Mala', as well as Liv’s new original composition 'Foolish Woman'.

Although 'Foolish Woman' stands apart from Liv’s typical original repertoire in its distinct swing style, its lyrics and quirky humour put it right at home amongst her previous releases.

In 2014, Liv created alternative jazz group Bird&Bass and released her first album, the experimental 'Beauty in the Park'.

This was followed in 2018 by the critically acclaimed 'Slow Exhale' which contained organic, vintage sounds with elements of jazz and world music, as well as reminders of Irish folk-song traditions.

Throughout her music career Liv has performed at a number of international festivals including the Barcelona Jazz Festival, Jazzy Colors Festival, Rootstock, Cork Jazz Festival and Taunton Arts Festival.

Having spent the last five years exploring the Paris jazz scene, Liv says she still feels a strong connection to her home.

“I’ve managed to spread my time between Ireland and Paris quite well. It never felt like a full break with Ireland. It's always great to come back to Cork. Cork people are wonderful storytellers, and they're also tough critics, so it's good to have that.”

Having spent the initial lockdown in Paris where a one kilometre movement restriction was in place, Liv says she panicked at first with the prospect of not being able to do what she loves.

“I thought ‘everything is gone now’, but it's about how you look at it. I do think it helps a lot to have good people around you, to have that backbone where you feel like you're supported no matter what.”

Looking forward, and with a strong taste for life on the continent well established, Liv says she would love to spend some time living in Florence or Greece if the opportunity arose.

'Chez Serge' will go live tomorrow on Spotify. For further information visit livmonaghanmusic.com.