• Jane O'Brien
  • Jane O'Brien
  • Jane O'Brien

About Jane

“Dubliner, Jane O’Brien, sings like a velvet angel. Passionate and wistful. Powerful yet fragile.” (The Irish Press)

Born in Dublin in the sixties

until 1988
a singer in Dublin ... at parties, in choirs and folk groups, studied jazz improvisation at Newpark Music Centre Dublin, many solo performances – including for the Irish Ambassador to the UN at the UN Headquarters in New York, during a tour in New York, Boston and Rhode Island – and a lead role in the Rock Musical The Passion.

1988 – 1990
Barcelona, founder member of the all-female a-Capella band Stupendams, sang everything from madrigals, to world music and reggae, played at many festivals and clubs in northern Spain.

1990
moved to Hamburg

1991 – 1993
regular soloist at legendary Dennis Swing Club, sang with many top jazz musicians including Percy Heath of the Modern Jazz Quartet

1991 – 2002
studied classic singing with Almut Steglich. Took master classes with Walter Von Bülow.

1998 – 2001
initiated and organised annual St. Patrick’s Festival with various folk bands (including Boreen, Black Bush and Friel’s Kitchen), Irish dancing and comedy in the Hamburg Museum for Ethnology and The Motte arts centre in Hamburg.

Bands

Distant Touch (funk/pop)

1993 – 1995
co-founder of the pop duo “A Distant Touch” with Hungarian guitarist Ferenc Kiss. One of their songs was Whales Kiss, which was written and performed for the Greenpeace anti-whaling campaign:

Whales Kiss

Boreen (celtic folk)

1995 – 2001
singer, bodhrán player and founder member of the celtic folk band Boreen with Heike Prange (fiddle and viola), Reinhard Zuch (guitar and bouzouki), Gregor Griegoleit (flute, button accordion, tin whistle) and Ulrich Klüber (uilleann pipes and tin whistle).
1997
CD release Enchanted ways

S.T.A.R. (trip hop)

1995 – 1997
singer, songwriter and co-founder of the trip hop project “S.T.A.R.” with composer and programmer Uwe Haas.
1996
CD release Simply Travelling Around Reality PIAS Germany/Rough Trade

Jane O'Brien and Band

1997 – 2002
Jane launches the first incarnation of her own band to play her songs, with a variety of line-ups including Anne Wiemann (saxophone and flute), Helen Webby (harp), Guy Saldanha (guitar), Klemens Kaatz (piano) and Bernd von Ostrowski (double bass).
2001
CD release Strawberry Soufflé with Jane (vocals, guitar and percussion), Anne Wiemann (sax, flute and piccolo), Lucia Wojdak (cello) and Ralf Kamphuis (vibraphone).

Jane O'Brien Band

2003 – 2007
Jane O'Brien Band with Andreas Günther (Fender Rhodes and piano), Martin Stieber (drums) and Carsten Körtling (bass).
2006
CD release Jane O'Brien, produced by Frank Itt.

Jane O'Brien Trio

2007 – 2010
with Dorothée Schüler (drums) and Paul Baeyertz (piano).

Jane O'Brien and Andreas Günther

2012 – 2014
Jane O'Brien with pianist Andreas Günther, and frequent guest Alex Gibson (trumpet).

Pitchfolk (celtic folk)

2014 – 2016
Jane on vocals and bodhrán, with Daniela Messer (fiddle and double bass), Reinhard Züch (guitar and bouzouki) and Holger Wilden (guitar and mandolin)

For Ireland

Leave Her Johnny

Red is the Rose

Tipping It Up to Nancy

(the new) Jane O’Brien Band

2015 – present
With Torge Niemann (guitars), Ralf Kamphuis (vibraphone), Karlo Buerschaper (bass) and Ralf Steinhauer (percussion/drums)

Jane Live

Jane has appeared on many stages in Germany, Spain and Ireland. Festivals, clubs, arts centres and many other venues such as in Hamburg: Dennis’ Swing Club, Stage Club, Lounge, Stellwerk Jazz Club, Zinnschmelze, Fundbüro, Rote Flora, Motte e.V., Schilleroper, Batavia, Hamburg’s Night of the Clubs, Museum of Ethnology, Knust, Jazztrain, Altonale Festival, Wutzrock Festival, Ludwigslust Festival, St. Patrick’s Festivals, NDR stages such as Centenary of the Hamburg City Hall and elsewhere: Lutterbeker (near Kiel), Räucherei (Kiel), Holstenhallen (Neu Münster), Harp Festival Pfingstberg (Potsdam), Summer Festival Pfingstberg, Acud (Berlin) and many more … In 2006 she toured Ireland with the Jane O’Brien Band. As a soloist she was winner of “Battle of the Acts” in Dublin. The Jane O’Brien Band was a prize winner at the 2017 SummerJazz Festival, Pinneberg.

Jane O'Brien Shop

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Jane O'Brien Audio

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Janes Discography

Jane O'Brien Video

Video

Videos of Live Performances

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