Solly Lipsitz, or Mr Jazz as much of Northern Ireland knew him, presents this programme on 50 years of jazz in Ulster. In this episode, Lipsitz goes through the second half of the semicentennial with archival footage of Northern Ireland at the time, with the key local players and enthusiasts providing insights on what the jazz scene here was really like.
The programme starts at a time when Northern Irish musicians had begun to take on an increasingly prominent role in what was being played and how it was being played. It was also at this time that a unique, new form of jazz, called trad, appeared. Trad jazz was a movement to revive the New Orleans Dixieland and it was to have a "very important effect in Ulster," inspiring a number of young musicians to take up jazz instruments. The Mayfair Cinema in Belfast put on a "midnight matinee" which gave a platform to these fledgling performers. However, despite the success of trad, modern jazz never really took hold in Northern Ireland.
One of major success stories of Northern Irish jazz was Rodney Foster, once a member of the White Eagles. He recalls when UTV made their first contribution to the national network for a New Years Eve programme and the band performed "When Irish Eyes are Smiling". Foster later formed his own band and recorded an LP with a major record company, the first local band to have done so.
The next challenge to jazz music's claim on young people's affections was Beatlemania, which quickly spread from England to Northern Ireland and led to a decline in popularity of the jazz scene. George Chambers, however, decided to put on shows in small pubs, mainly for the musicians' own pleasure. Though he thought the venture had little commercial potential, within three weeks the venues were packed.
Concluding the episode, Malcolm Gooding observes that, despite how "we play ourselves down," the standards of playing in Ulster was as good anywhere else in the UK.