Martin Hayes: “Spirit, energy and soul always trump technical ability”

“I had never lived in continental Europe before,” he says, “and I was always drawn to the idea of, you know, what it would be like to live in one of these European cities. It is wonderful. We can live in Madrid without driving a car – we walk to the cafes, restaurants and the park. And being here during the pandemic really helped – there’s such an outdoor lifestyle here.”

When he chats via Zoom evaluation, he and Lena are in Asturias, a mountainous region in northern Spain. “We come here to the country from time to time.” It’s a kind of reminder of his rural childhood and the simple, leisurely way of life offers him the opportunity to invent new music and artistic collaborations.

Hayes has shared stages with many other musicians over the years – it’s the lifeblood of his craft – and he will play two shows with his newest band, the Common Ground Ensemble, at Dublin’s National Concert Hall this weekend.

The violinist, who has long been considered one of the country’s greatest exponents of this instrument, is no stranger to this place. Among his many performances are gigs he played as one-fifth of the traditional “supergroup” The Gloaming. “I have great memories from those shows,” he says. “This energy… not only on stage, but also in the audience. That’s what you feed on as a musician.”

He’s hoping for more of the same tonight and tomorrow. “They’re all incredible musicians,” he says of the Common Ground Ensemble, whose members include pianist Cormac McCarthy and cellist Kate Ellis. “When I’m in the room with them or sitting around with them, I have to deal with my own insecurities, musically, but I’ve always found that good for getting high.”

He likens the group to a house band capable of “embracing other forms of music” but also one that allows him a degree of “indulgence”. He’s embraced the make-it-up-as-you-go-long approach and believes that great music can be made when the shackles are thrown off. “I just enjoy the fact that they improvise boldly at every opportunity,” he says. “I love the fact that every time someone does a solo, it’s a different experience.”

Hayes released his memoir last year and it was widely acclaimed. His openness made the book compelling. “The publisher talked to me about doing a book. I like to talk about music and philosophize about it, so on that basis I agreed without really thinking that I would write a memoir. That wasn’t on the agenda at all. But I procrastinated endlessly and signed this deal…so I ended up getting it done in just over two months.”

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Shared Notes: A Musical Journey touches on everything from his upbringing in Co Clare to his drinking problems when he immigrated to the United States in the 1980s. In one memorable passage, he recounts the moment he broke a violin over the head of one of his bandmates, Paul McHugh. It’s hard to imagine this kind, gentle character doing such a thing – but it was an incident that encouraged him to make a concerted effort to quit drinking.

There are moments that also touch on philosophizing. One of his longstanding beliefs is that soulfulness trumps technical ability. “Sometimes we get carried away by the musicality, and while musicality is valuable, it’s not the be-all and end-all,” he says. “I’ve been listening to this Ukrainian band, DakhaBrakha, for the last week or two and here’s a band without a red hot musician or a great, great player, but my god it’s a fantastic band. It’s elemental and true and real.

“There are many other qualities that go into making music than just intellectual or technical ability. Many other things make music meaningful.”

Hayes says he would always prefer “spirit and energy and soul” to those who are highly competent but lack those qualities in any band. “I would still prefer a committed punk band to an advanced jazz band that still doesn’t say anything. It’s about the emotional expressiveness inherent in music.

“If someone has a genuine musical desire or desire to communicate, there is an absolute possibility for them, regardless of their technical ability, to make it happen. And there are people who might not matter much individually, but when they come together in a band, they can share and communicate and grow together around an idea and they can make great things happen.”

Hayes grew up in a family steeped in music. “My father [PJ] played violin and played in a band and he was connected to all these other musicians in Co Clare of his own generation and older. There was a constant flow of musicians into the house and a large part of the social fabric of our lives was with other musicians. This has been a constant throughout my life and I was very attracted to it.

“I mean, my father was a relatively well-known musician in traditional music circles since the 50’s and 60’s, so I had an open door for all these other great musicians like Tony MacMahon or Ciarán Mac Mathúna or Tommy Potts – they went on to be a big influence to me. As a kid, I had a real sense of that privilege.”

Like many young Irish people entering adulthood in the 1980s, he was forced to emigrate to find work. He ended up in Chicago and worked on construction sites. For a while, life and work got in the way of music, but the lure of playing the violin for others never waned.