After suffering a stroke, Phil Ware’s jazz community rally around him

On June 3rd last year, my friend Phil Ware suffered a stroke due to a ruptured aneurysm that changed his life forever. Though he was lucky to survive at all (50 per cent of people who suffer ruptured aneurysms don’t survive the ambulance ride), the injury left him unable to use the right side of his body and severely damaged his speech and comprehension.

Of course, such an event is a catastrophe for anyone, but for Phil, one of Ireland’s most respected jazz pianists, it seemed particularly cruel. Musicians who perform at a high level inevitably come to conflate their identity with their talent, and with all his virtuosity gone in an instant, I know that Phil has asked himself many times since his injury, “If I can’t play anymore, who am I?” Thankfully, over the past year and a half, his friends and fans have been helping him to answer that question.

With dyed blonde hair, various piercings and a thumb ring, Phil cut a dashing figure when he stepped on to the Irish jazz stage 20 years ago. Born in London in 1972, Phil was already a well-regarded young jazz pianist on the UK scene – twice a finalist in the prestigious Young Jazz Musician of the Year competition – before deciding to relocate to Dublin.

'To think that Phil might never play again was heartbreaking'

“The scene immediately benefited from his presence,” recalls bassist Ronan Guilfoyle, director of the Jazz Performance programme at Dublin City University, “because really fine, swinging jazz pianists, with very good technique and a good sound, were not too thick on the ground. He became a firm favourite with many musicians, especially singers, for whom he had a special affinity.”

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One of those singers, who would become Phil’s close friend and confidante, was jazz vocalist Honor Heffernan. “We met at a Louis Stewart gig in the Shelbourne Hotel,” says Heffernan, “and we hit it off immediately. When I started to work with Phil, I soon realised that he had a wonderful understanding of how to accompany a singer. I loved singing with him and he always pushed me to be braver and take risks.”

Phil took to Dublin as much as Dublin took to him. With bassist Dave Redmond and drummer Kevin Brady, he formed what would become the leading piano trio in the country and their debut album, In Our Own Time (2007), was widely praised. Phil’s trio was also a first call for visiting musicians, and to his delight, he also found himself travelling back to London regularly, particularly to play with acclaimed jazz vocalist Ian Shaw. In 2016, Phil was awarded the Music Network-sponsored artist-in-residence position at Triskel Arts Centre in Cork, beginning an association with Triskel’s director Tony Sheehan which blossomed into a lasting friendship.

“Phil had reached maturity as a player,” says Sheehan, “and he had a unique talent for creating those very beautiful moments that stay with you long after the gig is over. He had delicacy in his style and a true virtuosity and as a band leader, he had a love of working with other musicians, so he was a natural choice.”

Usually, when people suffer life-altering brain injuries, there is close family – partners, siblings, children – to support them and make crucial decisions about treatment, but with Phil, there was a vacuum. With both his parents dead, and with his half-sister Alison stuck in the UK by the pandemic, Phil was effectively alone in the world. Heffernan, whom Phil had designated as his next of kin, realised that Phil needed family, and to her credit, didn’t hesitate to step in and advocate for her friend.

“When I heard that he had had a stroke,” says Heffernan, “I was devastated. I really didn’t want to believe what I was hearing. To think that Phil might never play again was heartbreaking. The first time I saw him in the Mater, so bewildered and upset, I was determined to support him all the way.”

As the news filtered through to the wider jazz community, Phil’s friends and fans began asking how they could help, so with Heffernan and Brady, and with expert advice from music business accountant Gaby Smyth and neurologist Prof Colin Doherty of Trinity College and St James’s Hospital, we set up the Phil Ware Trust. Like most jazz musicians, Phil didn’t have much in the way of savings or assets, and Prof Doherty advised that while his immediate care would be covered by the health system, he would eventually need substantial resources to support his continuing rehabilitation and to help him into the future.

Phil's progress in the year and a half since his injury has been remarkable

It has been one of the most positive and affirming aspects of Phil’s journey since his injury that his care has been consistently excellent and consistently free. From emergency admission to the Mater hospital, to life-saving surgery at Beaumont Hospital, to expert rehabilitation at the Royal Hospital Donnybrook, and now continuing rehab at Orwell Healthcare in Rathgar, no one ever asked who was paying before giving Phil the very best standard of care.

“Phil’s journey is a very good example of a comprehensive programme of acute and rehabilitation care that rivals what he would have received anywhere in the world; and unlike some other countries that provide this level of service, he did not have to pay a penny for it. The term ‘third-world health system’ is often thrown at Ireland’s health system,” says Prof Doherty, “but that is an insult to the fabulous, dedicated and compassionate staff in Irish hospitals and community institutions”.

Phil’s progress in the year and a half since his injury has been remarkable – now he can walk with a stick, his speech continues to improve, and his sense of humour, and his sense of himself, has become stronger with every passing month – but it is far from certain that he will ever perform again, and while we all hope that he will one day be able to live independently, that will require the sort of resources that few jazz musicians have access to. But the response to the fund is a measure of the esteem in which Phil is held by Ireland’s jazz community.

Handsome contributions have come from Phil’s friends, including film director Neil Jordan, and from support organisations such as the Improvised Music Company and Jazz Ireland, as well as countless smaller donations from his fellow musicians, many of whom could barely afford the rent over the past year. In July, a group of his former students, led by vocalist Aleka Potinga, staged an online benefit, headlined by singer Mary Coughlan, and just last month, the staff and students on DCU’s jazz programme organised a soccer tournament to raise money for the fund.

When we told Phil what we were planning, his reaction was disbelief

“The outpouring of love and support for Phil has been truly inspiring,” says Heffernan. “He knows all this and is really moved by it, as am I. It’s great to know that we are not alone on this journey.”

Tony Sheehan was one of the first to contact the trust looking to help, and with Triskel Christchurch – one of the country’s premier venues for jazz and creative music – at his disposal, Sheehan proposed an all-star benefit concert. It has been a difficult year and a half for live music and we have waited patiently to be allowed to stage a live concert, but on December 11th, some of Phil’s closest musical friends will finally perform what looks set to be the jazz event of the year. Led by Heffernan, and the members of Phil’s own trio, the night will feature renowned saxophonist Richie Buckley, his cousin guitarist Hugh Buckley, and two of Cork’s own brightest jazz stars, trombonist Paul Dunlea and pianist Cormac McCarthy.

When we told Phil what we were planning, his reaction was disbelief. He still finds it hard to believe that anyone cares, but his friends keep proving him wrong. And as much as the excellent care Phil has received from his medical and rehabilitation teams, it is the knowledge that his musical family is still with him – willing him on, visiting him, video-calling him, bringing him food and cigarettes – that has been the spur to him to keep working on his rehab, to keep getting better and, we hope, one day to lay his magical hands on a piano once more.

To purchase tickets for A Night For Phil, see triskelartscentre.ie

To make a donation to the Fund for Phil, go to thefundforphil.com