Fitting send off for jazzman Billy Curtin

AN estimated 2,000 mourners lined the streets of Tralee on Saturday to pay tribute to legendary big band jazz musician Billy Curtin who passed away after an illness.

The town centre St John’s Church was packed to overflowing for the funeral Mass during which warm tributes were paid to the musician who will be remembered as one of the greatest saxophone and clarinet players of his generation. Mr Curtin, who was in his late 60s, was a big star in the 1960s showband era when he played with some of the country’s top bands, including the Swingtime Aces and the Cork-based Arrivals.

The Tralee man, a brother of Las Vegas-based showband legend DJ Curtin, and a close friend of the late singer/songwriter Christie Hennessy, later formed his own band and the big brass sound he helped to create was in huge demand throughout the south-west.

He played with the Guinness Jazz Band and was in big demand at the annual Rose of Tralee festival, while in more recent years he regularly performed with the Kerry School of Music and Tralee Musical Society.

Mr Curtin, who died last Thursday, is survived by his wife Eleanor, daughters Judy and Shirley, brothers DJ, Alfie and John, sister Kathleen and extended family.