The Galway Jazz Festival has been running for 12 years now and in 2016, the organisers Ciaran Ryan and Matthew Berrill talked to the artists about their chosen field of jazz and improvised music.
What they heard from visiting musicians was a lack of support and opportunity for performances outside Dublin and specifically, the lack of decent pianos in venues.
They contacted Music Network (whose main aim is to offer that support) and along with Jeffers pianos, they came up with the Piano Scheme.
Applications to apply are open now til January 19th to musicians and groups working in jazz/improvised music.

Niall Byrne is the founder of the most-influential Irish music site Nialler9, where he has been writing about music since 2005 . He is the co-host of the Nialler9 Podcast and has written for the Irish Times, Irish Independent, Cara Magazine, Sunday Times, Totally Dublin, Red Bull and more. Niall is a DJ, founder of Lumo Club, club promoter, event curator and producer of gigs, listening parties & events in Dublin.