Saturday, July 21
Hennessy/Dunlop/Collins Trio
Arthurs, Dublin, 9pm, No CC, arthurspub.ie
Rising keyboardist Darragh Hennessy is starting to get noticed on the Dublin scene – mostly for his organ playing with guitarists Jimmy Smyth, Charlie Moon and others – but for this free gig he'll be playing the Petrof grand piano at Arthurs. A graduate of Newpark's jazz programme, Hennessy leads a trio with bassist Jacob Dunlop and drummer Faolán Collins, playing music by Ellington, Parker, Monk, and Mingus, of whom you may have heard.
Sunday, July 22
Estrada Do Sol
Workman's Club, Dublin, 8pm, €10, facebook.com/dublinjazzcoop
The latest in the excellent series programmed by members of the new Dublin Jazz Co-op, surveying the current Dublin scene, sees vocalist Emilie Conway lead a powerful group through a repertoire of Brazilian classics from the pens of giants like Jobim, Powell and Nascimento. Drummer Andre Antunes is the authentic Brazilian ingredient in a talented group that also includes pianist Johnny Taylor, guitarist Paddy Groenland and bassist Dave Mooney. Music for the sunburnt.
Tuesday, July 24
Sligo Jazz Project
Hawkswell Theatre and other venues, continues until Sunday 29, sligojazz.ie
Sligo Jazz Project, founded and still organised by local bassist and former Nervous Animal Eddie Lee, is much more than a jazz festival. Now in its 14th year, this annual congregation of jazz musicians in the welcoming, easy going atmosphere of Sligo town has won international praise, not just for the quality of the musicians it attracts, but for the warmth and spirit of friendship that it engenders in them all. Built around one of Europe's biggest and most inclusive jazz summer schools, the annual jazz love-in west of the Shannon draws students and faculty from around the world, and magically turns them into one big happy family. This year's faculty includes vocalists Liane Carroll and Emilia Martensson, trumpeter Linley Hamilton, saxophonists Paul Booth, Meilana Gillard and Matthew Halpin, drummers Paul Clarvis and Steve Davis, guitarists Mike Walker and Mike Nielsen, pianist Scott Flanigan, and bassist John Goldsby. Highlights of the concert programme at the Hawkswell include a bass-lover's double bill featuring trans-Atlantic Celtic-jazz fusion stars the Olllam, with Vulfpeck bassist Joe Dart, and Two Bass Hit featuring four-string heavyweights Federico Malaman and Henrik Linder (Wednesday); the SJP Big Band playing music from Donald Fagen's Nightfly album, arranged by UK pianist Malcolm Edmonstone (Thursday); and a performance of composer-in-residence Brian Byrne's James Joyce-inspired Goldenhair (Friday). Also worth checking out on the concert trail around the town, most of it free of charge, are UK saxophonist Julien Siegel's Free Trane (Friday & Saturday), a duo featuring vocalist Sue Rynhart and saxopohnonist Cathal Roche (Saturday) and bassist Barry Donohue's Weather Report tribute, Plaza Real (Saturday). As usual, the good vibes culminate in an all-star revue by the faculty on Saturday night and the SJP Big Bash featuring all the students on Sunday afternoon. Check out the website for full details.
Wednesday, July 25
Wax On #9 Charlie Parker
Workman's Club, Dublin, 7pm, €12, improvisedmusic.ie
The monthly listening club upstairs at the Workman's – curated by this correspondent – has covered many of the icons of jazz, but this month we turn to the musician who, for many, is the quintessential founding voice of modern jazz Charlie Parker. Though Parker's career lasted barely fifteen years - he was dead by the age of 34 – his playing still dazzles and delights and there is hardly a saxophonist alive whose playing hasn't been touched by the be-bop innovations of the musician known to friends and fans as Bird.
