PETER MOC GROUP FEAT GRACE KELLY
Arthurs, Dublin Sunday November 25th 5pm €15/€10 arthurspub.ie
Czech-born guitarist Peter Moc has been staging his tribute to Emily Remler annually since 2015, initially with fusion legend Larry Coryell in attendance. Since Coryell's passing in 2017, Moc has been adding a special guest to his regular band, and this year it's Boston alto saxophonist Grace Kelly. An energetic, extrovert performer with a sound and a taste for drama reminiscent of Kenny Garrett, the 26-year-old won the "rising star alto saxophone" award in Downbeat last year and has played with Wynton Marsalis and Lee Konitz. Moc's group also features Klara Janu on violin, Andrew Csibi on bass and Kevin Brady on drums.
HENNESSY KOHLMAN LYNCH
Workman's Club, Dublin Sunday November 25th 8pm €10 facebook.com/dublinjazzcoop
The organ-guitar-drums trio is one of the most enduring combinations in jazz – from the pioneering groups of Jimmy Smith and Grant Green to the powerful trios of Larry Young and John McLaughlin – but it takes a special kind of organist to cover the dual role of bassist and keyboardist. Rising Dublin keyboardist Darragh Hennessy is one of the few, and he is joined here by Miles Graham band guitarist Scott Kohlmann and Zaska drummer Dylan Lynch in the latest instalment of the excellent Dublin Jazz Co-Op series.
IDRIS ACKAMOOR & THE PYRAMIDS
Sugar Club, Dublin Sunday November 25th 8pm €17.50 thesugarclub.com
US west coast saxophonist Idris Ackamoor studied with legendary free pianist Cecil Taylor in the 1970s and was part of a generation of jazz musicians that drew inspiration from both ends of the jazz spectrum, combining the feral anarchy of Taylor and Sun Ra with the taut grooves of Sly Stone and Fela Kuti. Five decades later, Ackamoor is still going strong and has just released a new recording, An Angel Fell, on Strut Records. Hips will shake, heads will nod, beards will be appreciatively stroked.
GUILFOYLE NIELSEN TRIO
Billy Byrne's, Kilkenny Wednesday November 28th 9pm Adm free facebook.com/sofasessionskilkenny
The trio of guitarist Mike Nielsen, bassist Ronan Guilfoyle and drummer Conor Guilfoyle blazed a trail for a whole new approach to the jazz repertoire back in the 1990s, recording an album of “f*cked-up” standards in a variety of complex time signatures that has sold unexpectedly and steadily ever since. The three members have all moved on to bigger things, particularly in the field of education, but here’s a rare chance to hear one of the most influential Irish jazz groups of the past three decades recapture the intrepid spirit that has won them admirers amongst other jazz musicians right around the world.
GEMMA SUGRUE & JULIEN COLAROSSI QUARTET
Coughlans, Cork Thursday November 29th 9pm €15 coughlans.ie
Gemma Sugrue didn't mess about when it came to selecting musicians for her debut album. The Cork vocalist started sitting in with guitarist Julien Colarossi's group at Dublin's International Bar in Dublin last year and from those seeds has sprung a studio album, In My Nature, with Colarossi's Metheny-esque playing accompanied by an A-team rhythm section of pianist Johnny Taylor, bassist Barry Donohue and drummer Dominic Mullen.
Ó LOCLAINN DRENNAN CARPIO
Arthurs, Dublin Thursday November 29th 9.30pm €10 arthurspub.ie
Opportunities to hear Myles Drennan play the piano are not as plentiful as they should be, so the chance to hear the extravagantly talented pianist playing standards in the company of bassist Neil Ó Loclainn and drummer Sean Carpio – Louis Stewart’s last rhythm section – really should not be missed.
