Music

Jason Rebello hooks up with Michael Buckley: this weeks Jazz highlights

Plus: Conor Guilfoyle Octet; Daniel Rorke; New Irish Jazz Orchestra; Orlando Molina

Starry UK pianist Jason Rebello – whose credits include extended stints with Sting and Jeff Beck – arrives in Ireland this week for three dates with saxophonist Michael Buckley, starting Thursday 26th, at Bruxelles in Dublin

Cormac Larkin's face
Cormac Larkin
Sat Apr 21 2018 - 05:00

Conor Guilfoyle Octet
Arthurs, Dublin Saturday April 21st 9pm €12 arthurspub.ie

Drummer Conor Guilfoyle has always borne more than a passing resemblance to the great Art Blakey, not just in his thunderous sense of swing (Blakey famously played Guilfoyle’s kit when he visited Ireland in the late 1980s), but also as a leader of influential bands and a nurturer of new jazz talent. Over the past three decades, Guilfoyle’s increasingly sophisticated Afro-Cuban bands have been proving grounds for generations of Irish jazz musicians. Now the Dún Laoghaire-born percussionist turns his attention to the heart of the US jazz tradition with a youthful new octet – Bill Blackmore (trumpet), Paul Frost (trombone), Yuzuha O’Halloran (alto), Peter Dobai (tenor), Kelan Walsh (baritone), Daragh Hennessy (piano) and Barry Rycraft (bass) – that explores the two contrasting sides of classic ’50s jazz: west coast “cool” and east coast “hard-bop”.

Rorke/Carpio/Redmond
Workman's Club, Dublin Sunday April 22nd 8pm €10 facebook.com/dublinjazzcoop

Since arriving in Ireland last year, Australian saxophonist Daniel Rorke has rapidly established himself as a dynamic force on the Dublin scene, not only as a player but as an instigator of new and challenging music. Following his successful residency at the Dwarf Jar Cafe on Wellington Quay, the genial Australian is now the driving force behind a new musicians’ collective, The Dublin Jazz Co-op. The first run of seven concerts presented by the co-op in the Vintage Room at the Workman’s Club between now and the summer is curated by Rorke himself and will present some of the most forward-thinking groups on the Irish scene, including ReDiviDeR (April 29th), the Long Way Around (May 13th) and OKO (June 24th). The inaugural concert in the series sees the saxophonist square up to the inventive, infinitely subtle drumming of Sean Carpio and the sure-footed gait of bassist Dave Redmond. Check the Facebook page for the full season of concerts.

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New Irish Jazz Orchestra
Curtis Auditorium, CIT Cork School of Music Sunday April 22nd 8pm €22/€15 pauldunleamusic.com

Cork trombonist and band leader Paul Dunlea once again performs that most Herculean of tasks. No, not playing the trombone (although there is a reason why that challenging instrument is not as common in jazz as it once was) but by assembling, rehearsing and presenting in concert a 19-piece big band. The phone bill alone would defy the gods. With music ranging from classic big band charts to new compositions from Irish composers, this is a rare opportunity on these shores to experience a high-quality large jazz ensemble in the flesh. Guest soloist for the night is saxophonist Michael Buckley (see below), and the band also includes trumpeter Linley Hamilton, saxophonists Ben Castle and Brendan Doyle, and guitarist Julien Colarossi.

Michael Buckley & Jason Rebello
Bruxelles, Dublin Thursday April 26th, Friday April 27th & Sunday April 29th 9pm €15 facebook.com/buckleysax

Michael Buckley's Thursday night residency in the Zodiac Bar at Bruxelles has already become the go-to gig for discerning jazz listeners in the capital, but Ireland's leading saxophonist takes it up another few notches this week with a special guest – UK star pianist Jason Rebello. The London-born keyboardist released a string of fine jazz albums in the 1990s, but then extended stints as a sideman with Sting and Jeff Beck – not to mention appearances with Chaka Khan, Peter Gabriel and others – raised his profile to another level. Now returned to the jazz fold, Rebello flies in for three unmissable dates with his old friend, including two quartet gigs featuring the A-team rhythm section of bassist Dave Redmond and drummer Kevin Brady (Thursday and Friday) and a reunion of Buckley's roof-raising nine-piece House of Horns band (Sunday). Rebello will also give a masterclass on Saturday at 3pm at X-Music in Ballymount. Tickets for all events are available on eventbrite.ie.

Orlando Molina Quintet
Arthurs, Dublin Thursday April 26th 9pm €10 arthurspub.ie

Chilean-Venezuelan guitarist Orlando Molina leads a multinational five-piece loaded with talent – including ebullient Cape Town saxophonist Chris Engel, virtuoso Venezuelan pianist Leopoldo Osio, with heavyweight Dubliners Cormac O’Brien and Matthew Jacobson on bass and drums – mixing post-bop jazz and Latin-American rhythms.