Various venues, Bray, Co Wicklow Fri-Sun brayjazz.com. Also CITY OF DERRY JAZZ FESTIVALVarious venues, Derry, Co Derry Until Mon cityofderryjazzfestival.com
In these times of financial Armageddon, it’s a small miracle that the Bray Jazz Festival has survived, if on a smaller scale than previous years. The emphasis on quality headliners remains, notably with the appearance of the innovative Norwegian duo of saxophonist Trygve Seim and accordionist Frode Haltli (pictured).
The main festival venue, The Mermaid, will open with the brilliant Austrian guitarist Wolfgang Muthspiel’s trio and, over the weekend, will also feature guitarist John Etheridge’s Sweet Chorus, recalling the music of Django Reinhardt, pianist Francesco Turrisi’s Tarab, while the jazz-rock fusion of Wayne Krantz’s trio will share the bill with Michael Buckley’s Dublin Standard Time.
Buckley and Turrisi are part of a strong Irish contingent that includes Ariel Hernandez, Justin Carroll, Seán Óg, Alex Mathias and the Newpark Afro-Cuban Orchestra.
Also on this weekend is the City of Derry Jazz and Big Band festival, where the headliners include ex-Rolling Stone Bill Wyman with singer Georgie Fame, the great Scottish saxophonist Tommy Smith, and Slovakian guitar prodigy Andreas Varady.
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Dún Laoghaire – Life in the Day Today, Dublin
