Saturday 6th
Mile(s)tones
The Ark, Dublin, 11.30am & 2pm, €12.50/9.50, ark.ie
Cultural discrimination against children seems to be one of the last acceptable apartheids in our society. Complex creative music always seems to happen in places and at times that exclude the “under age”, abandoning them and their musical education to commerce and bland, sterile “young people’s music”. So enlightened parents will be thankful for the Ark and the Europe-wide Big Bang festival, programmed with the participation of children themselves. Mile(s)tones is an imaginative introduction to the life and music of the great Miles Davis geared for a younger audience by the Belgian trio of bassist and trumpeter Bert Bernaer, pianist Thijs Troch and drummer Simon Segers. The festival, which runs until Sunday, also features interactive workshops with opportunities for children of all ages to get their hands on musical instruments, and a “big free family gig” from Stomptown Brass on Sunday afternoon.
Dirty Jazz Club
Arthurs, Dublin, 9pm, €10, arthurspub.ie
Long-running jazz groups can reach levels of telepathic interplay and mutual understanding that short-term projects and “pick-up” groups never will, however good the individual players. The Dirty Jazz Club have been playing regularly since the early noughties and these days, their monthly outings at Arthurs are drawing ever bigger audiences to hear drummer Conor Murray and his confreres – bassist Derek Whyte, trombonist Colm O’ Hara, trumpeter Bill Blackmore, pianist Darragh O’ Kelly and saxophonist Cathal Roche – exploring the jazz standard repertoire.
Sunday 7th
Rainfear & Shane Latimer
Workman's Club, Dublin, 7.30pm, €10, facebook.com/dublinjazzcoop
The Dublin Jazz Co-Op series continues to challenge the mainstream with its curated programme of missives from the frontiers of music. First up this week is a solo performance from sonic explorer and Bottlenote founder Shane Latimer, part of that generation of jazz guitarists who emerged in the noughties challenging the conventional wisdom about their instrument, in particular blurring the distinction between the six string “lead” and four string “bass” guitar. Also on the bill is Dublin experimental duo Rainfear, a no-holds barred improvising partnership with percussionist David Lacey and keyboardist David Donohue.
Thursday 11th
Emilie Conway Brazilian Jazz
Arthurs, Dublin, 8pm, €10, arthurspub.ie
Unlike many of her contemporaries, Dublin vocalist Emilie Conway does not just recant the American songbook in a style borrowed from the mid-20th century. In each of Conway’s projects – from her exploration of the lesser known music of composer Alec Wilder to her celebration of the writings of New Yorker columnist Maeve Brennan – there is a creative focus and a intent to uncover something new. Conway’s Brazilian quintet, with regular collaborator Johnny Taylor on piano, guitarist Paddy Groenland, bassist Dave Mooney and Brazilian percussionist Andre Antunes, plunges into Brazil’s teeming music jungle, with much-loved tunes by Tom Jobim, Baden Powell, Milton Nascimento and Joyce.
