Jazz Festival to bring a taste of the ‘Big Easy’ to the streets of Leeside
MORE THAN 1,000 MUSICIANS SET DESCEND ON CORK FOR EUROPE’S PREMIER JAZZ FESTIVAL
A FLAVOUR of ‘ The Big Easy’ will come to the streets of Cork City over the upcoming bank-holiday weekend when New Orleans meets Leeside with the spectacular Dia De Los Muertos (Parade of the Walking Dead).
The macabre, musical street procession through the city will kick off a mouth-watering programme of music and events for Europe’s premier jazz festival.
Now in its 41st year the Guinness Cork Jazz Festival has grown from humble beginnings as a gathering of local musicians to become a globally recognised event, attracting more than 50,000 people to Cork each year to see world class artists perform live and revel in the unique festival atmosphere.
Over the past four-decades the festival has hosted some of the most influential jazz artists ever to grace the global stage including Ronnie Scott, Ella Fitzgerald, Dizzy Gillespie, Dave Brubeck, Wynton Marsalis, Van Morrison, Buddy Rich, BB King, Gregory Porter, Marcus Miller and Chick Corea to name just a few.
The 41st edition of the festival will see more of the same, with more than 1,000 musicians from 20 countries set to grace the stages of some 70 venues under the umbrella of the festival and its fringe events – generating an estimated €35 million for the local economy.
This years stellar line-up will feature the first ever Irish performance by Grammy award winning Maria Schneider and her Orchestra, the legendary Blind Boys of Alabama, celebrated US jazz singer and composer Nnenna Freelon, UK soul diva Laura Mvula and the infectious beats of the Hypnotic Brass Ensemble.
Other highlights will include gigs by Stanley Clarke, Billy Child’s Ensemble, Billy Cobham, Fred Hersch, T.S. Monk, Donny McCaslin, Belfast’s jazz evangelist Linley Hamilton, Frank Vignola’s Hot Jazz Trio and Pablo Ziegler Trio to namecheck just a few.
There will also be plenty of free entertainment laid on at venues across Cork as well as on the streets of the city including Thursday evening’s Dia De Los Muerto open air gigs, swing dance classes, flash mobs, a Secret Jazz Trail and the ‘Jazz Bites’ food festival.
This year’s festival will also celebrate the golden era of the social dance-halls of a century ago with ‘ The Swing Jive’ at Cork City Hall, where two of Europe’s biggest jazz dance bands, Meschya Lake and The Dizzy Birds and Gentlemen & Gangsters, will be joined by international dancers and members of the Irish Swing Community for an unforgettable night which promises to be one of the biggest dance events ever seen in Cork city.
This year’s festival has undergone something of a renaissance under its new director Sinéad Dunphy, who has promised “an augmented and better than ever festival experience.”
“Our aim is to continue growing the festival so that it emulates major international jazz events such as those in Montreal and New Orleans. Our festival has the potential to stand shoulder to shoulder with the best in the world and my foremost intention is to bring Cork and its jazz offering to the main stage of the world where we belong,” said Sinead.
“Jazz music is constantly evolving, so its fitting that the festival evolves as well so we are bringing it through an exciting new phase of rejuvenation and expansion. Attendees can expect a fresh, authentic and downright jazzy feel this year, as we get back to the roots of the festival and reflect what’s going on right now in the Jazz world.”
To see the full festival and fringe programme and for ticket information visit www.guinnessjazzfestival.com.