Friday 25th
OUT WHERE THE TRAINS DON'T RUN Woven Skull – Jigsaw, Belvedere Court, Dublin, 8pm, E8 (byob) facebook.com/WovenSkull – Mysterious, underground, experimental (and alarmingly prolific) three-piece Woven Skull celebrate the release of their new 10" recording, They were pebbles but I call them stones, with a night of the sort of outlier music that sorts the aficionados from the neophytes. As well as instrumentation that occasionally approaches the conventional, the highly-regarded Leitrim-born trio of mandolist Natalia Beylis, drummer Willie Stewart and guitarist Aonghus McEvoy deploy kitchen utensils, seashells and recordings of cats purring in their music, among much else. A packed programme also includes performances from Cholera House, Cian Nugent and Aoife Nessa Frances, "celestial viola explorations" from Ailbhe Nic Oireachtaigh and DJs till late. The faint-hearted should urgently consider their alternatives.
FLUTE SALAD Brian Dunning & Seán Whelan – Benito's, Dalkey, 9.30 pm, €10 (also Saturday), benitos.ie – Veteran flautist Brian Dunning is one of the pioneers of Irish jazz, a fearless explorer whose trans-Atlantic career has ranged from duets with Louis Stewart to trad-jazz fusion with Puck Fair to playing on the Gangs of New York soundtrack. This weekend, he's taking up residence in Dalkey for the town's Lobster Festival, playing with his longtime collaborator, versatile guitarist and mandolinist Seán Whelan. Tomorrow night, much-loved saxophonist Richie Buckley is added to the mix and Dunning and Whelan also play duo at 6pm on Saturday evening in the Grapevine.
Monday 28th
IT DON'T MEAN A THING Hot House Big Band – Harry's on the Green, Dublin, 8.45pm, €5, hothousebigband.com – Opportunities to hear a swinging big band live are pretty thin on the ground in the 21st century, but there is still little to compare to the sonic blast of a horn section in full voice. Saxophonist Mark Wilde's Hot House Big Band held down a popular Monday night residency on Dame Street for years, and when it ended, teeth were widely gnashed. Now this feel-good 17-piece ensemble (always augmented by some fine vocalists) are back with a new residency just off Stephen's Green. You can't "exactly take the A-train", but you might try the Luas.
Thursday 31st
ALL ABOUT THE BASSIST Beneath the Underdog – Arthurs, Dublin, 8.30pm, €10, arthurspub.ie – Named for Charles Mingus's outrageous stream of consciousness autobiography, Beneath the Underdog is Dublin bassist John Quearney's tribute to the great, irascible genius of the double bass. Joining Quearney for a re-examination of some of the most iconic music of jazz's classic period is a top-notch quintet featuring saxophonist Richie Buckley, guitarist Hugh Buckley, pianist Cian Boyland and drummer Cote Calmet. As Mingus would say, you'd "better git it in your soul".
