Music

The best jazz concerts to catch this week

Derry guitarist Tommy Halferty celebrates the music of US guitarist John Abercrombie on his Irish tour

Derry guitarist Tommy Halferty embarks on a short Irish tour this week.

Cormac Larkin's face
Cormac Larkin
Sat Jul 6 2019 - 05:00

Saturday, July 6th

Sound Collector 01

Project Arts Centre, Dublin, soundcollector.org

Sound Collector, programmed by Keith Lindsay of hip Dublin indy label Diatribe, is a new series “exploring the spaces between music, installation, improvisation, sound and noise”. The first edition presents an admirably eclectic line-up, including voice and electronics from Berri vocalist Jenna Harris; recent works for flute and electronics from composer Lina Andonovska; solo percussion using found objects from sound artist Fergus Kelly; and a new trio featuring sonic adventurists Nicholas Brown, David Lacey and Diatribe founder Nick Roth; with visuals throughout from artist Stephen Dunne. The next edition in the series is scheduled for September.

Tuesday, July 9th

Kobe Trio & Ciaran Wilde

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Osta Café, Sligo, cairdefestival.com

Sligo-based Kobe piano trio – pianist Mark Murphy, bassist Jaimie Carswell and drummer Con Schmaucks – play a free early evening gig as part of the Cairde Sligo Arts Festival with special guest, the much-loved Dublin-born saxophonist Ciaran Wilde. The festival, which runs till next Saturday, also features a performance from Berlin-based singer-songwriter Nina Hynes with a group that includes top Irish jazz drummer Sean Carpio (Friday 12th), and two performances from adventurous post-folk musician Inni K (Wednesday 10th and Thursday 11th).

Tommy Halferty Organ Trio

Crane Lane, Cork (also Thursday 11th Black Gate, Galway; Thursday 18th Sofa Sessions at Billy Byrnes, Kilkenny; Friday 19th Hot Spot, Greystones) kevinbrady.ieUS guitarist John Abercrombie, who died in 2017 at the age of 72, may not have had the profile of some of his guitar-playing contemporaries, but his influence on his fellow musicians was profound, from the lyricism and understatement of his playing to the many beautiful tunes of his that have passed into the standard repertoire. Tommy Halferty has been a long-standing admirer and the Derry guitarist embarks on a short Irish tour this week celebrating Abercrombie's music with a talented trio that features rising Belfast Hammond organist Scott Flanigan and leading Dublin drummer and band-leader Kevin Brady.

Wednesday, July 10th

James Williams Band

Sugar Club, Dublin, thesugarclub.com

Fans of traditional jazz don’t have much to get excited about these days on the live scene, but here’s a chance to hear a pure New Orleans-born horn in the flesh. A native of the Tremé district, trumpeter and vocalist James Williams is a member of the Tremé Brass Band and an unabashed follower of the great Louis Armstrong, and his band, the New Orleans Swamp Donkeys, are a fixture at clubs around their native city. Williams’ tribute to the great Satchmo is about as close as you’ll get to authentic New Orleans ‘trad’ jazz in the 21st century.

Thursday, July 11th

Wood Quay Sessions: Charlie Moon Quartet/RBG Trio

Wood Quay Amphitheatre, Dublin, improvisedmusic.ie

Weather permitting, the amphitheatre at Wood Quay, in front of the Civic Offices, is the perfect setting for a curated summer concert series that covers the gamut from contemporary classical to trad to pop and rock, every Thursday in July at 1pm. This week, the Improvised Music Company take on the curation role, presenting two leading Irish jazz ensembles: guitarist and singer Charlie Moon heads an old-school quartet featuring pianist Darragh Hennessy, bassist Kevin Higgins and drummer Dylan Lynch, hot on the heels of the release of their new album, The Charlie Moon Organisation; and the RBG Trio unites talented US-born Belfast-based saxophonist Meilana Gillard with the ace Dublin rhythm team bassist Dave Redmond and drummer Kevin Brady.

Diarmuid Lally/Lucas Dann

Arthurs, Dublin, arthurspub.ie

Irish upright and electric bassist Diarmuid Lally has spent much of the last decade studying abroad, including stints at the prestigious Berklee College of Music in Boston and the Conservatorium in Amsterdam. In 2017, he was part of a group that won first prize at the Bucharest Jazz Competition. Lally is back on home soil this week with young Toronto pianist Lucas Dann – a devotee of Monk and Mehldau, who has studied with New York pianist Fred Hersch – for a free duo concert at Arthurs.

Saturday, July 13th

Rodrigo Almonte Trio

Arthurs, Dublin, arthurspub.ie

Peruvian guitarist Rodrigo Almonte divides his time between Dublin and Groningen in the Netherlands where he is studying for a Masters in Jazz Performance. He’s back in Dublin this week to play a free concert with drummer Conor Guilfoyle and bassist Diarmuid Lally (see also Thursday 11th).