A four-day carnival of jazz ended last night with the final performances of another successful Cork Guinness Jazz Festival.
Clarinets and saxophones were among the hefty items of luggage accompanying musicians who bid a fond farewell for another year.
More than 40,000 jazz lovers arrived for the event, which is worth over €20 million to the Cork economy.
Hotels and guesthouses in the city and suburbs reported a huge number of bookings this year, with Blarney and Kinsale enjoying the spin-off from the festival.
The hub of jazz activity continued to be at the five-stage Gresham Metropole Hotel, where the festival originated as a substitute for a cancelled bridge weekend in 1978. A total of 120 bands and 1,000 musicians from 26 countries took to 14 stages across the city.
US legends Charles Lloyd, Jimmy Cobb and Carla Bley, as well as Europe's No 1 jazz performer Jan Garbarek entertained, with top Irish musicians also playing their part in the 26th festival.