THERE'S a somewhat schizophrenic feel to this year's Guinness Jazz Festival, which opens in Cork next Friday and runs until the following Monday. On the one hand, there's a plethora of elder statesmen, some of whom are making their visits to Ireland, along with a batch of young lions whose jazz credentials, like those of the older generation, are impeccable. And in between this broad generation "gap" are people like the headliners, pianist Michel Petrucciani and saxophonist Joe Lovano, whose gifts are such as to make most aficionados salivate.
On the other hand .... well, Van Morrison, whose jazz credentials are somewhat more tenuous, returns for two more concerts, having predictably wowed the punters as distinct from the jazz fans last year. No doubt he'll do the same this time, as will King Pleasure and the Biscuit Boys.
But this trend epitomised also by the appearance of so called acid jazz and soul, including the G Club mix ("an eclectic melange of contemporary sounds and music styles featuring `live' bands and DJs" says Guinness) represents a deliberate targeting of a younger, essentially non jazz audience. It makes marketing, rather than artistic, sense the difference between sponsorship and altruism, a "fleadh ol", rather than a fleadh ceoil.
That said, there is a lot for jazz fans to enjoy. Besides Petrucciani who, like Morrison, will be at the Opera House, the same venue also hosts Clark Terry/Bobby Watson and James Moody/Louis Stewart both pairings backed by the BBC Big Band on various nights. Also at the Opera House is "Whisper Not", a sextet which includes two great bop veterans, Benny Golson and Curtis Fuller, one of the developers of vocalise, Jon Hendricks, and the fine young pianist, Geoff Keezer. They share the bill with the Irish Jazz Orchestra, so impressively assembled and led by Canadian Hugh Fraser. Singers Claire Martin and Honor Heffernan get an Opera House spot, too, as does traditional jazz with Campbell Burnap's Festival Allstars.
The real jazz heart of the festival will, as usual, beat strongest at the Metropole Festival Club. Featured there will be Lovano, one of the finest living tenors, veteran trumpeters Harry "Sweets" Edison (with saxophonist Red Holloway back again) and Terry (perhaps more interestingly placed than at the Opera House, in a quartet with the marvellous pianist, Don Friedman), and other blasts from the past, like guitarist Jimmy Gourley and trad clarinettist Monty Sunshine.
Several Festival Club items also look especially interesting. New York based Dublin pianist Fintan O'Neill returns with a Blakey style hard bop band which includes an exceptional trumpeter, Don Sickler, saxophonist Steve Wilson and the highly regarded bassist, Dennis Irwin (no, not the one who plays for Manchester United and Ireland). Irish guitarist Dave O'Rourke is also back from New York with an intriguing group, including organist Seleno Clarke, trumpeter Gerald Brazel and altoist David Lee Jones and sparks could fly when "Tenor Madness" leads off with an all saxophone front line featuring Spike Robinson, the under rated Bobby Wellins and Alan Barnes.
It's also good to see pianist Brad Mehldau back he's featured at the Metropole with Louis Stewart and Moody, along with Stephen Keogh. The Festival Club also offers a chance to hear another emerging jazz pianist, Lynne Ariale, as well as first visits from Canada of young tenor Grant Stewart and trombonist Ian McDougall. Both their spots have Irish connections Stewart plays with Michael Buckley, Myles Drennan, Alan Shields and Dave Mason, while McDougall has Dublin born guitarist Oliver Gannon in his quartet.
Frank Tate's Guinness Allstars, a mainstream quintet with Harry Allen, Howard Alden, Dave McKenna, Butch Miles and the leader on bass, are in the Metropole, too they also play next Thursday night at the National Concert Hall in Dublin, where they will have an Irish connection, with Louis Stewart and Richie Buckley guesting. But, as usual at the Metropole, the Irish connection remains strong this year, including as it does the Guilfoyle Nielsen Trio, Richie Buckley, Jim Doherty, Hugh Buckley, Dave Fleming, Len McCarthy, John Wadham, Mark O'Leary, Stephen O'Keeffe, and the Cluskey Hopkins Guinness Jazz Show, together with another opportunity to hear the Irish Jazz Orchestra.
But all of that is only a taste, albeit of the core. Elsewhere, at venues ranging from the Triskel, to Jury's, to the Silver Springs, to the Jazz & Blues Trail, can be found everything from the serious to the trivial, fleadh ceoil to fleadh oil. Schizophrenia rules. OK?