Guinness Cork Jazz Festival
Various venues, Cork city, Co Cork
This is Ireland’s biggest and longest established jazz event and has taken place annually since 1978. Each year the festival attracts hundreds of musicians and thousands of music fans to the city for a feast of jazz of all kinds.
It’s a lively and sociable event, with much local involvement in its organisation and in addition to the official programme there is always a great fringe with lots of events – jazz and otherwise – taking place at pubs and other locations across the city.
Among the headline acts this year is singer-songwriter and record producer Damon Albarn who will lead a collaborative show with 25 other artists including the Red Hot Chilli Peppers’ Flea, and afro beat drummer Tony Allen under the name of ‘An Honest Jon’s Chop Up’.
Other confirmed acts include the Kyle Eastwood (yes, son of Clint) Quintet, the Jean-Luc Ponty Quartet, the Bobby Watson All-Stars, DJ Grandmaster Flash, Jan Garbarek and the Hilliard Ensemble, the Linley Hamilton Quartet and the Harlem Gospel Choir.
The breadth and variety of this festival is stunning, it would be impossible to see even a decent fraction of the events, which take place in more than 90 venues around the city – theatres, concert halls, pubs, clubs and even the streets of Cork. There will be almost 1000 performers in town and over 90% of the events are free of entrance charges. There truly is something there for everyone, and even if you are not a Jazz aficionado you are sure to enjoy yourself.
Information and Location Map for Cork Jazz
Full details and programme info at the Festival Website or you can download a PDF of the programme.
It’s not possible to map all of the dozens of venues, so this map leads you to the ticket office at Everyman Palace Theatre, which is also where the Festival Club is located.
