28 October 2016
By Bryan T. Smyth
bryan@TheCork.ie
The 34th Guinness Cork Jazz Festival will get underway this evening from 6.15pm. Throughout the Bank Holiday weekend, Cork will play host to over 40,000 people, 1,200 musicians from 20 countries, an extensive fringe programme and live music trails.
The festival will kick off with an exciting Open Air gig at the Cork Opera House. The gig will be free of charge and includes performances from HAMSANDWICH and festival headliners Picture This! This will be an opportunity to catch two hotly anticipated acts before they perform again this weekend.
Commenting on the festival, Gemma Bell, Guinness Cork Jazz Manager, said, “The 34th Guinness Cork Jazz Festival is here at last and what a weekend we have in store. The lineup is outstanding from the likes of American jazz pianist and record producer Robert Glasper, to Irish singer song-writer Cathy Davey and for the first time we’re incredibly proud to be kicking things off with an open air gig.”
As always, music is at the soul of the festival, this year there will be hundreds of music sessions in over 60 pubs, theatres, clubs, hotels and venues in Cork City throughout the weekend.
Widely acknowledged as one of Europe’s premier Jazz festivals, the Guinness Cork Jazz Festival has previously attracted some of the biggest names in jazz to Cork. Tonight, blind US piano star Justin Kauflin will perform at The Everyman in a powerful double bill with contemporary jazz star Jacob Collier. Other jazz sensations headlining at the festival include Grammy Award winner, Robert Glasper, top American vibist Jason Marsalis, Sheryl Bailey, The Hot Club of Cowtown and Kurt Rosenwinkel.
This year’s festival will include a myriad of events including the Jazz Fringe, which will feature free attractions all over the city including Big Band Jazz, Jazz on the Plaza and Street Bands. On Saturday, a record six overseas marching bands will be a part of the ever popular parade, which will make its way through the streets of Cork.
Music fans can also look out for hundreds of sessions on the Guinness Music Trail – featuring diverse sounds in over 60 pubs, clubs and hotels citywide. Over 95% of the sessions are free of charge to attend. Top names performing include Ben Waters Boogie Band, Interskalactic, the New York Brass Band, Holland’s Oriental Jazz Band, Jack L, Riptide Movement, Cathy Davey and Rob Strong.
For the budding enthusiasts, the state of the art Cork School Of Music will play host to Jazz Camp during the festival featuring numerous free of charge workshops and masterclasses, presented by many of the stars of the festival.
