Paul Dunlea: Cork big band leader on his jazz-greats show at the Opera House  

As well as producing his own music, the trombonist is about to pay tribute to some of the legends who've played in his hometown through the decades  

Paul Dunlea leads Swingin’ In Time at Cork Opera House. Picture: Clare Keogh.

Paul Dunlea is one of Ireland’s most formidable figures in modern music. A composer, an improvising trombonist, and an in-demand jazz and big-band performer and arranger, his work has seen him perform with the likes of Michael Bublé, Frankie Valli, Mick Flannery, and many more.

It might surprise you, then, to hear that his path to the trombone came as somewhat of an accident. Dunlea grew up in Mayfield, joining the Cork Barrack Street Band at age 11. His mother’s family had long been members, meaning Dunlea had unknowingly attended rehearsals from the age of five.