IF you chose your concerts wisely this past Cork jazz weekend, your experience would have belied the negative media previews, which focused on the dilution of jazz in favour of a mélange of soul, rock and pop.

What's going on in music, theatre and film

IN ITS 35 years, the Guinness Cork Jazz Festival has grown and broadened so far beyond its roots that it’s possible most years to preview it on two fronts: from the point of view of the jazz aficionado, and the perspective of the general music fan.

Tens of thousands of music fans are already salivating at the prospect of the line up for the forthcoming Cork Guinness Jazz Festival, which will include top acts like English saxophone legend Courtney Pine and the show-stopping Chic.