Our regular contributors select their highlights of the year.

Bill Laurance has taken a break from jazz heroes Snarky Puppy to work on some incredible solo

Cork-born percussionist Alex Petcu comes from a Romanian family who are heavily involved in the musical life of the city.

GIG WISE: All roads lead to Longitude in Marlay Park, Dublin, this weekend, and stage times are available on the festival’s website.

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.