Free jazz jams, mobile phones and it’s all out of tune

AUDIENCES come as varied as performers and the Cork Jazz Festival is no exception. While some of the crowds were getting mellow on melodies, others were being challenged, if not downright confused, by sounds not so easy to hum along with.

Free jazz - or improvised solos and jams that ignore the normal rules to music-making - have a solid following Lee-side judging by the crowds at the Guinness Festival Club in the Gresham Metropole Hotel last evening.

But there’s always someone who sums up what many are thinking but are afraid to ask.