Cork jazz swings into action as 40,000 revellers expected to attend

Cork, Ireland. 28th Oct, 2022. Today is the first day of the 44th Guinness Cork Jazz Festival. As well as bands playing in venues, the streets of Cork city host impromptu gigs. Cork city based brass band 'Code of Behaviour' played to huge crowds on Patrick Street. Picture: Andy Gibson.

This year’s Guinness Cork Jazz Festival looks set to be its best for years, according to ticket sales and estimates on crowd attendances.

Following on from last year’s toned-down event, which followed on from the cancellation of the 2020 festival due to Covid-19, more than 40,000 people are expected to attend this year.

Many of those who will attend some of the 30 ticketed gigs spread around some 73 venues from Cork city to Douglas and Kinsale, are from among the 43,000 people flying into Cork this Bank Holiday weekend.

GoGo Penguin, Zaska, Hermeto Pascoal, Seun Kuti, Yenkee, and Cooks but we're chefs are among headline events that have sold out, with other events like The New Power Generation “Celebrating Prince” reaching capacity.

The festival, which was launched on Thursday night by Taoiseach Micheál Martin will, as well as indoor events, see jazz performances on the streets of Cork City and beyond this weekend with The Big Fringe – showing brass bands, a big open top jazz bus, Jazz jamboree jam session, as well as the Kinsale fringe.

Cork, Ireland. 28th Oct, 2022. Today is the first day of the 44th Guinness Cork Jazz Festival. As well as bands playing in venues, the streets of Cork city host impromptu gigs. Popular Cork band 'Rebel Brass' played outside Crawford Art Gallery to huge crowds. Picture: Andy Gibson.

Open and free throughout the festival, which closes Monday evening, is the We Got The Jazz exhibition of the photography of legendary fine art jazz photographer, Chuck Stewart.

The photographer, who died in 2017, managed to photograph just about anybody who was anybody in jazz for decades.

One of his claims to fame was being the only photographer in the room when John Coltrane recorded the iconic A Love Supreme.

The Big Fringe, which takes place beyond the headline stages and venues, is another of the festival highlights.

The mainly free programme will see impromptu soulful sets of jazz, big brass bands, and performances with some of Ireland and Europe’s finest jazz talent spill onto the streets of Cork City and beyond over the weekend.

The line-up, which is organised by the local Cork Jazz Festival Committee, includes international and national acts like the energetic New York Brass, Lamarotte JazzBand, Hyde Park Brass Band, Brass Kings, TBL8 Brass, Stomptown Brass along with Cork’s own Code of Behaviour, Rebel Brass, the Barrack Street Band and Blarney Concert Band.

Cork, Ireland. 28th Oct, 2022. Today is the first day of the 44th Guinness Cork Jazz Festival. As well as bands playing in venues, the streets of Cork city host impromptu gigs. Jazz Band 'TBL8 Brass' from Dublin played outside the main Post Office on Oliver Plunkett Street. Picture: Andy Gibson.

Bands will also be performing at the Jazz on the Plaza super dome jazz stage on the Opera House Plaza Emmet Place from 1pm on Saturday and Sunday afternoon, on Daunt’s Square, and throughout the streets of Cork City for Beat on the Street.

The Jazz Jamboree will be held on Opera House Plaza, Emmet Place, at 5pm tomorrow (SATURDAY) and on Sunday there will be a Jazz Gospel Service at the iconic St. Anne’s church in Shandon at 10.45am.

The spiritual Harvest Jazz Service will feature Carrigtwohill Gospel Choir and Hyde Park Brass Band.

Music fans can also head along to Cork City Library on Grand Parade for a Live at the Library presentation where Dr. Ian Darrington MBE will help you to get more from listening to music.

Once again, festival fans are also encouraged to swing on down to the picturesque coastal town of Kinsale over the weekend where the Guinness Kinsale Fringe Festival serves up an extra helping of jazz in its pubs and venues to compliment the main festival in the city.

Lamorotte Brass Band are performing on the streets of Kinsale from 2pm on Saturday and other acts lined up to perform over the weekend at venues throughout the weekend include Martin Ryan, Andy Dunne, the Ciara Stacey Band, Alleycats, Crosbie Noonan and O’Brien, , The Crew, and King K.