Bray Jazz Festival Guide: International acts and new late night shows

thumbnail: Cathrin Finch and Aoife Ni Bhrianin.

Tom Galvin

Tue 30 Apr 2024 at 05:00

Bray Jazz Festival returns for its 23rd outing on the May Bank Holiday weekend, 2024, taking place across three days and nights on Friday, Saturday and Sunday, May 3, 4 and 5, with the addition of a late night venue this year at Bray’s Mermaid Arts Centre.

The festival boasts a stellar line-up of performers, including international guests from the US, UK, France, Syria, Holland, Finland, Switzerland, Armenia, and West Africa.

Top new York based jazz stars, trumpeter Dave Douglas and pianist Ethan Iverson, as well as Ivor Novello and MOBO Award and Ivor Novello-winning pianist Zoe Rahman, saxophonists Trish Clowes, Camilla George and Meilana Gillard, and rising Swiss piano star Marie Kruttli are amongst those artists who will grace the stage at Mermaid Arts Centre, this year.

Today's News in 90 seconds - 30th April 2024

Also featuring on the programme at Mermaid will be one of Africa’s most legendary bands – Orchestra Baobab – who have wowed audiences across the globe for over half a century with their infectious brand of high life, creole, Congolese rumba and Afro-Cuban beats.

Over in Greystones, at Whale Theatre, there are shows by UK Jazz Singer of the Year, the multi-award winning Georgia Cécile Quintet, and a quartet led by American pianist George Colligan.

Bray Town Hall will have another strong international dimension, featuring Guardian Album of the Year artist Syrian flautist Naissam Jalal, Finnish/Dutch Trio Peltomaa Fraanje Perkola, and the amazing Welsh/Irish collaboration of harpist Catrin Finch and Aoife Ní Bhriain, whose debut release together was recently nominated for Best Album at the RTÉ Irish Folk Awards.

There is a strong contingent of Irish-based musicians playing this year's Bray Jazz, and several of them will be presenting new projects and new work at this year's festival. Appearing on Sunday, May 3, at The Harbour Bar, and presenting new work, will be Aleka Potinga's 'Songs of Love and Longing' (6.30pm), while Stella Bass & The Johnny Taylor Trio will be showcasing music from the new album 'Look for the Silver Lining' (9pm). On the same night as the opening presentation at Mermaid Arts Centre, pianist Leopoldo Osio's 'Next Experiment' quintet are launching their debut album.

Performing at Bray Town Hall on Saturday May 4 are the duo of Welsh harpist Catrin Finch and Irish fiddle player Aoife Ní Bhriain, who last year released their debut album Double You.

On Sunday, May 5, acclaimed New York trumpeter Dave Douglas will perform with British saxophonist Trish Clowes for a concert celebrating the American composer and musician Wayne Shorter. They perform at Mermaid with a quintet featuring Hammond organist Ross Stanley, bassist Chris Montague and drummer Joel Barford.

Opening for the quintet on the night is Next Experiment, a Dublin-based band blending Latin American and jazz sounds – led by Venezuelan pianist Leo Osio and featuring Italian saxophonist Gianni Gagliardi, Spanish drummer Gonzalo Del Val, Peter Erdei from Hungary on bass, and Irish trombonist Paul Dunlea.

Meanwhile, there are magical sounds from Europe's far north – in this case a blend of medieval music, ambient electronics, jazz and the folk sounds of Finland from 'Trio Peltomaa Fraanje Perkola,' who are visiting Ireland for the first time to play Bray Town Hall on Friday, May 3. Soprano Aino Peltomaa, who also plays medieval harp is joined by her Finnish countryman Mikko Perkola, playing the 15th century Viola de Gamba, and Dutch pianist Harmen Fraanje, who previously played Bray with cellist Ernst Reijseger.

To top off an exciting weekend of new music the South American born guitarist Orlando Molina Quintet, will conclude the festival and their short Irish album launch tour with a gig on Bank Holiday Monday afternoon at Wicklow Wolf's brewery in Newtownmountkennedy, starting at 2.30pm.

For the night hawks, there is the late night pop-up club in the gallery space at Mermaid Arts Centre, where there will be free live music happening in the space from 10.45pm each night, with pianist and organ player Scott Flanigan on Friday; a trio of Irish players who have made their homes overseas, saxoponist Matthew Halpin, bassist Simon Jermyn and drummer Darren Beckett on Saturday; and on Sunday, guitarist Phil Robson, who has been a major figure in jazz in his native England for more than 20 years, will entertain the diehards.

For those who do plan on staying until the bitter end, Bray Jazz is putting on a subsidised bus transport service that will ferry festival-goers northbound (as far as Donnybrook) and south (to Wicklow town), on each night of this year’s festival.

The service is limited in it’s availability so advance booking is advised on brayjazz.com/transport-home.

Buses will leave from outside Mermaid Arts Centre at 12.45am on Saturday, Sunday and Monday mornings (following the late night shows at Mermaid each night), for the subsidised cost of just €7.

The route northbound will pass through Shankill – Killiney – Glasthule, Dun Laoghaire, Monkstown, Blackrock to Ballsbridge, Donnybrook, Westmoreland St and returning along the N11 through Stillorgan and Loughlinstown.

The southbound service will pass through Greystones, Kilcoole, Newcastle, Rathnew, Wicklow town, Ashford and Newtownmountkennedy.

Festival director George Jacob said he was “really looking forward to returning on the May Bank Holiday weekend.”

"Particularly pleasing this year has been the number of women bandleaders and performers on the bill. For the past decade we’ve been trying to improve the gender balance in our programme at Bray Jazz Festival. In 2024 we have more women band leaders than ever before, which is a testimony to the great women creatives who are now working in improvised music – both here at home in Ireland, and internationally.”