The Goo 1
Words: Louis Scully (IMC) APR '25 JAZZ No shortag
e of amazing jazz and jazz-adjacent gigs coming up this April/May with JustKing Jones at Arthurs, Bray Jazz Festival returning with Nubya Garcia (and loads more), Zoe Basha & Danny Groenland both releasing albums.. oh and a weekly concert series coming to The Cooler from May onwards too! So start warmin’ up them ticket-buyin’ thumbs, brethren. Tom Caraher celebrates the release of his debut album ‘Ninety Degrees’ at Arthur’s on April 10th. The album explores “themes of heat and transformation, influences from 1970s electric jazz with funk, neo-soul, and modern jazz. Think Weather Report meets Chris Potter, with a touch of Roy Hargrove’s RH Factor.” Some of Ireland’s most celebrated jazzers will join Tom onstage: Paul Dunlea (trombone), Darragh O’Kelly (keyboard, piano), Barry Donohue (electric bass), and Shane O’Donovan (drums). Big tip on this one folks! Doors 8:30pm, tickets on eventbrite. This April 11th, Irish Women In Jazz present the Mia Byrne Quartet at The Cobblestone (their new home). Expect Mia Byrne on sax, Sidney Edge on guitar, Petar Krivitsky on double bass and Darragh Groome on drums. Doors 7:30pm, tickets on eventbrite. Zoé Basha releases her much anticipated debut album ‘Gamble’ on April 17th at The Sugar Club. Expect “jazz, folk, blues and americana with Irish influences” from this wonderful artist. Support from Kevin Fowley. Doors 7:30pm, tickets on eventbrite. On April 22, renowned Irish artist Jaki Irvine presents an audio-visual performance at Temple Bar Gallery as part of Music Current 2025. “This unique experimental work weaves real-life video, digital animation, and live music improvisation into an evolving, interactive score. Inspired by the classic tune “Show Me the Way to Go Home”. Performers: Jaki Irvine (video), Izumi Kimura (piano), Joe O’Farrell (flute), Sarah Grimes (drum kit) and Cora Venus Lunny (violin). Doors 6pm, free but ticketed via eventbrite. Jamaican Saxophonist JustKing Jones has toured and performed with Lauryn Hill, Wyclef Jean, Gorillaz, Yasiin Bey (FKA Mos Def), Talib Kweli, Bilal and more. He hits Arthur’s on April 25th. Doors 9pm, tickets on eventbrite. The Dirty Jazz Club continue their popular residency at Arthur’s this April 26th with Conor Murray on drums, Derek Whyte on bass, Colm O’ Hara on trombone, Bill Blackmore on trumpet, Darragh O’Kelly on keyboard and Cathal Roche on sax. Doors 9pm, tickets on eventbrite. The following afternoon, April 27th, Arthur’s present “Three dynamic women at the peak of their powers”, Honor Heffernan, Carole Nelson & Christine Tobin. Doors 4pm, tickets on eventbrite. On May 1st Improvised Music Company host the first of their brand new weekly concert series at The Cooler with the Joe O’Callaghan Trio, three highly acclaimed performers and educators on the improvising scene. That’ll be Joe O’Callaghan on guitar, Izumi Kimura on piano and Derek Whyte on bass. Exciting! Doors 7:30pm, tickets via improvisedmusic.ie Bray Jazz Festival returns this May bank holiday weekend with an epic lineup featuring Nubya Garcia, Amy Gadiaga Quintet, Mieko Miyazaki and Franck Wolf, Zoe Basha and lots more TBA. Head over to brayjazz.com to grab dem tickets folks. For the second show at IMC’s new weekly series, Michael Buckley takes his new and entirely original project ‘EBB and FLOW’ to the stage this May 8th, featuring Greg Felton on piano, Barry Donohue on bass and Shane O’Donovan on drums. Michael is one of Ireland’s leading jazzers and a phenomenal tenor player who is also in demand as producer and arranger – check out his recent ‘EBB and FLOW’ release on Livia Records for a taste of what to expect. Doors 7:30pm, tickets on improvisedmusic.ie Danny Groenland launches his new album ‘burning rome’ at The Sugar Club on May 9th with a whopping 9-piece band joining him onstage (that’s 10 musicians including the man himself). They are: Danny Groenland (vocals, flute), Keith Fennell (vocals), Claire Young (vocals), Gráinne McCarthy (vocals), Johnny Taylor (keys), Dennis Cassidy (drums), Graham Heaney (bass), Sam Killeen (guitar), Yuzuha O’Halloran (alto sax) and Paul Kiernan (trumpet). With support from Meghan Murray. Doors at 8pm, tickets on eventbrite. Big tip! The following night, May 10th, Kevin Brady’s Electric Quartet hit Arthur’s for one of the final dates of their Irish tour. Kevin Brady (drums) will be joined by Dave Redmond on bass, Seamus Blake on tenor sax and Bill Carrothers on Fender Rhodes. Doors 9pm, tickets on eventbrite. PS: Bill and Seamus are running a masterclass the previous day at Newpark Academy of Music too, which comes highly recommended. 37