Cork Jazz Festival at The Old Town Whiskey Bar 2019
Come and celebrate a weekend of amazing music in Ireland’s largest whiskey bar!
Friday 25th
8pm – Jimmy Smith Trio –
Jimmy Smyth is set to appear at Cork Jazz Festival 2019 with his ‘Organised’
organ trio, featuring Dublin based Darragh Hennessy on organ and Corks very own Davie Ryan on drums.
Jimmy has played with every Irish artist worth mentioning and has performed alongside jazz icons Kurt Elling and guitar supremo John Scofield, as well as working with contemporary jazz arranger Vince Mendoza, both with John Scofield and Dutch chanteuse Trintje Oosterhuis.
The Grammy Nominated guitarist is no stranger to Jazz and Blues fans in Cork, having performed and hosted clinics here in the past.
He has also performed or recorded with Chaka Khan, Curtis Stigers, Gladys Knight, Jeffrey Osborne and a list of stars literally too numerous to mention.. Jimmy has been busy producing many new artists and is working on his own new music for release in early 2020.
His ‘Organised’ trio have performed on numerous occasions both nationally and internationally and his shows at the Cork Jazz Festival are not to be missed!
10:30pm – The Runaway Retros –
The Runaway Retros feature highly experienced musicians that are no
strangers to Jazz festival vibes, prepare to dance the night away to soul, Jazz
swing and Blues
Formed in 2017 and featuring Colette – Vocals, Dave – Bass, John – guitar -Karl – drums and Dan – Sax
The members are highly experienced musicians and have in other guises, played Jazz Festivals in Ireland and abroad. Their main Influences come from 60’s Soul, 50’s jazz, 40’s swing, 30’s blues, 2010’s postmodern.
Midnight – Insterskalactic –
This is not Two Tone Ska, it’s not Reggae or Rocksteady, it is Ska, as it was first created in the “Big Bang” of Jamaican Independence in 1962.
It’s all about that party feeling, with the freedom of breaking orbit & going intergalactic with what was then, a new Music called SKA! Presenting booster rocket rumbles from the likes of “The Skatalites” & “Byron Lee & The Dragonaires”, to warp driven escapades by “Prince Buster”, “The Blues Busters” & “Toots & The Maytals”, Interskalactic are boldly going were no Ska band has gone before! Featuring a top quality line up of space cadets, having served aboard galaxy class starships such as, “The Candidates”, “Indica”, “Attention BeBe”, “East Coast Jazz Band”, “Shouting At Planes” and “Cops & Robbers”.
Saturday 26th
2pm – Paul Dunlea Quintet –
Trombonist Paul Dunlea is joined by Top Irish and International Jazz musicians.
Although at home in a variety of musical styles, Cork Trombonist/Composer/Arranger, Paul Dunlea concentrates primarily on Jazz and Improvisation. This has furthered his reputation as one of Irelands most in demand musicians.
Dunlea has performed/toured/recorded with the likes of Cassandra Wilson, Frankie Valli, Liam O’Maonlaoi, Mick Flannery, Richard Reed Parry (Arcade Fire), Bryce Dressner (The National), Lewis Nash, Peter §Washington, Billy Drummond, David O’ Rourke’s O’ Rourkestra ,Taylor Eigsti, RTE Concert Orchestra, The Crash Ensemble, The Dublin City Jazz Orchestra, Syd Lawrence Orchestra, Hot House Big Band, Freezeroom & Brian Deady.
4.30pm -Ryan Quigley Quintet –
An All-Star Ensemble led by Trumpeter Ryan Quigley
Ryan Quigley is an award-winning jazz and lead trumpet player and an in-
demand studio musician, composer, arranger and educator. The Derry born, Glasgow native and London based artist, has recorded and toured with Quincy Jones, Aretha Franklin, Harry Connick Jr, George Michael, and Sir Tom Jones. A lead and guest principal trumpeter he has appeared with the Grammy-winning Metropole Orkestra, the Halle Orchestra, the Royal Northern Sinfonia, the BBC Scottish Symphony and Royal Scottish National Orchestras, the RTE Concert and Symphony Orchestras, and the BBC Big Band.
7pm – Souldriven
Seven piece groove masters, Soul Driven, have been kicking down venue doors all over the country with their hard-hitting, brass-infused mixture of soul, funk, jazz and blues. Whether at the Waterford Spraoi Festival, Guinness Jazz Festival, Dun Laoghaire Festival of World Cultures, or Murphy’s Little Big Weekend, the band has yet to fail in their mission to groove audiences with original arrangements of classic tunes and sheer musical virtuosity.
9.30pm – Keltic Possé
If you can remember the Nineties, you’ll definitely remember Keltic Posse.
One of the grooviest live acts ever to emerge from Dublin, their dance/reggae/jazz – infused live shows truly were the stuff of legend.
At the height of their career, the Dubliners toured with the likes of Desmond Dekker, Derrick Morgan and The Specials. The Godfather of Ska & Reggae, Laurel Aitken, choose them as his backing group, becoming their mentor and close friend.
After having headlined the 1995 Montreux Jazz Festival two nights in a row, they promptly returned home and took a little break.
Now, after a hiatus of almost 25 years, the original line-up has reformed for a special celebration with guest collaborators
Get down early for what promises to be one hell of a Posse Party!
Midnight – Insterskalactic –
This is not Two Tone Ska, it’s not Reggae or Rocksteady, it is Ska, as it was first created in the “Big Bang” of Jamaican Independence in 1962.
It’s all about that party feeling, with the freedom of breaking orbit & going intergalactic with what was then, a new Music called SKA! Presenting booster rocket rumbles from the likes of “The Skatalites” & “Byron Lee & The Dragonaires”, to warp driven escapades by “Prince Buster”, “The Blues Busters” & “Toots & The Maytals”, Interskalactic are boldly going were no Ska band has gone before! Featuring a top quality line up of space cadets, having served aboard galaxy class starships such as, “The Candidates”, “Indica”, “Attention BeBe”, “East Coast Jazz Band”, “Shouting At Planes” and “Cops & Robbers”.
Sunday 27th
2pm – Derek “Doc” O Connor
Derek O’Connor or ‘Doc’ as he’s known to the music world
has continually refined and expanded his talents as a solo
artist whilst establishing an elite reputation as one of Irelands
finest Saxophone players and as a first-call sideman for some
of the worlds major artists.
Derek was born in Dublin, Ireland and as a young boy started
playing in his father’s family jazz band. The band toured in all
of the major venues in Ireland and as a child he studied his
father who played the saxophone and from the age of nine he
took up the instrument himself. While learning everything from
his father, at the same time he discovered a Michael Brecker
CD,that would change his life forever and begin his journey
and love for Jazz. Derek turned professional at seventeen
and in 1993 at the age of 20 won himself a scholarship for
Berkley but around the same time was also offered an
extensive tour with The Commitments as the movie became a
global hit. His love for traveling won out and he choose to go
on tour with this band and toured extensively over the next
eight years. Derek also won himself a place with the
European Jazz Youth Orchestra in 2001 becoming Ireland’s
only representative.
Over Derek’s career his style has very much evolved into the
mould of Bob Berg, Michael Brecker and his live playing is
always an exciting experience. Derek’s ability to blend into
any musical surrounding coupled with his talents as a multi-
instrumentalist has led to him being regularly chosen to
perform with many well-known artists. Derek has toured,
performed and recorded around the world with Paul Brady,
Van Morrison, Chaka Khan, Wet Wet Wet, Bob Geldof, Imelda
May, Andrew Strong, Heartbeat of Home, and Jeffrey
Osborne to name but a few. He has worked with many of
Irelands top country, pop and rock stars and also can be seen
on Irish television every Friday night on the long running
popular TV show called ‘The Late Late show’ playing piano
and saxophone as part of the house band called the
Camembert Quartet.
4.30pm – The Art Crimes band
The Art Crimes Band is a music collective based in Cork City, Ireland specialising in World music, RnB, Blues, Funk, Soul, Jazz & Rock. The group
formed in 2010 to play & compose music for Hip Circles Bellydance’s Vaudeville Theatre & Dance production entitled ‘The Purple Cabaret’, featuring a cast of over 30 international artists at the Firkin Crane Theatre, Cork. Today the group continue to produce Burlesque theatre shows around Ireland in collaboration with the internationally renowned burlesque performer Foxy P.Cox. Aside from theatre ventures the band is a stand alone entity garnering huge support and following in their own right on the Irish music and festival scene with their now legendary appearances at the Cork Guinness Jazz Festival each year. 2013 saw the band officially launch the Cork Jazz Festival on behalf of Guinness for the national media, while 2014 saw the band perform & produce one of the biggest burlesque shows
ever in Ireland at The Crane Lane Theatre, Cork featuring nearly 30 of the top burlesque acts from around the world & Ireland to a sold out audience.
At The Cork Jazz Festival 2014 the band launched their debut single ‘Love For A Lark” on iTunes, Amazon, GooglePlay and all major online retailers. The group also performs as a stripped down format for more intimate smaller venues & pubs under the title “The Art Crimes Acoustic Band”.
7pm – Chief Keegan
Funk, Blues, Soul .
A little bunch of salmony lads playing some juicy funk
featuring: Luke Dunford-Keyboards, Mark Dudley-Guitar, Alan Elliot-Bass, Cian Hanley-Drums
Chief Keegan are an instrumental funk band from Dublin. This four piece are greatly influenced by bands like Vulfpeck, The Meters, Lettuce and Galactic. Bluesy and with a deep groove, it is music filled with funky salmony goodness. Since their formation Chief Keegan have been working hard gigging around Ireland. Gigs of note have been playing at Bray Jazz Festival, The Cork Jazz Festival and their sold out EP launch in Upstairs Whelans. Comprised of musicians deeply embedded in the Irish music scene, band members have played with bands such as Zaska, Loah, Laoise, Akora, Sive, CC Brez and many more.
Chief Keegan released their debut EP “Full Salmon” on November 18th on all platforms. They celebrated this release with a sold out gig on Dec 20th in Upstairs Whelans.
“…Fabulous fun from the funk four. I could listen all day”
– Roddie Cleere, Irish Music Show, KCLR
“…In three tracks, Chief Keegan have mastered the fabled groove. They have
harnessed its subtleties and steer it in their own creative direction. Riding its momentum like a surfer on the perfect wave”
– GoldenPlec
9.30pm – James Taylor Quartet – HEADLINE SHOW
For over 30 years, the James Taylor Quartet have set the standard for the
coolest sounds in funky acid jazz. James Taylor is one of the great British Hammond organ players of his generation.
The James Taylor Quartet (or JTQ) are a British four-piece jazz funk band, who
have become renowned for their live performances. They were formed in 1987 by Hammond organ player James Taylor following the break-up of his former band The Prisoners in the wake of Stiff Records’ bankruptcy. The current line-up is James Taylor (Keyboards and Orchestration), Mark Cox (guitar), Andrew McKinney (bass) and Pat Illingworth (drums), although recordings and live performances usually feature vocalist Yvonne Yanney.
The James Taylor Quartet’s first single, “Blow-Up” (a funked-up version of Herbie Hancock’s main theme from the seminal 1960s film of the same name), was released in 1987 on the Re Elect The President label, which would later become the Acid Jazz label. The track was championed by the NME and John Peel, appearing in Peel’s Festive Fifty chart for 1987. The band’s debut 7 track mini album, Mission Impossible (1987) followed and predominantly comprised covers of 1960s film themes such as “Alfie”, “Mrs. Robinson” and “Goldfinger” in a rough, up-tempo, almost punk-like style, that was primarily focussed on Taylor’s Hammond organ playing. Their second album, The Money Spyder (1987), was the soundtrack to an
imaginary spy film, applying the band’s distinctive style to Taylor’s own compositions. While promoting these albums The James Taylor Quartet developed a strong reputation as a live band, that remains to this day. The live set focuses on accessible rhythm driven music, that some classify as having elements of modern dance music, despite including a lot of improvised solos. During this period a contract with a major record led to them playing to ever increasing audiences. The band recorded their
signature tune “The Theme From Starsky and Hutch” featuring Fred Wesley and Pee Wee Ellis of The JBs in 1988 and this was included on their next album “Wait A Minute” (1988). Their popularity as a live act led to the release of the live album Absolute – JTQ Live in 1991, which attempted to capture the experience of the band in concert (even though it was recorded ‘live’ in the studio, the audience cheering being overdubbed later).
Midnight Souldriven –
Seven piece groove masters, Soul Driven, have been kicking down venue doors all over the country with their hard-hitting, brass-infused mixture of soul, funk, jazz and blues. Whether at the Waterford Spraoi Festival, Guinness Jazz Festival, Dun Laoghaire Festival of World Cultures, or Murphy’s Little Big Weekend, the band has yet to fail in their mission to groove audiences with original arrangements of classic tunes and sheer musical virtuosity.
Mon 29th-
12noon – Dylan
Reimagining the music of Bob Dylan, taking the listener on a journey with
them, fusing Jazz and Folk into a cohesive space.
Niall Mccabe with the David Duffy trio, “Dylan”. The David Duffy trio and
sensational vocalist Niall McCabe, reimagine the music of Bob Dylan. David Duffy known for his work with his own jazz quartet and electronic crossover projects with his duo Eat My Noise will join forces with a mccabe, a singer at home in soul, jazz, folk and Irish music, to reinterpret the music of one of the greatest songwriters of the 20th century. “Dylan songs have always been open to reinterpretation, the core message of the songs are so strong that they translate across genre. We wanted to take these songs and make our own journey with them, fusing jazz and folk into one
cohesive space”
3pm – Christiana Underwood
Soul song-stress Christiana Underwood her band of friends from
Cork. Prepare for an afternoon of silky soul jams covering the neo-soul queens and kings of the 90’s, to present and Christiana’s own works.
All weekend long we will be be hosting guerilla DJ sets!
Enjoy a Power’s Old Fashioned from our dedicated bar down stairs
Friday night join us outside on Cornmarket Street for a street performance extravaganza!