Whirligig VI

Hosted by the IMC, four young Irish jazz-influenced bands play a half-hour set each in this showcase event.

18 January, 8pm, The Workmans Club, Dublin. Tickets €12/10

theworkmansclub.com/2012/01/06/whirligig

Ana Moura

A young Portuguese singer in the classic Fado style accompanied by her band from Lisbon.

19 January, 8pm, National Concert Hall, Dublin. Tickets €12/24/30/36

www.newschool.ie/Ana_Moura

Reggie Watts

Vocalist, beat boxer and comedian Watts blurs the line between comedy and music, with the help of some loop pedals.

21 January, 8pm, Whelans, Dublin. Tickets €20

whelanslive.com 

Tigran Hamasyan

Virtuoso pianist plays a solo set of his own compositions, influenced by his native Armenian folk music. Read our review of his solo CD here.

24 January, 7.30pm, John Field Room, National Concert Hall, Dublin. Tickets €22.50/25

nch.ie/online

Fidil with Solo Cissokho and Tarab

Young traditional group from Donegal team up with Kora player Cissokho, with support from Francesco Turrisi’s Mediterranean–Irish ensemble.

29 January, 8pm, Button Factory, Dublin. Tickets €16.20

improvisedmusic.ie/concerts/details/fidil_solo_cissokho

The Unusual History of Ether

This Danish based quartet is led by Waterford singer and composer Rebecca Collins, guitarist Mikkel Ploug is the other half of the creative axis. Difficult to categorise, Collins is an Indie songwriter with a contemporary jazz twist — probably because that is the music that Ploug also plays. Bassist Jeppe Skovbakke is also part of the popular Danish group I Got You On Tape.

Read our review of their debut EP here.

30 January, 8pm, The Project Arts Theatre, Dublin. Tickets €10/12

projectartscentre.ie/whats-on/1485-the-unusual-history-of-ether

More dates for saving

Also just announced are two contrasting but equally exciting line-ups in March; Bill Carrothers piano trio and ECM vocalist Norma Winstone with Irish guitarist Tommy Halferty in the National Concert Hall, Dublin and a fearsome duo of avant-garde New York saxophonist Tim Berne’s new band Snake Oil and The Thing, a Scandinavian trio that are also pack a punch — watch this space.

Furthermore, Note Productions have been relatively quiet but are back with a bang; Cult heroes The Bad Plus (pictured) are playing six dates across the country later this year, performing their arrangement of Stravinsky’s The Rite of Spring entitled ‘On Sacred Ground’, which was well received in the states where it premiered late last year. Full tour details have yet to be officially announced.

Here is some shaky but promising footage from the Halifax jazz festival.

While we’re saving dates, another concert presented by Waltons New School in the World Masters Series is the brilliant Saharan groove hypnotists Tinariwen on 12 April, 2012.

Win tickets and flights to 12 Points!

In other jazz news, the Improvised Music Company is offering tickets and flights to Porto to their superb 12 Points! Festival. It is taking place in Porto from 16–19 February in a stunning building called Casa Da Musica. The competition closes at midnight, 25 January.

facebook.com/pages/12-Points 

The IMC have also compiled a video playlist of all twelve bands that will be performing at the festival.

Free music from Diatribe

Closer to home, Diatribe Records (Dublin record label that releases new experimental and improvised music) have been releasing a free track every month from various Irish–based musicians in their ‘TRONIX’ series. The latest contribution is by drummer Shane O’Donovan.

diatriberecords.bandcamp.com/tronix-11
diatribe.ie/tronix

Banff applications due

For young jazz musicians, the Banff three-week course in jazz and creative music is accepting applications up until 23 January. The course runs from 21 May—9 June, 2012. The faculty has yet to be officially announced, but this year being the last year under trumpeter Dave Douglas and the first year that pianist Vijay Iyer is associated with the course, expect to see Iyer and some of his associates there this summer.

banffcentre.ca/programs

Cheltenham Jazz Festival

Vijay Iyer has also been named as one of several high profile acts to perform at the Cheltenham Jazz Festival, running from 2—7 May, 2012, alongside Bill Frisell, John Taylor, Marcus Miller Band and Jamie Cullum.

cheltenhamfestivals.com/jazz 

Fife Jazz Festival

Much closer in the calendar, pianist John Taylor will also be playing at the Fife Jazz Festival, Kyle Eastwood (actor and director Clint’s son) will also be performing at the event which runs on 3—5 February.

www.fifejazzfestival.com

Chick Corea

Finally, veteran pianist Chick Corea turns seventy this year. To celebrate, he is releasing an album entitled Further Explorations on 30 January, featuring bassist Eddie Gomez and the late drummer Paul Motian. The album is a tribute to both Bill Evans (whose 1961 piano trio LP ‘Explorations’ was influential) and to Motian (who played on the said recordings).

‘Further Explorations’ also contains a previously unrecorded Bill Evans tune, ‘Song no.1’, transcribed and interpreted by Corea. A free track from the album is available for download:

chickcorea.com/further-explorations-setlists