AS FAR as live music is concerned, spring's top billing goes to the return of revered veteran saxophonist and composer Wayne Shorter, who brings his quartet, with Danilo Perez (piano), John Patitucci (bass) and Brian Blade (drums) to the Helix on April 19th.
It's part of a joint project with the Helix and Note Productions to present stellar jazz figures at the venue throughout 2007. Sharing the bill with Shorter will be the Danish guitarist Mikkel Ploug's quartet with Irish drummer Sean Carpio.
Also due in are the Stockholm Jazz Orchestra, with American pianist, composer and orchestrator Jim McNeely, and New York-based Tim Berne's avant garde Big Satan. They're here on Saturday, February 17th as part of RTÉ's Living Music Festival 2007.
The Improvised Music Company brings in saxophonist Chris Potter's Underground, a high-octane band completed by Craig Taborn (piano), Adam Rogers (guitar) and Nate Smith (drums), for two January dates: at Limerick's Trinity Rooms (Saturday 13th) and Whelan's in Dublin (Sunday 14th).
Music Network is touring Ingrid Laubrock, an acclaimed young German saxophonist-composer from the ground-breaking London collective, F-IRE, nationally in February. Her quality quintet includes Barry Green (piano), Ben Davis (cello), Larry Bartley (bass) and Stuart Ritchie (drums); the tour takes in Limerick (7th), Thurles, Co Tipperary (9th); Bray, Co Wicklow (10th), Dublin (13th); Drogheda, Co Louth (14th); Castlebar, Co May (15th); Moate, Co Westmeath (16th); and Belfast (17th).
:quality(70)/cloudfront-eu-central-1.images.arcpublishing.com/irishtimes/SJQTLMCMMRC2PLALXUKEWWS6HU.png)