Music

Forging some fine sounds: this week’s best jazz gigs

Jim Doherty Trio with Richie Buckley, Clang Sayne and Dublin Guitar Night

Avant-folk group Clang Sayne collaborate with French sculptor Guy Urbin in Sounding Seams, a free afternoon performance at the Irish National Heritage Park in Wexford on Sunday.

Cormac Larkin's face
Cormac Larkin
Sat Dec 15 2018 - 05:00

SATURDAY 15

JIM DOHERTY TRIO WITH RICHIE BUCKLEY
Arthurs, Dublin, 9pm, €10 arthurspub.ie

The apple doesn’t fall far from the tree, and there’s a reason why pianist Jim Doherty’s sons, Mark and David, are both successful comedians. Here’s a chance to experience the original Doherty in festive mood with his current trio and special guest saxophonist Richie Buckley, ushering in the festive season with music and banter. With Dave Fleming on bass and Myles Drennan on drums, the challenge, as always, will be to think of a song that the venerable pianist can’t recall in an instant.

SUNDAY 16

SOUNDING SEAMS
Irish National Heritage Park, Wexford, 4pm Adm free facebook.com/irishnationalheritagepark

Wexford musical alchemist Laura Hyland is an explorer of the hidden paths and less-travelled byways that connect folk and traditional music with contemporary jazz and the avant-garde. Sounding Seams is an imaginative collaboration between Hyland’s excellent Clang Sayne quartet and French blacksmith and sculptor Guy Urbin, resident craftsman at the Irish National Heritage Park. With a forging demonstration from Urbin, Christmas carols from the musicians, and seasonal refreshments on offer, this is an unusual musical and sculptural adventure for all the family – and thanks to Creative Ireland and Wexford County Council Arts Office, it’s absolutely free.

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TUESDAY 18

DUBLIN GUITAR NIGHT
Arthurs, Dublin, 8pm, €10 arthurspub.ie

The venerable and long-running Dublin Guitar Night, organised and curated by senior Dublin guitarist Hugh Buckley, is a monthly chance to check out the state of the six-string art in the capital. This special fundraiser in aid of Crumlin Children’s Hospital promises high quality and plenty of variety, with Anto Drennan, Donal Kirk, Dave Whyte, James Mulvaney, Jake Curran, Dick Farrelly and Buckley himself on the bill.

WEDNESDAY 19

NEXT EXPERIMENT
Arthurs, Dublin, 9pm, €10 arthurspub.ie

This new multi-national Dublin trio, led by Venezuelan virtuoso pianist Leo Osio, is the successor to the CEO Experiment, a group that brought a welcome new voice to the Irish scene over the past few years and was starting to reach parts of the live audience that other jazz groups could not, headlining at the Sugar Club and collaborating with the likes of saxophonist Michael Buckley and guitarist Kurt Rosenwinkel. The hugely talented Hungarian bassist Peter Erdei returns as the trio’s anchor, with Spanish drummer Gonzalo Del Val joining, adding his subtle grooves and creativity to Next Experiment’s mix of jazz, funk and EDM.

THURSDAY 20

HUGH BUCKLEY GROUP
Arthurs, Dublin, 9pm, €10 arthurspub.ie

Hugh Buckley (see also Tuesday) is the natural successor to the great Louis Stewart, a fluent exponent of classic post-bop guitar playing who has collaborated with many of the greats of that genre, including Peter Bernstein and Jim Mullen, not to mention Stewart himself. Buckley’s own group, drawn from the top drawer of the Dublin scene, represents a deep well of swing, with pianist Phil Ware, bassist Dan Bodwell and drummer Dominic Mullan.