Only the most curmudgeonly conservative would find no joy in the second Dublin Jazz Week, which opens at Whelan's on Monday with a quartet led by the dynamic, former Miles Davis drummer, Al Foster - a heavyweight group with some cutting edge performers, including the exceptional young pianist, Kevin Hays.
If that leaves no doubt about blast-off, there's plenty of musical light and shade throughout the week. The headline concerts each evening, for instance, cover the challenging work of composer Ronan Guilfoyle; put guitarist Louis Stewart with the lyrical pianist Gordon Beck's trio; and offer Quiet Nights, pianist and composer Django Bates's very individual take on standards.
The links between jazz and Latin America are underlined by the Night in Havana Orchestra, with the excellent New York trumpeter, Michael Mossman, guesting, and by the first ever visit of the acclaimed Brazilian pianist/singer, Eliane Elias. Another first is the brilliant UMO Jazz Orchestra from Finland, with its cutting-edge approach to big band work. And that's just the headliners.
A series of lunchtime concerts kicks off on Tuesday with pianist Justin Carroll's trio, marking the launch of his album debut as leader. Successive days then see singer Norma Winstone duetting with guitarist Tommy Halferty, a solo recital from Gordon Beck and a performance by The Improvised Music Ensemble (TIME). There is no lunchtime concert next Saturday, but the series finishes with a solo concert on Sunday week by the outstanding cellist, Ernst Reijseger.
He's also down to give a masterclass, as are Mossman, Winstone and Halferty, while West Coast pianist, Mark Levine, will give a lecture on "Blues to Bebop" and two classes on jazz theory; and for those interested in jazz dance, Perry Louis and the Jazzcotech dancers will host a masterclass, too.
The visual side is taken care of with a run of movies at the IFC - Wim Wenders's Buena Vista Social Club from Cuba, Texas Tenor (about Basie's famous saxophonist, Illinois Jacquet), Jim Hall: a Life in Progress (a study of the great guitarist), Robert Altman's Jazz 34, Otto Preminger's Anatomy of a Murder (music by Ellington) and the famous Newport Jazz Festival documentary, Jazz On a Summer's Day - and by an exhibition of pictures by Miles Davis, appropriately enough, at the Davis Gallery in Capel Street.
Details of concerts appear in the jazz listings. Additional information on these and other events is available from The Improvised Music Company (01 6703885) and the festival box office at Tower Records (01 6725862)