Whale Theatre, Greystones
Friday 2nd May, 8.00pm
Tickets: €25

Saxophonist Xhosa Cole has been blazing a trail since he first emerged on the UK jazz scene as the winner of the BBC Young Jazz Musician of the Year award, in 2018.

A year later he collected the ‘best newcomer’ prize at the prestigious Parliamentary Jazz Awards, and was named Breakthrough Act of the Year by Jazz FM in the UK.

Now aged 28, Xhosa Cole is from Handsworth, and follows in the illustrious footsteps of such great contemporary saxophonists from Birmingham, including Soweto Kinch and Sons of Kemit frontman, Shabaka Hutchings.

His recently released third album ‘On a Modern Genius Vol. 1’, which explores and collages the compositions of pianist Thelonious Monk compositions, breathing new life into tmeless tunes, was named ‘Album of the Month’ by The Guardian, in February of this year. It was also ‘Editor’s Choice’ of the UK’s leading jazz magazine, Jazzwise, a month later.

Xhosa has performed twice at the BBC Proms, Composed music for the Ripieno Players, a Birmingham Based String Orchestra, recorded saxophone for Mahalia’s debut album Love and Compromise, completed a 22 date UK tour, all while he studied at the the UK’s Trinity Laban Conservatoire.

“An erudite young sax master who catches Monk’s wild spirit… and will surprise even the most devout buffs, and hook the most unsuspecting of jazz newbies too.” – The Guardian

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Tipped as ‘One To Watch’ by BBC Introducing, Jazz FM UK and Belfast Live, award-winning singer-songwriter Katharine Timoney is making waves as one of Ireland’s leading jazz-soul crossover artists.

Raised in Belfast, Katharine grew up listening to the voices of Nina Simone, Dinah Washington and Billie Holiday.  In 2024, she caught the attention of Jamie Cullum on BBC Radio 2with her single ‘All This Time’.

Her debut EP ‘Life came into Colour’ produced and arranged by British saxophonist Ben Castle was significantly supported by Jazz FM UK, and has received an incredible 600,000 plays on Spotify.  Recent performances saw her take to the stage to a packed out audience at Cheltenham Jazz Festival and perform a string of sold-out shows this year.

Katharine’s upcoming record is due for release in September and is produced by saxophonist Ben Castle, and features pianist Mark Edwards, drummer Darren Beckett and bassist Arnie Somogyi. 

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Collider is the newest project from Dublin based guitarist Chris Guilfoyle. It’s music that explores the electronic worlds of Drum and Bass, House, and IDM, where the rich tones of electric guitar intertwine with ethereal synth sounds and heavy drum grooves.

All the musicians in the group are well known in the electronic music and jazz world with Darragh O’Kelly (OKO, Big Spoon) on synths, Scott Flanigan (keys) and Shane O’Donovan (OKO, H-CI, Big Spoon) on drums.

Following a knock out performance at last year’s festival, Collider are back, offering a unique set where the spirit of jazz collides with the innovative beats of electronic music.

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Nabou Claerhout is a rising star of the European jazz scene, and Lynn Cassiers a singer, soundscaper and innovator who’s a key figure in Brussels burgeoning contemporary jazz scene.

One of the most innovative and prolific trombone players in Europe, Nabou Claerhout first picked up the instrument at aged just nine, and has never looked back.

Nabou is now at the vanguard of new jazz in the Benelux countries, is bandleader of the eight-piece Nabou Claerhout Trombone Ensemble, the award-winning young quartet N△BOU, and series of smaller ensemble projects. After studying at the Royal Academy of Music in London, Claerhout graduated from Codarts Rotterdam in 2018. She is currently one of the master coaches in the classical course at the Royal Conservatory of Antwerp.

One of Nabou Claerhout’s most compelling projects is her work with Brussels-based singer and soundscaper Lynn Cassiers. Their work together is an engaging combination of jazz, electronics and ambient music that reaches from the ethereal to intense, and back Alain.

Bridging an impressive range of styles, from free jazz and moodly film soundscapes to ambient pop and rock, Nabou Claerhout and Lynn Cassiers deploy trombone, keyboards, voice and special effects to paint a rich and colourful palate of sound. 

“There is real star quality in her soloing: song tone, strong line, real presence. Claerhout is definitely one to watch.” — London Jazz News (UK)

“…Cassiers is brilliant. She creates her own sonic universe in which avant-garde pop (think Laurie Anderson), traditional jazz and free improv meet, in a wonderful mixture ”- FreeJazz Blog

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Steinar Raknes is a Norwegian bassist, vocalist and songwriter who has worked with artists as rich and varied as Chick Corea, Michael Brecker, Bobby McFerrin and Ola Kvernberg.  

Regarded as one of the leading bassists of his generation, he is also a member of the trio of celebrated pianist Tord Gustavsen.

A double bass virtuoso, playing both pizzicato and arco, he is known for his captivating solo presentations.

Steinar Raknes has a broad musical palate, and his work encompasses contemporary jazz, Sami folk music of northern Scandinavian, as well as American roots, blues and Americana.

He is an instrumental double bass teacher on the celebrated Trondheim Musikkonservatorium, from where he is also a graduate.

“Surprising, beautiful and highly rewarding” – All About Jazz

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Max Zaska is a guitarist, songwriter, and producer best known for his feel-good blend of modern funk, neo-soul, and indie jazz.

With his band, ZASKA, Max brings his original songs to life with a verve and enthusiasm that is infectious. His live work and recordings over the past decade have featured a dizzying array of Irish artists, ranging from Hozier, who was his first vocalist, to Wyvern Lingo, Loah, Tolu Kakay, Jess Kav, Hypnotic Brass Ensemble, Little Green Cars and Denise Chaila.

Bray born and raised and now living in the midlands, Max Zaska pays a welcome return to his hometown and to this year’s Bray Jazz, where he will play songs from his newly released third album of original material.

He exudes breezy optimism, plays with a smile on his face, and leads a tight big band that’s part funk, part jazz and part RnB, the overall concoction serving up rich slabs of what Max Zaska himself describes as “future soul.”

“…a refreshing sense of fun and mischief, who isn’t afraid to go deep” – The Irish Times.

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Shetland islander Norman Wilmore and Glaswegian Corrie Dick daringly blend the old and new with their reimagining of the airs and rich musical heritage of Scotland’s northernmost isles.

Using as their reference point ancient melodies discovered during an island residency, Norman&Corrie’s compositions bridge the gap between tradition and innovation, infusing ancestral melodies with modern production – much has Lankum have done with traditional music in Ireland.

They combine drum kit and saxophone, with organ foot pedals, sampled field recordings and earthy, cutting-edge electronics to breathe new life into instrumentals that range from haunting spirituals to raucous ceili stomps.The pair are immersed in the UK’s jazz and contemporary music scene, Corrie Dick drumming with the acclaimed quartet Dinosaur and the award-winner Jacob Collier, and Norman Wilmore working with The Peatbog Faeries and Glaswegian Mercury Prize nominee, Corto.Alto, and Beth Orton.

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Also Featuring: Ronan Guilfoyle’s Bemusement Arcade

Described by The New York Times as a “social conscience, multimedia collaborator, system builder, rhapsodist, historical thinker and multicultural gateway,” VIJAY IYER is an influential and shape-shifting presence in twenty-first- century music.

Vijay Iyer has carved out a unique path as an influential, prolific, shape-shifting presence in twenty-first-century music.

A composer and pianist active and revered across multiple musical communities, Iyer has created a consistently innovative, emotionally resonant body of work over the last three decades, earning him a place as one of the leading music-makers of his generation.

His honours include a MacArthur Fellowship, a Doris Duke Performing Artist Award, a United States Artist Fellowship, three Grammy nominations, and the Alpert Award in the Arts. His newest albums are Defiant Life (ECM, 2025), his second suite of duets with visionary composer-trumpeter Wadada Leo Smith; Compassion (ECM, 2024), featuring his celebrated trio with drummer Tyshawn Sorey and bassist Linda May Han Oh; Trouble (BMOP/sound, 2024), a composer portrait album comprising three of his orchestral works, including the titular violin concerto performed by Jennifer Koh; and Love in Exile (Verve, 2023), his Grammy-nominated collaboration with Arooj Aftab and Shahzad Ismaily.

He is a professor at Harvard University.

“Iyer’s music has always been both intelligent and unpretentious, complex without being opaque; [he] ponders a phrase with obsessive rumination, unveiling layers of shifting, subtle emotion, before letting it fly with joyous abandon.” – The New York Times

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Pianist Greg Murphy played for more than 20 years with Rashied Ali, former John Coltrane drummer, on the New York scene. 

 He appears here with top-line Irish rhythm section, Cormac O’Brien on bass and drummer Shane O’Donovan.  

A world class pianist, Greg Murphy has also worked with Ornette Coleman, Carlos Santana and Archie Shepp. His 2019 album ‘Bright Idea’ was #1 in the jazz charts.

Greg began his musical adventures in 1971 when he joined the Ray-Fisk Grammar School Band in Chicago.

A jazz study grant from the National Endowment for the Arts in 1984 gave Greg the opportunity to go to New Orleans and study with the eminent pianist and jazz educator, Ellis Marsalis. He began recording and performing with The New Orleans Jazz Couriers, Percussion Incorporated, and his own group, The Fusicians. While living in New Orleans, Greg performed with Donald Harrison, Wynton Marsalis, and countless other great musicians. 

He moved to New York in 1987 and began what had become a long association with Rashied Ali. Greg performed and recorded with Ali and his various groups throughout Europe, Canada and The United States from 1987 until Rashied passed away in 2009. 

Throughout his career, Greg has performed extensively in the US, France, Ireland, Japan, China, The Philippines and beyond with his own trio and other groups. He’s also worked in New York with Ornette Coleman and in France with Carlos Santana and Archie Shepp. In 2012, Greg recorded the theme song “Brother, Can You Spare a Dime?” for the HBO documentary Redemption, which received a 2013 Academy Award nomination for best documentary short. 

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Harbour Bar
Sunday, 4th May. Time 10pm

Named after an explosive Jan Hammer composition, ‘Magical Dog’ is a quartet dedicated to the high energy and explorative approach of the classic jazz fusion period.

Their focus is on the raw driving grooves and collective improvisation associated with the genre. With a combined deep knowledge and experience playing this genre, each member also brings their own unique voice to the ensemble.

Expect tunes from some of the most important composers from the fusion era, including John Mclaughlin, Jan Hammer and Steve Grossman.

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