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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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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Harbour Bar
Saturday, 3rd May. Time 6.30pm

London-born jazz pianist, saxophonist and composer Carole Nelson has been a mainstay of the Irish jazz scene, since she first moved here more than 30 years ago.

Her current project, The Carole Nelson Trio with bassist Cormac O’Brien and drummer Dominic Mullen has produced a series of highly acclaimed albums since they release their first recortding, One Day in Winter, in 2017. It’s follow up ‘Arboreal’ was listed amongst the albums of the year by The Irish Times, as was its follow up ‘Night Vision’, which she lanched at Bray Jazz Festival in 2022.

Carole first came to prominence on Ireland’s music scene when she formed the successful jazz pop combo Zrazy with vocalist Maria Walsh, in 1991.

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Harbour Bar
Sunday, 4th May. Time 6.30pm

Hayley Kavanagh is a Dublin-based saxophonist and flautist who’s become an active player on the Irish jazz scene since returning last year after a number of years living and performing in Prague and Berlin.

Since returning home she’s contributed as a sideman in various collaborative projects, and established her own ensembles. She’s also the co-founder of the Arthur’s Jazz Jam in the popular city venue, Arthur’s Blues & Jazz Club, and curates the Jazz Event Guide ‘Cookin’ Dublin’.

Her great young quartet includes Eric Doyle (guitar), Fionn Ruadh (double bass), and Niall Crichton (drums).

Hayley will present new compositions which have yet to be performed on stage as well as a selection of tunes from some of her biggest influences from the hard bop era, such as Joe Henderson and Hank Mobley.

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Harbour Bar
Friday, 2nd May. Time 10pm

Irish drummer Kevin Brady has recorded and performed live with the great American pianist Bill Carrothers for close to 20 years.

Together with bassist Dave Redmond they have recorded a series of albums, the latest – Plan B in 2021 that also featured American saxophonist Seamus Blake.

Bill Carrothers has played with the likes of Gary Peacock, Billy Higgins, Dave Douglas and Curtis Fuller, and enjoyed a long and successful residency at New York’s best known jazz haunt, The Village Vanguard.

Brady, Carrothers & Redmond have toured regularly and consolidated their worldwide reputation as a compelling live act. The trio have travelled widely and won the appreciation of discerning jazz audiences as far afield as the USA, Europe, UK and China.

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Harbour Bar
Sunday, 4th May. Time 8.30pm

Funkmeisters Chief Keegan released their debut album, The Piles High Club in early 2024 to rave reviews.

The album showcased the tight grooves and catchy hooks that had made the quartet such a popular live band on Ireland’s music scene.

Featuring keyboardist Luke Dunford, guitarist Mark Dudley, bassist Alan Elliott, and drummer Cian Hanley, the Chiefs keep up a relentless touring schedule and have been a popular feelgood outfit at festivals across the island.

They’re a remarkable instrumental outfit with a funky Memphis feel, that’s both rich and swampy.

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Hayley Kavanagh is a Dublin-based saxophonist and flautist who returned to Ireland in 2023 after seven years in Prague and Berlin.

Since then, she has become an active figure in Dublin’s jazz scene, leading various ensembles and collaborating on a wide range of projects. She has performed alongside some of Ireland’s most respected jazz musicians, including So-Young Yoon, Derek Whyte, Linley Hamilton, and Cathal Roche.

In addition to her performance work, Hayley co-founded the popular jazz jam at Arthur’s Blues & Jazz Club and the jazz event guide Cookin’ Dublin, both of which have become important parts of the city’s jazz community.

The Hayley Kavanagh Quartet, featuring Eric Doyle (guitar), Fionn Ruadh (double bass), and Niall Crichton (drums), delivers a high-energy, hard-swinging sound deeply rooted in the hard and post-bop traditions.

Drawing inspiration from jazz greats like Joe Henderson, Hank Mobley, and Art Blakey’s Jazz Messengers, the group combines driving rhythms, intricate harmonies, and bold improvisation. Their repertoire blends original compositions with carefully selected standards, capturing the intensity and soulfulness of ’50s and ’60s jazz while bringing their own contemporary interpretations to the music.

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Acclaimed Galway guitarist and composer Aengus Hackett has established himself as one of Ireland’s leading jazz guitarists. He has played with the cream of Ireland’s jazz scene – Mike Nielsen, Tommy Halferty, Conor Guilfoyle, Izumi Kimura, Bill Blackmore, Greg Felton, and Damian Evans – as well as with the RTÉ Contempo Quartet and trombonist Colm O’Hara’s 10tet.

In his Aengus Hackett Trio he is joined by two of Dublin’s most in-demand players, drummer Matthew Jacobson and bassist Derek Whyte. The band’s released their acclaimed debut album was last Spring. It made number three in the Irish Times critics poll of best jazz albums of 2024.

A graduate of the prestigious Conservatory of Amsterdam, Aengus studied under world-renowned guitarist Jesse Van Ruller and in the US, with the likes of guitarist Wayne Krantz, Curtis Fuller, Pat LaBarbera and Grammy-winner Bobby Shew. A versatile musician, his projects also reach into electronica, hip-hop, post-rock and folk.  

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