<img src='' title='Event Category: Music' alt='' id='templ_icon_' width='' height='' /> Event Category: Music

Brian Jackson:
One-half of the legendary duo Gil Scott-Heron and Brian Jackson, pianist-composer Brian Jackson is widely thought of as one of the forefathers of neo-soul and modern hip hop, prompting New Yorker magazine in a 2022 article to call him “a musical pioneer.” His catalogue has long been a source of sample material for icons such as Tupac, Common and Kendrick Lamar.

Continually choosing to put his music at the service of social and/or political messages, Brian has worked with artists as diverse as Ron Carter, Bobbi Humphrey, Roy Ayers, Lonnie Liston Smith and many others.

His album, This Is Brian Jackson (BBE Music), has garnered critical acclaim with spots in Mojo magazine’s “Highest Rated Albums of 2022“ and in The New York Times’ February 2022 playlist. His album 2084 (Montserrat House) is scheduled for release in early 2023. A Master of Fine Arts and an inspiring public speaker, Brian regularly offers masterclasses and workshops stateside and abroad.

Theo Parrish:
Theo Parrish is a Chicago-raised DJ, producer, and artist known for his influential work in Detroit’s creative community scene since 1995; he also founded Sound Signature Recordings in 1997 and continues to produce vinyl records with the legendary Archer Record Pressing Co.

Parrish, who has a BFA in sound sculpture from the Kansas City Art Institute, continues to engage, challenge, and redefine the limits of Black dance music, serving as an example of creative independence.

Hypnotic Brass Ensemble & Aquilla Sadalla:
The 7 Sons of Chicago perform this special show alongside their mother, Aquilla Sadalla. Together, they have toured throughout Europe, Asia, Australia, Africa, and South America, playing with everyone from Prince and Mos Def to Mick Jones (The Clash) and Damon Albarn (Blur, Gorillaz). They’ve performed at renowned venues such as Coachella, WOMAD AU, Jazz at Lincoln Center, The Sydney Opera House, and Carnegie Hall.

Aquilla’s drive and testimony are clearly spiritual in nature and holistic in approach, with no exceptions. She believes that “the music must play the larger role in reclaiming our glory” as a major solution to the life problems that perpetually plague the human spirit, seemingly more now than ever before. Her hard work and commitment to music and motherhood have resulted in a family of brass musicians known to the world today as the Hypnotic Brass Ensemble.

SPECIAL EFFECTS: This production may contain Strobe Lightning, Flashing Lights, Smoke and Haze.

AGE GUIDANCE: Strictly 18+

*Performance schedule and times are subject to change and may be affected by illness or events beyond the producers’ or venues’ control. Performers, dates, times, prices, and fees are subject to change without notice.

Christine Tobin grew up in Dublin, later moving to London after being awarded a scholarship to attend the Guildhall School of Music & Drama. She was an integral part of the London contemporary scene for many years before moving to New York in 2015 where she made a considerable impact on the city’s creative music world. She returned to Ireland in 2020.In March 2023 she released ‘Returning Weather’ her twelfth album under her own name. In 2012 she won a BASCA British Composer Award ( now called the(IVORS) for her settings of poems by WB Yeats, ‘Sailing To Byzantium’. The following year, her arrangements of Leonard Cohen songs won a Herald Angel Award at the Edinburgh Festival. In 2014 she was awarded ‘Jazz Vocalist of the Year’ at the Parliamentary Jazz Awards. Earlier in 2008, she won a BBC Jazz Award for ‘Best Vocalist’. Aside from her own projects, she has worked and recorded with an array of artists including musicians Django Bates, Billy Hart, Julian Joseph, Kenny Wheeler, Mark Turner, Louis Stewart, Martin Hayes, Nigel Kennedy, Jean Toussaint, Francesco Turrisi, Ingrid Jensen, poets Paul Muldoon, Eva Salzman, Don Paterson, actor Gabriel Byrne and film director Mike Figgis. She has played at major festivals and venues around the world.

Phil Robson is a multi-award-winning guitarist & composer, originally from the UK who relocated to New York City in 2015 for five years and is currently based in Ireland. He has led bands featuring jazz legends such as David Liebman, Mark Turner, Billy Hart, James Genus, Marc Copland &amp; many more as well as working as a sideman with Kenny Wheeler, Barbra Streisand, Steve Lacy, Charles Earland, Donny McCaslin, Django Bates, The BBC Big Band, Ingrid Jenson, Phil Woods, Mike Gibbs, Bob Brookmeyer, Steve Wilson and a hugely diverse spectrum of internationally renowned artists. In Europe he is renowned as the co-leader of the cult UK band ‘Partisans’ with saxophonist Julian Siegel which ran for 23 years as well as for his work with his partner, the great singer/songwriter Christine Tobin.

Kat Eaton’s live show is world class, raw and spell-binding.

Having already toured the UK/EU supporting the likes of Jools Holland, Paul Carrack, The Teskey Brothers, Marc Broussard and Mamas Gun, alongside selling out multiple headline shows, co-writing with the likes of Caro Emerald, Ruby Turner and Roberta Campos, and breaking through to new territories via national radio play worldwide (BBC 2, 4 & 6 and Jazz FM in UK plus NPO 1, 2 & 5 in The Netherlands, Radio2 in Belgium and FIP in France), Kat has established herself as one of the hardest working and talented Soul/Jazz/Blues performers in her field.

After the global success debut album ‘Talk To Me’, Kat has just released her heavily anticipated second album, ‘Honestly’. Armed with fresh original material, her own arrangements of songs by Aretha Franklin, Carole King,Ray Charles and Nina Simone and a band behind her that have played with the likes of Tom Jones, Van Morrison, Amy Winehouse and Gregory Porter.

Ebb and Flow’s repertoire focuses on the soulful melodies, infectious grooves and rich harmonies of Buckley’s original compositions. All dynamic improvisers, in this format they draw from the jazz tradition, hip hop, folk melodies and the freedom and interactivity of Miles Davis’s 1960s quintet and the groups of Charles Lloyd. Witness high-level music-making from one of the great modern jazz saxophonists and his band as they bring you on a fascinating musical journey.

Michael Buckley Quartet
Michael Buckley – Saxophone, Flute
Greg Felton – Piano
Barry Donohue – Double Bass
Shane O’Donovan – Drums

Paul Dunlea

Although at home in a variety of musical styles, Cork Trombonist/Composer/Arranger, Paul Dunlea concentrates primarily on Jazz and Improvisation. This has furthered his reputation as one of Irelands most in demand musicians.

Dunlea has performed/toured/recorded with the likes of Michael Bublé, Cassandra Wilson, Frankie Valli, Liam O’Maonlaoi, Mick Flannery, Richard Reed Parry (Arcade Fire), Bryce Dressner (The National), Lewis Nash, Peter Washington, Billy Drummond, David O’ Rourke’s O’ Rourkestra, Sachal Vadsandani, John Clayton, RTE Concert Orchestra, The Dublin City Jazz Orchestra, The New Irish Jazz Orchestra, The Syd Lawrence Orchestra, Hot House Big Band, Freezeroom & Brian Deady.

Dunlea is a graduate of the CIT Cork School of music holding both a bachelors degree in trombone performance and a masters degree in composition. He has held the chair of principle trombone with the Band 1 Brigade – Irish Defence Forces since 2001.

Cormac McCarthy

Cormac McCarthy is a pianist, composer, arranger and conductor from Cork, Ireland. Noted for a diverse stylistic palette, and equally at home in a variety of genres, his music is said to “defy categorisation” (Lyric FM). In 2010, having completed his Masters degree in composition at the MTU Cork School of Music, Cormac received the prestigious Bill Whelan International Music Bursary, an award earmarked for young Irish composers studying abroad. He spent a number of years living in Chicago, where he completed a Masters in Jazz Studies at DePaul University.

His compositions and arrangements have been performed and recorded by artists including Phil Woods, Jeff Hamilton, Mick Flannery, Martin Hayes, Andrea Corr, Niamh Regan, Dana Masters, Jack O’Rourke, The DePaul Jazz Ensemble, The RTÉ Concert Orchestra, The Irish Chamber Orchestra, The New Irish Jazz Orchestra and the Cork Opera House Concert Orchestra. A new string quartet commissioned by the National String Quartet Foundation was premiered in Autumn 2021.

Cormac continues to be in demand as a composer, arranger and orchestrator in tandem with maintaining an active performance schedule. As a conductor, he has led the RTÉ Concert Orchestra, The Irish Chamber Orchestra and the Cork Opera House Concert Orchestra. He lectures in piano, arranging and composition at the MTU Cork School of Music, and is director of the Cork School of Music Jazz Big Band.