Published: June 6, 2013
Workin' II: Irish Jazz Showcase
Workman's Club, Dublin, Ireland - May 26, 2013
Where do you go to see Afro-Peruvian jazz, an 18-piece Sun Ra tribute band, neo-soul, vocal jazz, trios, quartets and electronic music with live horn processing, all on the same day? The Workman's Club in Dublin, Ireland, of course. Workin' II, a mini-festival organized by theImprovised Music Company Club, was—as the title suggests—the second installment of a concept designed to showcase the contemporary jazz and related music that is flourishing in Dublin these days. Apart from nine of Dublin's best, and as an unexpected bonus, somebody had actually booked the sun for the day and a good crowd turned up to sample over seven hours of truly diverse music. The success of the event was all the greater, considering that there were no fewer than four festivals going on in the Dub on the same sunny Sunday.
Workin' I had been held in early January, when hardy souls braved the cold and ventured out to see six bands—ReDiviDeR, whose Never Odd or EveN (Diatribe Records) was one of the most arresting jazz releases of 2011, the folk-jazz of Leafzang , the Hugh Buckley 4tet, Asteroids of Doom, Laura Hyland's Clang Sang and OKO guitarist Shane Latimer. The response from musicians and audience alike was overwhelmingly positive, prompting IMC head Gerry Godley to set up Workin II, and it's to be hoped, an ongoing series of such all-day mini-festivals.
The Workman's Club faces the river Liffey in the heaving Temple Bar district, whose labyrinth of pubs, eateries, clubs and dive bars—many of which serve up music—makes this area the center of Dublin nightlife. Workman's Club has been one of the premier live music/entertainment venues in the city for a decade and the old, wooden-floored building exudes cozy informality. Three stages in two rooms meant there was a very fast turnaround between gigs, each one lasting 45 minutes.
The first band of the afternoon was pianist Luke Dunford's quartet, The Chief Keegans. Dunford, heavily influenced by the rhythms of New Orleans, steered the band through a set that was also colored by saxophonist Owen O'Neil's rhythm and blues tones. Dunford displayed fine bluesy chops and, on slower passages, veered towards a sort of shuffling Thelonious Monk-type groove. Drummer Tommy Gray and bassist Kevin Higgins delivered fat grooves and snappy rhythms that drove the music on the opening couple of numbers, and delicate, quite lyrical accompaniment on a lovely trio number on which O'Neil sat out.
Read more: http://www.allaboutjazz.com/php/article.php?id=44668#.UcJzfpXhEhQ
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