Hallow’een – and All That Jazz

Among the many Hallow’een festivals around the country this weekend, the Guinness Cork Jazz Festival is among the most enduring.

Founded in 1978 by Jim Mountjoy, then marketing manager at the Metropole, the weekend quickly made an impact on the international jazz scene with performances by Ella Fitzgerald, Buddy Rich, The Modern Jazz Quartet and Cleo Laine.

Initial sponsors John Player and later Guinness invested heavily in the festival, attracting some of the leading performers in the world of jazz.

While the emphasis of the festival has long swung from “pure” jazz to hip-hop, ska, electronic and other musical genres, it has remained highly popular among music fans and attracts more than 40,000 visitors to Cork each year.

The 2024 line-up includes The Buena Vista All Stars, Gregory Porter and Orchestra Baobab.

The Metropole Hotel, original home of the Cork Jazz Festival, is this year welcoming favourites, along with some new additions to the bill. The line-up includes the New York Brass Band, The Swing Bandits featuring The Loungeman, Harry Connolly, Pixie and The Gypsies, Fiona Kennedy, Hugh Buckley Trio, MTU Gospel Choir and Le Hot Club Quintet.

Pierce Lowney, director of food and beverage at Trigon Hotels, said:

“We have a really exciting line-up of live performances this year, catering for all ages. Our Jazz Dining Experience packages mean that people can come and soak up the atmosphere during the day before sitting down to a meal and then continue to dance the night away.”