Bray Jazz 2015

Post Event Report

n American trumpeter Ambrose Akinmusire

2000-2015
‘Best weekend of jazz’ in Bray
B
ray Jazz Festival once
more affirmed its status
as one of Ireland’s leading
contemporary music weekend’s
when the North Wicklow town
hosted the 16th edition of the
popular event, on the May Bank
Holiday weekend.

Performers from the United States,

Brazil, Cuba, the United Kingdom,
Italy, France, Peru, Chile, Venezuela
and the Far East joined many of
Ireland’s leading contemporary
players for a showpiece that staged
nearly 40 concerts across the
festival’s four days. n Brazilian star Ed Motta played a full-house at Mermaid Arts Centre during this year’s
Bray Jazz Festival.

Lauded by the respected ‘All

About Jazz’ website for once more Jazz on its upwards trajectory as it people, over the Bank Holiday
delivering “arguably the best brought live music - close to 80% weekend.
weekend of jazz in Ireland,”
the festival’s 16th year was
described further as “a little
Bray delivers arguably the Theatre, hotel, bar
gem’” by an Irish national
newspaper.
best weekend of jazz and recital spaces all
played to large and
in Ireland” - All About Jazz enthusiastic audiences,
Strong attendances and while shows on our
a number of stand out largest ever jazz trail
concert performances of which was available to attend brought the festival to over a dozen
by artists at the cutting edge of free of charge - to audiences bar, hotel, restaurant and club
contemporary jazz continued Bray that numbered upwards of 6,000 venues across the town.

Bray Jazz Festival roll of honour

Bray Jazz Festival has hosted some
of the greats of contemporary jazz
and improvised music over the past
16 years.
Below is a role call of just some of the
international visitors who have played
with us in that time:
Eliane Elias (USA)
Tord Gustavsen (Norway)
Kurt Rosenwinkel Quartet (USA)
Susana Baca (Peru)
Scott Colley Group USA)
Hamilton de Holanda & Andre
Mehmari (Brazil)
Mare Nostrum (Swed/Fr/Italy)
Dafnis Prieto Sextet (USA/Cuba)
Orchestra National de Jazz (Fr)
Der Rote Bereich (Germany)
Steve Coleman & Five Elements
(USA)
Maceo Parker Band (USA)
Tomasz Stanko Quartet (Poland)
Kalotaszeg Trio (Romania)
Ed Motta (Brazil)
Ambrose Akinmusire (USA)
Wolfgang Muthspiel (Austria)
Larry Grenadier (USA)
Wayne Krantz Trio (USA)
Pascal Schumacher-Jef Neve
(Belg/Lux)
Trygve Seim & Frode Haltli
(Norway)
John Etheridge Sweet Chorus (UK)
Cissokho System (Senegal)
Sylvain Luc’s Trio Sud (France)
Boi Akih (Holland/Indonesia)
Mats Eilertsen Skydive (Norway)
Paolo Angeli (Sardinia)
Rez Abbasi Quartet (USA)
Médéric Collignon (France)
Eri Yamamoto Trio (USA/Japan)
Orquestra do Fuba (Brazil)
Soweto Kinch (UK)
Liu Fang (China)
New Bag (Switzerland)
Norma Winstone (UK)
Norrland (Sweden)
Artvark Sax Quartet (Holland)
Ibrahim Electric (Denmark)
Dave Douglas & Keystone (USA)
New Jungle Orchestra (Denmark)
Louis Sclavis (France)
Debashish Bhattacharya (India)
George Colligan Quartet (USA)
Yusa (Cuba)
Seydina Wade & Oumar Sow
(Senegal)
Ravi Coltrane (USA)
Scottish Guitar Quartet (Scotland)
Ben Allison Quartet (USA)
Angelo DeBarre Quartet (Fr)
Andrew Hill Quartet (USA)
Andy Sheppard Quartet (UK)
Gwilym Simcock Quintet (UK)
Nguyen Le’s Bakida Trio (France)
Bob Brozman (USA)
David Berkman Quartet (USA)
New Cool Collective (Holland)
The Mike Stein Band (USA)
Alex Wilson’s Anglo Cubano (Cu/
UK)
Jim Black’s Alas No Axis (USA)
Tommy Smith Quartet (Scotland)
Claire Martin(UK)
Monica Vasconcelos & Nois (Brazil)
Don Byron’s Gospel Quintet (USA)
Mari Kvien Brunvoll (Norway)
Rene Marie Quartet (USA)
Joey De Francesco Trio (USA)
Henri Texier (France)
Jason Rebello Trio (UK)
Colin Steele Quintet (UK)
The Eva Quartet (Bulgaria)
Nfale Kouyate & Dunyakan (West
Africa)
Ernie Payne (USA)
Mama Rosin (Switz)
Zoltan Lantos (Hungary)
Emil Viklicky Trio (Czech Republic)

Critical acclaim for Bray Jazz
Bray Jazz Festival has received widespread critical acclaim during its 16 years history. Below
are some of the things that the critics have said:
• “After sixteen years, the festival has created a brand
name that’s synonymous with good music. “
• “Bray Jazz 2016 promises to offer more of the
same—that’s to say, arguably the best weekend of
jazz in Ireland.”
• “Bray Jazz is evidently doing something right; with
n Sue Rynhart at Bray Town Hall
a reduced budget and with less advertising than in
previous years, the shows were nearly all sell-outs. “
• “A steadfast policy of adventurous programming
has put the Bray Jazz Festival firmly on the musical
n Dublin City Jazz Orchestra
map.”
• “Great things come in small packages; Bray Jazz
Festival is one of them.”
• “One of the main cultural highlights on the Irish jazz
calendar.”
• “Bray Jazz deserves and requires the chance to
move on to the next level.”
• “The connoisseur’s jazz festival.”
• “One of the very best small jazz festivals in Europe.”
• “A little gem of a contemporary music festival.”
• “It brought the charming seaside town
of Bray to life with a smorgasbord of
jazz and related music.”
• “A wonderful programme of music
once again.”
• “A stellar line up of
performers at the cutting
edge.”
• “Jazz festival lights up
Bray.”
Support for annual jazz festival
continues to grow
C
lose to 6,000 concert
goers attended Bray Jazz
Festival over the May Bank
Holiday weekend.
A large contingent travelled from
Dublin city to the event, while
local audiences were also out in
force to support a weekend that
has provided a valuable early
season tourism boost to North
Wicklow, since its inception in the
Millennium year.
International visitors were in
attendance once more this year too,
as Bray Jazz once more provided a
cultural get-away to tourists visiting
the East Coast.
Up to 60% of the full-house in
attendance to see the first ever Irish
performance by acclaimed young
American trumpet star Ambrose
Akinmusire came from the Dublin
area, while a large contingent from
n The National Concert Hall’s Gamelan
Orchestra play Bray Town Hall
Contact: George Jacob: 086-8654170 e-mail: brayjazz@gmail.com | www.brayjazz.com
within the Brazilian community in
Ireland were in the audience for the
eagerly anticipated concert by their
fellow countryman, Ed Motta.
Bray Jazz 2015 provided something
for everyone too, with more than
20 young children amongst the
audience at the Javanese gamelan
drumming workshop in the Town
Hall on Saturday afternoon, and
n Italian guitarist Julian Colorossi play-
ing Bray Jazz at The Harbour Bar.
teachers of music present in
numbers for a masterclass with
English composer, pianist and
conductor Pete Churchill.
Hotels, guest houses and bed
and breakfast accommodation
all reported brisk business, while
restaurants and bars across the
town also reaped a dividend from
the festival’s return on the May
weekend.
Audience support is critical to
the continuing success of Bray
Jazz Festival, but so too is the
support of our sponsors, who in
2015 included: The Arts Council
of Ireland, Bray Town Council,
Wicklow County Council, Failte
Ireland, the Embassy of Brazil,
Molson Canadian, East Coast
FM, Mermaid Arts Centre, The
Harbour Bar, Martello Hotel,
Glenview Hotel, Music Generation
Wicklow, and from a host of other
hotel and bar supporters.