Cork mourned the loss of Mr Jack Lynch in true New Orleans style this weekend. A one-minute silence opened the first concert of the city's 22nd jazz festival, but by Saturday night the festivities had gained full momentum as grief turned to gaiety and celebration of the distilled emotion that is jazz.
It was fitting that a gospel outfit, The Blind Boys of Alabama, led the opening night of the four-day festival. The lead singer, Clarence Fountain, preached: "I didn't come to Ireland looking for Jesus. I brought Him with me." Their rollicking style had punters on their feet.
But the festival was slightly subdued and tinged with sadness on the opening day. Street entertainment was cancelled as a mark of respect to Mr Lynch.
"Knowing Jack Lynch and the sort of person he was, he would have wanted the jazz festival to go on as normal, in that it generates activity in Cork to the tune of £36 million," Guinness's press officer, Mr Pat Barry, said. Most agreed at a festival press conference that jazz, not uncommon at funerals, was the best way to reflect the feeling of loss.
"Jazz is about self-expression," said one enthusiast. "It's about communication," said another. Indeed, everyone with a passing interest in jazz seemed to define the ever-expanding genre in his or her own way. Styles of music on display this weekend were eclectic, but all still managed to fall under the banner of jazz, appealing to an ever-broadening audience.
The festival continues to attract aficionado and reveller alike, and so comprises acts that appeal to both. The music is diminished where mismatches occur. On some stages in the Hotel Metropole's festival club, artists had to compete with the delirious frenzy of the party atmosphere. But this is the natural order of Cork's big weekend.
The diversity of the line-up ensured something for everyone. Audiences grooved to the strains of Roy Ayers with the Ray Gaskins Band, or Latin rhythms of Havana 'Che, while the Dave Holland Quintet and Don Braden performing with the Louis Stewart Quartet appeased the traditionalists.
This year organisers went for "hipper and cooler" acts in a marketing ploy to broaden the appeal of the festival to a younger fanbase. Artists such as Courtney Pine, Russell Malone and Roy Hargrove ensured the success of this departure. Their brand of jazz oozed virtuosity and injected an urgency into the festival that was both exciting and energetic.
The new direction of the festival was also marked with sadness as festival organisers admitted that classic artists of the old school just aren't around any more. But as the weekend progressed the mood became celebratory with street theatre, a staple diet of jazz and plenty of stout. It was a rollicking send-off for "the real Taoiseach" and son of Cork.
Festival review: page 17
