CORK IS set to beat the budget blues with an extended jazz festival programme which gets under way today with a week of fringe activities to precede the main Guinness Cork Jazz Festival next weekend.
The big fringe is all aimed at extending the festival experience for locals and visitors alike prior to the bank holiday weekend festivities.
From today, dozens of top jazz bands from across Europe will take to the streets of Cork in addition to visiting hospitals and primary and post-primary schools in the city.
Artists performing at the festival include Lamarotte Marching Band from Holland, the Oldtimers Jazzband from the Czech Republic, the Bla Mondag (Blue Monday) Jazzband from Denmark and the A470 Big Band from Wales.
The week will also involve concerts in a number of venues including the Crane Lane Theatre, Cork School of Music, and the Crawford and Glucksman Galleries.
Cork City Library presents a varied programme of events starting with a workshop/demonstration by electric bass guitarist Claudio Gomes on Wednesday at 11am. Gomes will demonstrate various styles and techniques of playing the electric bass guitar for different types of music.
Meanwhile, about 1,000 musicians, from 30 different countries, will perform in concerts, clubs and pubs throughout Cork city during the bank holiday weekend.
The line-up includes Chick Corea, John McLaughlin, the Yellowjackets, Lee Konitz, David Murray and Cedar Walton.
A major attraction will be the double bill of Acker Bilk and Kenny Ball whose bands will play "back-to-back" at Cork Opera House.
Other top names include Cindy Blackman, Courtney Pine, Laura Izibor, Trans Am, The Poets of Rhythm, Sly Robbie and Rick Margitza.
As usual, there is a strong Irish presence with Louis Stewart, Honor Heffernan, Don Baker and Zrazy heading up the long list of home-grown performers.
Michael Lyons, regional manager at Guinness, said that the festival was going from strength to strength.
"The event is expected to attract over 40,000 music fans to Cork, injecting in excess of €25 million into the local economy."
The Cork Jazz Festival first took place in 1978. Jazz buff Pearse Harvey suggested the idea of the festival to Jim Mountjoy, who was marketing manager of the Metropole Hotel at the time. Players Wills sponsored the event to the tune of £5,000.
The event was organised as a last-minute replacement for a cancelled bridge tournament.
The Guinness Jazz Festival is by far Ireland's biggest and most prestigious jazz event and is one of the most important festivals on Ireland's arts and cultural calendar.
This year, Guinness celebrates 27 years of hugely successful sponsorship of this flagship festival.
Renowned as Europe's friendliest jazz festival, the event has hosted many of the "greats" of jazz in its 31-year history. Stars such as Ella Fitzgerald, Oscar Peterson, Dizzy Gillespie, Lionel Hampton, Buddy Rich, Gerry Mulligan, Dave Brubeck, Cleo Laine, Joe Zawinul, Wynton Marsalis and Sonny Rollins have thrilled the festival's audiences over the years.
Log on to www.corkjazzfestivalweek.com for full details on this year's fringe events around the city.