One of the most exciting young pianists in contemporary American jazz is among the international stars who are heading to headline this year’s Bray Jazz Festival.
Six-times Grammy Award-nominated pianist Gerald Clayton – who received his first Grammy nomination in his 20s plays this year’s Saturday night headline slot at Mermaid Arts Centre, on 29th April next.
This year’s Bray Jazz Festival will feature visiting performers from the US, UK, Germany, Holland, Portugal, Sweden, France, Italy and Austria on its bill, alongside the cream of the crop of jazz musicians playing in Ireland.
Bray Jazz provides a welcome early season boost to tourism in the town, with hundreds of concertgoers descending on the area for the festival over the May Bank Holiday weekend.
The programme will include double-bill concerts at Mermaid Arts Centre over the bank holiday weekend and double-bill matinees at the town centre theatre on Saturday and Sunday nights.
Elsewhere, Bray Jazz Festival’s popular early evening matinees will return to Bray Town Hall, there will be a packed programme of live music across the weekend at The Harbour Bar, while Whale Theatre in Greystones is set to host headlining concerts as part of the festival weekend on both Friday and Saturday nights, 28th and 29th April.
Bray Jazz Festival is backed annually by the Arts Council of Ireland and is supported by Wicklow County Council and a range of other sponsors and supporters.
Alongside American pianist Gerald Clayton, who records on jazz music’s legendary Blue Note label, this year’s festival will welcome German instrumentalist of the year – pianist Julia Hulsmann and her quartet, Swedish bassist Lars Danielsson’s Liberetto Quartet, the London-based experimentalists Skylla, the Elemental Quartet which features both the French saxophonist of the year and a two-time World Accordion Prize winner in its ranks, as well as a two times British jazz singer of the year on the 2023 bill.
Bray Jazz is regarded as one of Ireland’s flagship jazz music happenings, and has been described by critics as “one of Europe’s leading small jazz festivals.”
Full details about this year’s Bray Jazz Festival are available at brayjazz.com.