Its going to be a Corker of Guinnes Cork Jazz Festival 2009 With Imelda May headlining what better way to warm up the bank holiday than with some jazz? by ROSS MCDONAGH metro extralife CorkJazzFestival 16 metrolifeextra Thursday, October 22, 2009 I ts Guinnesss 250th birthday year, and they are still in party mode preparing for one of the biggest Guinness Jazz Festivals yet. For more than 30 years the festival has been one of the biggest music gatherings in the country, and this weekend will be no different. More than 1,000 musicians from 29 countries will head south from October 23 to 26, with more than 50,000 revellers following them. With such a packed programme, it is literally impossible to take everything in, but the plethora of headliners ensure that whatever venue you end up in, you will be entertained. Most in demand this year is the hugely popular Imelda May (pictured, right), who plays the Savoy on Saturday night in a double bill with Milk & Jade. The sassy chart-topping rockabilly singer from Dublins Liberties has taken Ireland and the UK by storm with her swinging fusion of rocka- billy, boogie woogie and rocknroll. Fresh from Glastonbury and a support with Jeff Beck at Londons Royal Albert Hall, she is best known for her big boogie belter Johnny Got a Boom-Boom. Imelda also won Best Female at the Meteor Music Awards. She has shared stages with everyone from Van Morrison to the Scissor Sisters and according to Jools Holland, Imelda May has it in spades. Unfortunately, if you dont already have a ticket it wont matter how big, bad, or handsome you are the show has already sold out. Guaranteed to pack the Savoy the following night are the Fun Lovin Criminals, bringing their hot blend of rock, hip-hop and blues to the Jazz Festival party. Making their international break- through with Come Find Yourself and with the massive singles King Of New York and the Tarantino movie sampling Scooby Snacks, the hits continued to come with subsequent releases such as Mi- mosa and Livin In The City. Huey Morgan and the boys will play a double bill with Mobo award winning saxophonist Yolanda Brown (pictured left). Kicking off the festival proper on Friday night are the legendary Sun Ra Arkestra. Assembled in 1954 by piano genius, composer, arranger and mystic visionary Sun Ra, today the 14-piece Arkestra continues to play to hugely enthusiastic audiences around the world. The Arkestras music touches on the entire history of jazz, from ragtime to swing, bebop to free jazz. As one major critic called it: from the roots of jazz to the apex of avant- garde. None of Sun Ras recordings quite capture the live fury of this amazing index.html2.html3.html4.html5.html6.html7.html8.html9.html10.html11.html12.html13.html14.html15.html16.html17.html18.html19.html20.html21.html22.html23.html24.html25.html26.html27.html