Nostalgia: Legends of jazz have always gathered here

THE 2023 edition of the Guinness Cork Jazz Festival is in full swing, with locals and visitors to the city alike enjoying one of the biggest weekends on the Cork cultural calendar.

The world-renowned festival features more ticketed shows than ever before this year, with headline acts including Corinne Bailey Rae, Macy Gray, Morcheeba, Matthew Halsall, Kurt Elling, and more.

A plethora of free events are also taking place across the long weekend as part of the ‘Big Fringe’, organised by the local Cork Jazz Festival Committee.

The programme features impromptu soulful moments of jazz, big brass bands, and spontaneous performances by some of Ireland and Europe’s finest jazz talent.

This year, the festival celebrates its 45th year, with the inaugural festival commencing on Friday, October 27, 1978.

First established by Jim Mountjoy, the then marketing manager of the Metropole Hotel, it was largely down to serendipity that the festival became such a big success.

In 1977, the then Labour Minister Michael O’Leary introduced a new bank-holiday at the end of October, giving Corkonians an extra day off.

The newly instated bank-holiday lent itself well to a new event for the city, and after a significant cancellation from a bridge club, Mr Mountjoy set about organising the inaugural jazz festival to fill the Metropole Hotel.

John Player was the initial sponsor of the festival, which, from the outset, attracted thousands of jazz fans.

The line up for that first year included Kenny Ball and the Jazzmen, George Melly and the John Chilton Feetwarmers, the Ronnie Scott Quintet with Louis Stewart, Annie Ross, the Harry South Trio, and Monty Sunshine.

An article in the then titled Evening Echo captured the sense of anticipation leading up to the festival that first year, stating:

‘The most ambitious Jazz Festival ever held in this country will take place in Cork over the October Bank Holiday weekend (October 27 to October 30) when the city hosts the John Player Jazz International ‘78.

‘The final lineup for the weekend features an array of talent from Ireland and abroad and the wide-ranging programme caters for all tastes.’

In 1981, Guinness became the major sponsor - a collaboration that has continued to this day.

Since the 1990s, average annual festival visitor numbers have exceeded 40,000, with people travelling from far and wide to experience the festival.

Earlier this week, Cork Airport said it was preparing to welcome more than 53,000 passengers over the October bank holiday weekend.

The airport, which is an official festival partner again this year, said thousands of people will arrive from Britain and mainland Europe in advance of one of the longest-running events in the local music scene.

Organisers and business owners are hoping this year will be one to rival last year’s hugely successful festival, which smashed all records attracting more than 100,000 people to the city.