Cork to honour a giant of jazz

On the centenary of his birth, the RTÉ Concert Orchestra will pay tribute to jazz legend Charles Mingus right here on Leeside.

In an imaginative first, the RTÉ Concert Orchestra has joined forces with its counterpart, the BBC Concert Orchestra to commission a special set of brand-new orchestrations from English jazz trumpeter and composer Guy Barker.

This collaboration will allow both orchestras to do full justice to one of the greatest jazz musicians of them all, the one and only Charles Mingus.

Alongside this and back by popular demand, Barker’s amazing orchestration of the classic Miles Davis album ‘Kind of Blue’ will also be performed.

As London Jazz News wrote of Barker’s treatment: “What could have been cumbersome and overblown is fleet, ecstatic, enthralling.”

Mingus and Davis, performed by an orchestra and big band with a serious jazz pedigree under one of the top names in the business, all makes for an unmissable event for jazz fans.

The show takes place on 22 April at Cork Opera House. Tickets are now on sale at €31 and €26 concession. For information and booking, visit corkoperahouse.ie.