Since opening for business in April, the Kaboom collective have hit Dublin with a fresh and stimulating programme of new music.

The spacious upstairs room is a particularly conducive setting for improvised music, and the decision to put two or even three bands together in one session is drawing a diverse and openminded crowd. Moreover, the double- and triple-bills mean that musicians get a chance to hear each other and to share ideas.

Over the last month, the collective have facilitated some groundbreaking performances including up-and-comers like Cortisol and ReDivider as well as more established players like Mike Nielsen and Sean Carpio. Such is the spaciousness of the stage area, there was even a special performance from a new big band led by saxophonist Ciaran Wilde.

The programme for June and July is no less promising. On Sunday 24 June, guitarist Tommy Halferty will unveil a new trio, featuring Sean Og on saxophones and Cormac O'Brien on bass, to explore the guitarist's interest in Brazilian music through his own excellent compositions.

On the same bill, and giving great value for the single admission price, is guitarist Sami Moukadem's Arabic-tinged quartet. Originally from Lebanon, Moukaddem has been a consistent figure on the Dublin jazz scene for the last ten years. The group features saxophonist Brendan Doyle, one of Ireland finest and most under-rated horn players whose jazz appearances are all too rare.

Australian trumpeter Paul Williamson has been settling nicely into the local scene since he arrived in Dublin last year andhe now has his own group, including saxophonist Michael Buckley, pianist Greg Felton, bassist Dan Bodwell and drummer Sean Carpio. Williamson's group will be the first half of an excellent double-bill on Sunday 1 July, to be followed by an intriguing guitar duo featuring up-andcomer Shane Latimar and Simon Jermyn, recently returned to Dublin after sojourns in The Hague, Reykjavik and New York.

Kaboom plays host this afternoon to two groups from either end of the modern jazz spectrum.

Frenchman Patrice Brun's Bop 5 is an unashamed tribute to the be-bop greats that laid the foundations for contemporary jazz, with an unbeatable repertoire culled from Charlie Parker, Kenny Dorham and Horace Silver. The group features Brun on saxophones and Bill Blackmore on trumpet, backed by a swinging rhythm section. Then from the other end of the spectrum comes the dUMBSHOW (sic), who bill themselves as a "louder improvising jazz trio". Featuring Latimer and Sean Og again on saxophones with Michael Harding on drums and what the programme terms "etcetera", this promises to be a mind-expanding way to spend a summer Sunday afternoon. All concerts start at 5pm and end around 8 pm.