Big Problem is Jermyn's latest group and, whatever his problem is, it seems to be ameliorated by playing music, to which task the Dubliner has applied himself diligently over the last year. His Trot a Mouse group, which appeared in Dublin in June to great acclaim, features New York heavyweight saxophonists Chris Speed and Loren Stillman, and that group's debut record is due to be released this autumn on the prestigious Fresh Sounds label.

Big Problem features two of Ireland's leading jazz musicians, drummer Sean Carpio and saxophonist Michael Buckley, with music by Ornette Coleman and Paul Motian, as well as new compositions from Jermyn himself. They play JJ Smyths, Dublin next Sunday night.

Jermyn and Carpio are also the rhythm section for a promising new collaboration between guitarist Mike Nielsen and pianist Justin Carroll, which debuts in Bewleys Cafe Theatre on 3 October. Nielsen has been one of the most original and innovative voices in Irish jazz for the last 20 years. It will be fascinating to hear him in the company of Carroll, one of the Dublin scene's most wideranging musicians, whose has done stints with everyone from Van Morrison and the Hammond organ trio Organics, to the beatbox duo Mouthorgan and anarchic electro-terrorist commune Trouble Penetrator.

Nielsen's duo with classical guitarist Benjamin Dwyer will also be the support for the visit of the much-lauded Swedish saxophonist Mats Gustafsson and his group The Thing, who play 4 Dame Lane next Friday nightas part of the Music 21 series.

Named after a tune by trumpeter Don Cherry, The Thing are a trio of saxophone, bass and drums, covering a repertoire that includes music from free jazz icons like Cherry and David Murray as well as tunes by PJ Harvey and the White Stripes.

An excellent setting for what may be a highlight of the musical year for the freedom-loving among us.

Carmel McCreagh's debut album, Nice Girl, released earlier this year, introduced the Wicklow-based singer to a wider audience and staked McCreagh's claim to be one of Ireland's leading jazz singers in the classic style of FitzGerald and Vaughan.

The album also featured composer, arranger and pianist Fiachra Trench and ex-Moving Hearts saxophonist Keith Donald . . . and these two join McCreagh in the Mermaid Arts Centre, Bray on 6 October for a concert to promote the new album.

Meanwhile, this very night, not too far away from the Beacon, nice boy Phil Ware and his trio play a one-off concert in Airfield House on the Upper Kilmacud Road. The trio's CD, In Our Own Time, released earlier this year, was received with enthusiasm by audience and musicians alike and confirmed their status as Ireland's leading piano trio.

The Phil Ware Trio are a genuinely democratic trio, displaying a free-flowing musical relationship on stage, without ever loosing a grip on the deep groove and melodic invention that has endeared them to audiences around the country.