Dublin musician Simon Jermyn refuses to be pinned down, even as far as the instrument he plays. He first emerged on the Irish scene in the late '90s as a guitar player, but following studies at Newpark Music Centre, a master's degree from the Hague Conservatory, and extended sojourns in Reykjavik and New York, Jermyn returned to the Dublin scene a couple of years ago revealing an equal facility for the electric bass.

Since then, he has been a central figure in the emergence of Dublin's vibrant younger generation of jazz musicians, both as a leader of his own bands, and as a vital component in a variety of other ensembles. In particular, he broke new ground for other Irish jazz musicians when he recorded his debut album Trot A Mouse for the prestigious Fresh Sound New Talent label, which also launched the likes of Brad Mehldau and the Bad Plus.

Trot a Mouse is indicative of the tectonic shifts that have occurred in jazz over the last decade, featuring Europeans and Americans playing together on an equal footing, and making music that belongs equally to both traditions. Jermyn's group features rising American saxophonist Loren Stillman, who has performed with Charlie Haden and John Abercrombie, Belgian reed player Joachim Badenhorst, Ireland's leading young drummer Sean Carpio and Jermyn on bass, guitar, baritone guitar and a small bank of outboard effects. This is a group well worth catching, because Jermyn's great strength is to pursue a fairly abstract aesthetic without ever losing sight of the audience or failing to imbue the music with humour and warmth.

Following a concert in the celebrated Vortex in London on 10 March, the group arrive in Ireland for concerts in the Triskel Arts Centre, Cork (11), and the Sugar Club, Dublin (12).

Anyone in these straitened times who can still afford to jump on a plane simply to go and see a concert might consider hopping over to London on 18 March for a celebration of all things ECM. The Munich-based record label, in association with leading new music promoter Serious, is staging a series of concerts to celebrate 40 years in business with an all-European line-up that looks a little like Dublin's 12 Points festival for slow learners.

All happening at the brand new, state-of-the-art King's Place concert hall in King's Cross, the concerts will feature, among others, the young Polish pianist Marcin Wasilewski and his trio (also appearing in Dublin and Cork at the end of March); innovative Norwegian saxophonist Trygve Seim in a duo with accordionist Frode Haltli; and the peerless English singer Norma Winstone.

Though ECM made its name recording American artists like Keith Jarrett and Pat Metheny, the label has been concentrating more on European acts over the last decade and the only non-European on the bill is the great Argentinean bandoneon player Dino Sazluzzi.

The series runs from 18-21 March. More details from www.serious.co.uk