Jazz critic Mike Zwerin created the term "the cry" to describe a particular musical quality: found in music that is "a bit off, informal, direct", it evokes an immediate emotional response in the listener. Behind all of their rhythmic and harmonic complexities, Dave Liebman and the Guilfoyle/Neilsen trio exhibited "the cry" in abundance on Sunday night. Their concert made for an awesome conclusion to Dublin Jazz Week.
They opened with Wow - a cool Lennie Tristano tune which quickly grew to epic proportions. Mike Neilsen (guitar) and Dave Liebman (soprano saxophone) engaged in an extended dialogue which built rapidly in intensity. Liebman led, and Neilsen followed with dazzling guitar imitations of whatever effects the saxophonist could produce.
Off A Bird, inspired by Charlie Parker, was similarly long and climactic. Neilsen began the improvisation with a restrained solo. Liebman followed (this time playing tenor) and shifted from controlled bebop to Coletraneish wildness in the course of his lengthy solo. The next tune was entirely improvised and had a balladic feel. It included an attractive bass guitar solo from Ronan Guilfoyle and a dramatic saxophone cadenza. The first set closed in playful form with Threesome - a deliberately disjointed rhythmic experiment.
The second set was even more musically varied, featuring guest appearances from piper Martin Nolan (who contributed to the strange, eastern-sounding piece with which the set opened) and tenor saxophonist Michael Buckley. Buckley and Liebman sparred together brilliantly. The concert closed with another epic: a sensational version of John Coletrane's India.
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