The second in the ESB autumn jazz series at Vicar Street on Thursday, given by the Don Byron Quintet, was immeasurably better than the underwhelming opening Lee Konitz which preceded it several weeks ago. From the start, it was clear the quintet was a "working band", not a unit thrown together for the night; ensembles were crisp, cohesive and, no matter how difficult the material or how fast it was taken, quite superbly played.
From the opening duet, a kind of fantasia centred on My Favourite Things, between Byron - a master musician and virtuoso clarinettist - and his hugely impressive pianist, George Colligan, it was clear this would be a night of fresh, passionate and involving music. Joined by Ron Miles (trumpet), Drew Gress (bass) and Ralph Peterson (drums), Byron took them into an unidentified piece, a modernist take on bop unison, at Formula 1 speed, enabling them to display their virtuosic ensemble gifts; in the process, there was early evidence of an almost telepathic rapport between Colligan and Peterson in particular.
It wasn't all sweetness and light. If the risk-taking sometimes momentarily led into blind alleys, the music was always vibrant and engaging. It also encompassed surprising changes of mood, including a delightfully knowing and musical deconstructive send-up of another unidentified 1920s tune - possibly by Fats Waller - as well as the use of one of the themes from Ellington's rompingly contrapuntal classic, Main Stem, as an extended set closer.
The second set was even better, ranging over material as disparate as The Shadow of Your Smile, Nature Boy, an exhilarating flight through Herbie Hancock's One Finger Snap, Nessun Dorma, another unidentified Wallerish piece, and back to Main Stem. The sheer originality of Byron's approach, the measured maturity of his young trumpeter, and the support of the 24-carat Colligan-Gress-Peterson rhythm section - a match for most trios and who could easily give a concert in their own right - were a constant delight. And in Peterson, Byron has one of the finest drummers heard here.
