FRIDAY night's TCD Jazz Society concert produced music that was never less than highly skilled and, in a couple of instances, considerably more than that. Jason Rebello (piano) and Gerard Presencer flugelhorn are two of the finest young British players to emerge in the last few years with Arnie Somogyi (bass) and, in particularly good form, Stephen Keogh (drums), they formed a thoroughly sympathetic ensemble capable of taking the music wherever they wanted.
Despite this, the quartet took some time to spark to creative life as a unit. The opening Sister Sherill and Chi Chi, a blues by Charlie Parker, were technically accomplished but not fully engaging, although the blues was distinguished by a lovely flugelhorn solo, the first of many such from Presencer throughout the concert. Towards the end of the first half there was something special, however, with a beautiful performance of My Funny Valentine. A delightfully oblique unaccompanied piano introduction was joined by, Presencer together, he and Rebello provided an imaginative handling of the theme before the others came in, for what was a sublimely sensitive group effort.
Only one other performance also a ballad, was in this class.
Soul Eyes was graced by possibly the best piano and bass solos of the night, and yet another lovely flugelhorn solo, with Keogh adept and tasteful on brushes. If the faster pieces, such as the funkier Dis Here, paled by comparison with My Funny Valentine and Soul Eyes, then it has to be said that to get two performances, of this calibre anytime is a privilege. Moreover the sound balance did not help the quartets more robust efforts, with the bass particularly at a disadvantage there was some loss of detail in what could be heard at those tempos. Nevertheless, an impressive evening's music.
