John Abercrombie

The sublime US guitarist John Abercrombie is returning to Ireland with his long standing colleague Joey Baron, himself one of the world’s greatest drummers, for a creative encounter with two of the best this country has to offer in saxophonist Michael Buckley and bassist Ronan Guilfoyle

The collective pedigree is such that the prospect of memorable music making seems a reasonable assumption. At its helm is Abercombie, whose singular pursuit of his own voice over four decades has created a substantial corpus of work that includes revered trios like Gateway, seminal recordings with Jan Garbarek, and the more recent output of his own stellar quartet for ECM. Joey Baron has been there for much of it, defying category, combining soul with intellect and a paragon of the drums as narrative, as well as a rhythmic jazz tool.

There are no passengers in this band, and Guilfoyle and Buckley will relish the opportunities to play off Abercrombie’s sinous lines and Baron’s deep signature groove, notwithstanding the dramatic use of space that is a vital facet of their respective styles. Guilfoyle now commands time with great authority and through it shapes the playing of those around him, and Michael Buckley has matured into a tenor of global stature who seems to have few impediments to melodic expression.

Supple and instinctive music will be the order of the day, in what will be a blowing band, with all that implies. Think groovy, short form tunes with strong motifs and tasty chords that these four are bound to set about with some gusto.