Jazz Connective Festival – Project Arts Centre, Dublin
Jazz in Europe these days exists in a highly networked environment of cultural and political bodies, festivals, promoters, musicians and educators.
An example of this continent-level thinking is Jazz Connective, a series of events in cities across Europe including, so far, Ljubljana, Lodz, Helsinki, and, this week, Dublin, in a two-night stint supported by the Improvised Music Company.
First up on Wednesday night was one of the Irish scene’s most intriguing duos: Cora Venus Lunny on violin/viola and Izumi Kimura on piano.
The empathy between the pair is astounding, and the breadth of the exploration a delight, from raw, scratchy string sounds over rumbling piano, to brighter more lyrical lines.
Yet, whenever things threaten to get pastoral, the improvisation begins, stitching and unstitching melodies.
There is huge potential in this duo; definitely ones to watch.
Laura Jurd, the Mercury-nominated trumpeter, gave the next performance: a solo free-jazz journey exploring the full sonic range, and more, of her instrument.
Mopo, the punky, funky Finnish sax trio, finished off with an energetic set.
Thursday began with another British virtuoso, pianist Elliot Galvin, who threw everything at the piano, and a lot of things into it, during four improvisational pieces that were as witty as they were technically astounding.
He was followed by a trio put together for this mini-festival, with Shane Latimer on guitar, Linda Fredriksson on saxophones, and Steve Davis on drums.
It’s the shared language of improvised music that makes these impromptu ensembles possible, though sometimes they can feel like three individuals playing together.
This did, at times, but was an exciting set when at its most abrasive, loud and uncompromising.
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