QPAC Concert Hall - Thu Mar 18

Double bassist Leigh Barker lightens the stifling mood thus far – a room full of well-to-do jazz connoisseurs staring at you is like copulating in front of your parents – by drawing attention to his missing socks and belt. Barker’s light-hearted demeanour transfers over to his trio’s performance, which is generally a showcase for pianist Tom Vincent. The three share cheeky smiles throughout the short set (accented by the occasional ‘Yup!’ of a job well done), suggesting an in-joke that the audience could never hope to understand.

Even at its most atonal and discordant, there still seems to be some sort of order in the set from the Branford Marsalis Quartet. Marsalis often begins songs with a flourish of saxophone (soprano and alto) before fading into the shadows, swaying and overseeing his band members like a jazz swami. Significant space is given to the pianist, drummer and double bassist to display their prowess, to growing levels of applause each time. Only when Marsalis returns to the spotlight and explodes in a flurry of notes do you begin to understand his power. Returning for an encore – an old fashioned 12-bar improv session – with Leigh Barker sitting in for Eric Revis on bass ends a night that should satisfy and exhaust the most ardent jazz devotees.

MITCH ALEXANDER

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