Nils Kavanagh 11/08/23
There’s something rather ridiculous about wedging a projector into a corner and propping it up with a roll of duct tape to keep it in place for a process that requires as much precision as projection mapping. But there we were, good old Cormac and Richard, doing that very thing on Friday morning. Well, what are you gonna do when you run out of other options? Please tell me. Seriously. I’d love to know.
You may think that this can’t be the reality of a venue that has been described as “one of Europe’s top jazz clubs.” But trust me, it is. And it only goes to show that duct tape can fix everything, even when it’s not being used for its adhesive qualities.
Once our early morning setup was complete, both Cormac and I shot back to our respective homes, sans coffee and conversation. There was no time. Cormac had an airport run to do, I had wedding venues to plead and bargain with. Two men of such slight character can’t possibly complete those tasks and drink coffee and talk all in the same morning. It just can’t be done. Along with time travel and world peace, it’s up there in the list of things that can’t possibly happen.
Anyway, at around 6.30PM I arrived back at the club to find a young guy at the top of the stairs, talking rather hurriedly on the phone, a bit concerned as to the lack of people in the room. It turned out to be Nils Kavanagh, talking to Scott and wondering where we were. But all was okay! I had arrived.
Not that that should EVER be a reassurance to anyone.
It turned out that the three guys who comprised the Nils Kavanagh trio (Nils, Marcus and Sam) were extremely hungry, so I assured them that soundcheck could wait. It was probably more important that they didn’t, you know…keel over from exhaustion. Once they were back and fed and watered, they took to the stage and got to business. At this point I would like to give props to Sam’s sparkly pink Yamaha drumkit and to Marcus’ hollow body 5 string, fretless electric bass with flat wound strings. Both the kit and the bass sounded awesome. Also, points go to Sam’s baggy patchwork trousers. Very cool indeed.
The gig itself was a welcome return to the world of jazz standards, inspired compositions and enviable musicianship. A former student of Scott Flanigan, Nils proved to be a veritable master of the keys and wowed the audience with his exquisite feel for the instrument. His own compositions were a major addition to the setlist, most of them being named after landmarks and memories from his hometown. Homesickness was a bit of a theme throughout the night, and I don’t know how Nils feels about it, but personally I think a bit of homesickness was worth it for the incredible music it produced!
A highlight for me was the sonically outstanding version of Chick Corea’s 500 Miles High. Nils set the keyboard to Fender Rhodes mode and Marcus picked up the fretless electric bass. It was *CHEFS KISS* Bayootiful.
This gig was part of our “jazz futures” series, and I think it’s safe to say that nobody is worried about the future of jazz where these three young guys are concerned.
