The Athgoe Sessions

A belated Happy New Year to one and all (or to my Middle-Eastern readership that doesn't follow the Gregorian calendar, a greeting of 'Death to the Infidel!'). Apologies for the break in correspondence but we decided to spend the winter caught up in the airport apocalypse that was Christmas in Europe. Never again. Much as it was nice to get back and see friends and family, the 'getting back' bit outweighed the joys of the 'seeing', and the Gaynor-Takahashi family has taken the unilateral decision of banning all further winter travel. Unless it is to Hawaii. No, henceforth we will spend our December-January in agnostic, turkey-free bliss here in Japan, or on the beach at Waikiki.

There is a long, whining, barely tolerable post I want to write about our trip to and from Ireland, but I will leave that for another day (or jet-lagged early morning. It's 3.00am as I'm writing this, and there's nary a sound in the house except for Cian's snoring). Rather, I'll begin 2011 on a bright note, or rather notes, for you, dear readers, are about to enjoy a little piece of musical history. One of the highlights from our trip home, hell, what am I saying, the undoubted highlight was the spontaneous coming together of some of contemporary jazz's greatest talents for a unique, once off performance that has redefined the possibilities of what jazz and music can do.

Not since Miles Davis assembled Bill Evans, Wynton Kelly, Jimmy Cobb, Paul Chambers, John Coltrane and Julian 'Cannonball' Adderley to record a 'Kind of Blue', has there been such an array of genius like talent gathered in one place.

For the 'Athgoe Sessions', as they have already become known, East met West when Patrick 'The Cat' O'Sullivan (piano, vocals), Cian 'Tokyo Joe' Takahashi-Gaynor (piano, snores), Allannah 'Jelly Roll' O'Sullivan (piano, vibes, lots of 'em), and Brian 'King of Swing' Gaynor (rhythm, impossible cool), came together to produce an unforgettable evening's worth of jazz with a 'j' for 'jenius'. Yeah. Right on.

But enough of my yakking, hipsters, let the music do the talking, for I give you, in all its unfocused 67 second glory, the Athgoe Sessions.