Dutch-German saxophone-piano duo Paul Van Kemenade and Stevko Busch are as international in their outlook as they are in their origins, drawing on influences from ancient Russian liturgical chants and European folksong to the South African jazz hymns of Abdullah Ibrahim.
Their approach can be tough and uncompromising but also very intimate, as best illustrated by the dancing Picking Cranberries' development through some thunderous piano figures and fiercely honking alto into what sounded like a show tune, played with great charm and tenderness.
Much of what they do has a very spontaneous feel but there's always a sense of structure at the music's heart and the soft murmuring of Van Kemenade's saxophone over Busch's rippling appropriation of Abdullah Ibrahim's piano style on the final number was as lovely as For Russia With Love's blend of tart alto explorations and a Soft Machine-like piano ostinato was exciting and invigorating.
Further alto saxophone adventures lit up Thursday's late concert in the Recital Room as Laura Macdonald led a superb quartet with Steve Hamilton (piano), Michael Janisch (bass) and Stu Ritchie (drums) through an attractive series of original compositions and a beautifully measured standard, I Hear a Rhapsody. Macdonald's improvising is consistently absorbing and delivered with bite and lyricism and her writing, especially in pieces from her Islay suite, blends a sense of her Scottishness naturally with the jazz tradition. A guest appearance from trumpeter Magnus Pickering added another appealing dimension as well as announcing the youngster's credentials for the upcoming Young Scottish Jazz Musician of the Year final.
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