| A call and response trio between piano, conga and drums, with a couple of notes as a lead to a blistering 32nd note run in the mid register and then smoothly floating back to the high end, augmented by huge chords in response to the drummers accents. Virelles is playing the rhythm so strongly and soloing so fluidly that he sounds as if he has a sampler or some effect that doubles his capability. Such is not the case, this is just a wizard of a pianist who creates a piano duet in solo mode.
Sax player Deniz glides in on the tail end of Virelles’ run and blows by with an arpeggio copying the piano player’s intricate runs. A game begins to unfold between these two. A game or a battle of virtuosos, it doesn’t matter, it’s all about the music. The energy, spirit and joy that pours off of the stage is overwhelming. A delight to behold, the song builds to a glorious climax. The percussionists are playing off the energy and are building to a tremendous crescendo, the bass player is trying to hold it all together. Sax player Deniz performs one final amazing solo, the song has ended and he is still fingering the valves open and shut, the sax is held out in front of him, the transient energy builds and one final melodic howl drifts over the stage.
These are true musicians, it’s Noon, they have just finished their performance with a fifteen-minute song and it’s over before it began. The crowd yells for more. The Beaches International Jazz Festival runs on schedule, sorry no encore, the next act has to get ready.
|
